I just bought "Afghan Mesh at is 21/2 yds. x 45" . 2.28m x 114.30cm 100% Polyester. 8 holes/inch made by James Thompson & Co. I had seen an afghan made of this stuff years ago (20-25) and lost the magazine it was in. I have now found the mash but can't find a pattern and was wondering if any of you would be willing to help me in getting started in making an afghan. I have plenty of yarn and if this isn't enough mesh maybe someone could even help me in telling me where I could order some more. I have always wanted to make an afghan and am no good at knitting or crocheