Crochet Cactus Blanket free pattern

Aug 11, 2021 | Crochet patterns

A crochet C2C Cactus Blanket is a free crochet pattern by Nana’s Crafty Home!

Crochet Cactus Blanket free pattern

The Southwest Desert Sun & Cactus crochet blanket is just gorgeous – so vibrant, bold and bright! You can just feel how hot that sun is can’t you?

Several years ago my husband and I went to Phoenix, Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Such amazing scenery! One of the most amazing sights we saw were the majestic cactus plants surrounded by the desert. They are so tall and really majestic tall spires of prickly beauty.

Crochet Cactus Blanket free pattern

Crochet Cactus C2C Blanket Details

I am using the wonderful Brava Worsted yarn by WeCrochet* for this blanket. The amazing folks at WeCrochet provided the yarn for this project – so generous! Brava Worsted is a very affordable acrylic worsted weight yarn with so many beautiful colors available. A hard-wearing yarn with durability and softness!

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself. This post may contain affiliate links that if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. 

free crochet cactus desert blanket

I had originally intended this yarn for another project. When it arrived at my doorstep and I opened the box, the colors jumped out at me and the design took a turn. I love how yarn colors can inspire a design! All I could see was a bright and beautiful sun with a cactus somehow worked into the design. The Southwest Desert Sun & Crochet Blanket design was born. You absolutely cannot go wrong with this color combo – absolutely knocked my socks off!

I used the double crochet corner to corner (c2c) crochet color work technique for my blanket. Approximate finished size of the blanket is 32″ x 42″ which makes it a good sized throw.

Want to make this blanket but have never tried this color work technique? No worries – I’ve got you covered!

The following tutorials will help you complete this project if you are not familiar with the crochet C2C technique.

Basic C2C tutorial
How to Change Colors in C2C
How to Carry Colors in C2C
How to Add a Border in C2C
How to Read Graphs in C2C

And, if you need help in learning how to make a C2C Crochet Rectangle shape I have a complete photo and video tutorial for you that will show you how to decrease on one side while continuing to increase on the other!

I went back and forth on adding a border or another finish to my blanket. After trying fringe and tassels and played around with border ideas I decided to leave it alone. I wanted the scene to take center stage and I was afraid any additional embellishments would take away from that. However, if you want to add a border feel free! And adding a border would make the finished size of your blanket larger as well.

How to add a border to C2C

This Cactus Crochet Blanket is also available as an ad-free, printable PDF! You can purchase the individual pattern for the Cactus C2C Crochet Blanket, or if you love PDFs, you might want to check out my Lifetime Membership. It’s an awesome deal! Never pay for one of my PDFs again!! (Or, scroll down for the free version!)

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Purchase the ad-free pdf of the Crochet Cactus Blanket Pattern for a small fee.  Thank you so much for supporting my work! 

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You may also like the following free crochet patterns at Nana’s Crafty Home:

  1. Sunflower Crochet C2C Blanket free pattern
  2. Sea Life C2C Crochet Blanket free pattern
  3. Koala C2C Blanket free crochet pattern

Crochet Cactus Desert C2C Blanket free crochet pattern

Pattern written in US crochet terminology

Supplies:

Total yardage:  1,760 yards / 754 g

Size I  (5.5 mm) crochet hook
Tapestry needle
Scissors

Approximate finished size: 33” wide x 43” height

Gauge:  5.5 blocks = 4”

Abbreviations:

O = orange
Y = yellow
W = white
LG = light green
DG = dark green
P = peach
RS = right side
WS = wrong side

Notes about pattern:  Pattern is worked in Double Crochet Corner to Corner (C2C) Crochet technique.  Written row by row instructions follow with color pixel graph on last page of pdf.

Recommended Tutorials:

Basic C2C for Beginners|
How to Change Colors in C2C
Tips & Tricks for Carrying Yarn in C2C
How to add a border to C2C projects
How to crochet a C2C Rectangle shape

Written row by row pattern instructions:

O = orange / Y = yellow / W = white / LG = light green / DG = dark green / P = peach

← Row 1 [RS]: (P) x 1 (1 square)  
→ Row 2 [WS]: (P) x 2 (2 squares)  
← Row 3 [RS]: (P) x 3 (3 squares)  
→ Row 4 [WS]: (P) x 4 (4 squares)  
← Row 5 [RS]: (P) x 5 (5 squares)  
→ Row 6 [WS]: (P) x 6 (6 squares)  
← Row 7 [RS]: (P) x 7 (7 squares)  
→ Row 8 [WS]: (P) x 8 (8 squares)  
← Row 9 [RS]: (P) x 9 (9 squares)  
→ Row 10 [WS]: (P) x 10 (10 squares)  
← Row 11 [RS]: (P) x 11 (11 squares)  
→ Row 12 [WS]: (P) x 12 (12 squares)  
← Row 13 [RS]: (P) x 5, (DG) x 1, (P) x 7 (13 squares)  
→ Row 14 [WS]: (P) x 7, (DG) x 3, (P) x 4 (14 squares)  
← Row 15 [RS]: (P) x 4, (DG) x 4, (P) x 7 (15 squares)  
→ Row 16 [WS]: (P) x 8, (DG) x 2, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 4 (16 squares)  
← Row 17 [RS]: (P) x 3, (DG) x 2, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 8 (17 squares)  
→ Row 18 [WS]: (P) x 9, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 6 (18 squares)  
← Row 19 [RS]: (P) x 6, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 5, (DG) x 4, (P) x 1 (19 squares)  
→ Row 20 [WS]: (P) x 1, (DG) x 5, (P) x 4, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 5, (W) x 2 (20 squares)  
← Row 21 [RS]: (W) x 2, (DG) x 2, (P) x 3, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 3, (DG) x 2, (P) x 1, (DG) x 4, (P) x 1 (21 squares)  
→ Row 22 [WS]: (P) x 2, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 2, (P) x 2, (DG) x 1, (P) x 3, (DG) x 1, (P) x 4, (W) x 1, (DG) x 3, (W) x 1 (22 squares)  
← Row 23 [RS]: (W) x 1, (DG) x 3, (W) x 2, (P) x 4, (DG) x 1, (P) x 4, (DG) x 3, (P) x 1, (DG) x 2, (P) x 2 (23 squares)  
→ Row 24 [WS]: (P) x 3, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 2, (P) x 7, (W) x 3, (DG) x 1, (W) x 2, (DG) x 1, (W) x 1 (24 squares)  
← Row 25 [RS]: (W) x 4, (DG) x 1, (W) x 4, (P) x 6, (DG) x 1, (P) x 2, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 4 (25 squares)  
→ Row 26 [WS]: (P) x 5, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 1, (P) x 2, (DG) x 1, (P) x 5, (W) x 4, (DG) x 2, (W) x 4 (26 squares)  
← Row 27 [RS]: (W) x 4, (DG) x 1, (W) x 6, (P) x 7, (DG) x 1, (P) x 2, (DG) x 1, (P) x 5 (27 squares)  
→ Row 28 [WS]: (P) x 6, (DG) x 1, (P) x 2, (DG) x 1, (P) x 6, (W) x 5, (DG) x 1, (W) x 6 (28 squares)  
← Row 29 [RS]: (W) x 13, (P) x 8, (DG) x 1, (P) x 7 (29 squares)  
→ Row 30 [WS]: (P) x 8, (DG) x 1, (P) x 6, (W) x 15 (30 squares)  
← Row 31 [RS]: (W) x 7, (O) x 3, (W) x 6, (P) x 15 (31 squares)  
→ Row 32 [WS]: (P) x 15, (W) x 6, (O) x 3, (W) x 8 (32 squares)  
← Row 33 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 2, (W) x 2, (O) x 3, (W) x 2, (O) x 1, (W) x 4, (P) x 15 (33 squares)  
→ Row 34 [WS]: (P) x 13, (LG) x 1, (DG) x 3, (W) x 2, (O) x 2, (W) x 1, (O) x 3, (W) x 1, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (34 squares)  
← Row 35 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 8, (W) x 1, (O) x 1, (W) x 2, (DG) x 3, (LG) x 2, (P) x 13 (35 squares)  
→ Row 36 [WS]: (P) x 13, (LG) x 3, (W) x 4, (O) x 10, (W) x 6 (36 squares)  
← Row 37 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 1, (W) x 1, (O) x 11, (W) x 1, (O) x 1, (W) x 1, (LG) x 4, (P) x 13 (37 squares)  
→ Row 38 [WS]: (P) x 13, (DG) x 1, (LG) x 4, (O) x 4, (Y) x 8, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (38 squares)  
← Row 39 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 3, (Y) x 9, (O) x 3, (LG) x 4, (DG) x 1, (P) x 14 (39 squares)  
→ Row 40 [WS]: (P) x 14, (DG) x 1, (LG) x 5, (O) x 2, (Y) x 10, (O) x 2, (W) x 6 (40 squares)  
← Row 41 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 4, (Y) x 11, (O) x 1, (LG) x 5, (DG) x 1, (W) x 1, (P) x 14 (41 squares)  
→ Row 42 [WS]: (P) x 6, (DG) x 2, (P) x 6, (W) x 1, (DG) x 1, (W) x 1, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 12, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (42 squares)  
← Row 43 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 3, (Y) x 12, (LG) x 5, (W) x 1, (DG) x 1, (W) x 2, (P) x 4, (DG) x 3, (P) x 7 (43 squares)  
→ Row 44 [WS]: (P) x 7, (DG) x 1, (P) x 1, (DG) x 2, (P) x 3, (W) x 2, (DG) x 1, (W) x 1, (O) x 1, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 12, (O) x 2, (W) x 6 (44 squares)  
← Row 45 [RS]: (W) x 3, (O) x 2, (W) x 1, (O) x 2, (Y) x 12, (LG) x 5, (O) x 2, (DG) x 1, (W) x 2, (P) x 6, (DG) x 1, (P) x 8 (45 squares)  

Corner (begin decreasing)  

→ Row 46 [WS]: (P) x 8, (DG) x 1, (P) x 5, (W) x 4, (O) x 2, (LG) x 6, (Y) x 11, (O) x 4, (W) x 4 (45 squares)  
← Row 47 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 4, (Y) x 8, (LG) x 9, (O) x 2, (W) x 5, (P) x 5, (DG) x 1, (P) x 7 (45 squares)  
→ Row 48 [WS]: (P) x 7, (DG) x 1, (P) x 4, (W) x 5, (O) x 2, (Y) x 1, (LG) x 11, (Y) x 6, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (45 squares)  
← Row 49 [RS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 2, (Y) x 6, (LG) x 11, (Y) x 2, (O) x 2, (W) x 5, (P) x 11 (45 squares)  
→ Row 50 [WS]: (P) x 10, (W) x 5, (O) x 2, (Y) x 3, (LG) x 12, (Y) x 5, (O) x 2, (W) x 6 (45 squares)  
← Row 51 [RS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 2, (Y) x 5, (LG) x 6, (Y) x 1, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 4, (O) x 1, (W) x 5, (P) x 10 (45 squares)  
→ Row 52 [WS]: (P) x 9, (W) x 5, (O) x 2, (Y) x 4, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 4, (O) x 3, (W) x 6 (45 squares)  
← Row 53 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 5, (Y) x 4, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 5, (O) x 2, (W) x 5, (P) x 8 (45 squares)  
→ Row 54 [WS]: (P) x 7, (W) x 6, (O) x 1, (Y) x 6, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 3, (LG) x 3, (Y) x 5, (O) x 4, (W) x 5 (45 squares)  
← Row 55 [RS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 4, (Y) x 4, (LG) x 3, (Y) x 3, (LG) x 6, (Y) x 5, (O) x 2, (W) x 5, (P) x 7 (45 squares)  
→ Row 56 [WS]: (P) x 6, (W) x 4, (O) x 3, (Y) x 5, (LG) x 7, (Y) x 3, (LG) x 3, (Y) x 4, (O) x 4, (W) x 6 (45 squares)  
← Row 57 [RS]: (W) x 7, (O) x 3, (Y) x 10, (LG) x 7, (Y) x 5, (O) x 4, (W) x 4, (P) x 5 (45 squares)  
→ Row 58 [WS]: (P) x 4, (DG) x 1, (W) x 4, (O) x 3, (Y) x 5, (LG) x 8, (Y) x 9, (O) x 3, (W) x 8 (45 squares)  
← Row 59 [RS]: (W) x 8, (O) x 3, (Y) x 9, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 1, (LG) x 2, (Y) x 5, (O) x 2, (W) x 3, (DG) x 4, (P) x 3 (45 squares)  
→ Row 60 [WS]: (P) x 2, (W) x 1, (DG) x 1, (W) x 5, (O) x 2, (Y) x 5, (LG) x 3, (Y) x 1, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 8, (O) x 5, (W) x 7 (45 squares)  

Corner (begin decreasing)  

← Row 61 [RS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 5, (Y) x 8, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 1, (LG) x 3, (Y) x 5, (O) x 2, (W) x 5, (DG) x 2, (W) x 1, (P) x 1 (44 squares)  
→ Row 62 [WS]: (W) x 2, (DG) x 2, (W) x 3, (O) x 3, (Y) x 5, (LG) x 3, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 8, (O) x 5, (W) x 5 (43 squares)  
← Row 63 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 5, (Y) x 7, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 3, (Y) x 5, (O) x 3, (W) x 3, (DG) x 1, (W) x 3 (42 squares)  
→ Row 64 [WS]: (W) x 1, (DG) x 1, (W) x 4, (O) x 3, (Y) x 5, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 7, (O) x 4, (W) x 5 (41 squares)  
← Row 65 [RS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 3, (Y) x 6, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 5, (O) x 1, (W) x 6, (DG) x 1, (W) x 1 (40 squares)  
→ Row 66 [WS]: (W) x 7, (O) x 2, (Y) x 5, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 5, (Y) x 6, (O) x 1, (W) x 7 (39 squares)  
← Row 67 [RS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 2, (Y) x 6, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 6, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (38 squares)  
→ Row 68 [WS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 3, (Y) x 6, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 5, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (37 squares)  
← Row 69 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 4, (Y) x 5, (LG) x 3, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 6, (O) x 4, (W) x 4 (36 squares)  
→ Row 70 [WS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 2, (Y) x 6, (LG) x 4, (Y) x 2, (LG) x 2, (Y) x 5, (O) x 5, (W) x 3 (35 squares)  
← Row 71 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 4, (Y) x 9, (LG) x 2, (Y) x 7, (O) x 2, (W) x 6 (34 squares)  
→ Row 72 [WS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 2, (Y) x 7, (LG) x 2, (Y) x 8, (O) x 4, (W) x 4 (33 squares)  
← Row 73 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 3, (Y) x 16, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (32 squares)  
→ Row 74 [WS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 4, (Y) x 15, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (31 squares)  
← Row 75 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 3, (Y) x 14, (O) x 4, (W) x 4 (30 squares)  
→ Row 76 [WS]: (W) x 3, (O) x 2, (W) x 1, (O) x 2, (Y) x 13, (O) x 4, (W) x 4 (29 squares)  
← Row 77 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 4, (Y) x 12, (O) x 2, (W) x 6 (28 squares)  
→ Row 78 [WS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 2, (Y) x 11, (O) x 5, (W) x 3 (27 squares)  
← Row 79 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 3, (Y) x 10, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (26 squares)  
→ Row 80 [WS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 5, (Y) x 8, (O) x 3, (W) x 5 (25 squares)  
← Row 81 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 3, (Y) x 6, (O) x 6, (W) x 4 (24 squares)  
→ Row 82 [WS]: (W) x 3, (O) x 2, (W) x 1, (O) x 6, (Y) x 3, (O) x 4, (W) x 4 (23 squares)  
← Row 83 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 12, (W) x 6 (22 squares)  
→ Row 84 [WS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 2, (W) x 1, (O) x 10, (W) x 3 (21 squares)  
← Row 85 [RS]: (W) x 6, (O) x 6, (W) x 1, (O) x 2, (W) x 5 (20 squares)  
→ Row 86 [WS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 2, (W) x 3, (O) x 5, (W) x 5 (19 squares)  
← Row 87 [RS]: (W) x 5, (O) x 2, (W) x 1, (O) x 2, (W) x 3, (O) x 1, (W) x 4 (18 squares)  
→ Row 88 [WS]: (W) x 8, (O) x 2, (W) x 1, (O) x 1, (W) x 5 (17 squares)  
← Row 89 [RS]: (W) x 4, (O) x 1, (W) x 2, (O) x 2, (W) x 7 (16 squares)   
→ Row 90 [WS]: (W) x 7, (O) x 1, (W) x 7 (15 squares)  
← Row 91 [RS]: (W) x 14 (14 squares)  
→ Row 92 [WS]: (W) x 13 (13 squares)  
← Row 93 [RS]: (W) x 12 (12 squares)  
→ Row 94 [WS]: (W) x 11 (11 squares)  
← Row 95 [RS]: (W) x 10 (10 squares)  
→ Row 96 [WS]: (W) x 9 (9 squares)  
← Row 97 [RS]: (W) x 8 (8 squares)  
→ Row 98 [WS]: (W) x 7 (7 squares)  
← Row 99 [RS]: (W) x 6 (6 squares)  
→ Row 100 [WS]: (W) x 5 (5 squares)  
← Row 101 [RS]: (W) x 4 (4 squares)  
→ Row 102 [WS]: (W) x 3 (3 squares)  
← Row 103 [RS]: (W) x 2 (2 squares)  
→ Row 104 [WS]: (W) x 1 (1 square) 

Cactus C2C Color Legend
Cactus C2C full color graph
desert cactus c2c blanket

Copyright 2021 Tonya Bush/Nana’s Crafty Home

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Desert Cactus C2C Blanket free crochet pattern

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About Me

Hi! Thank you so much for being here! I am Tonya the designer behind Nana's Crafty Home. As a wife, mother, Nana of 9 & with 2 fur babies, my days are filled with love, laughter, hugs and yarn! Here you will find colorful and creative crochet designs for yourself or loved ones. My hope is that you will be inspired to learn and create along with me!

5 Comments

  1. Claudia Murray

    If I wanted to make this a bigger size, say 66 x 86, could it be done by doubling the stitches in the pattern?

    • Tonya Bush

      Since you are wanting a much larger blanket I would recommend changing up the yarn weight from medium worsted to a bulky or even a super bulky yarn & a larger hook. I would work a few rows and measure to see where you would end up in size but your blanket should be quite a bit larger than my finished size. I hope that helps!

      • Claudia Murray

        Thanks, Tonya. I’ll give it a try!

  2. Nancy Rose

    Tonya, you can’t believe I am about all things desert! One of my favorite places is among the saguaros in Arizona! So thank you so much for this beautiful cactus throw. Can’t wait to gather my yarn and get started. Nancy

    • Tonya Bush

      You are so welcome – I am so glad you like it Nancy! Have fun 🌵🌞❤️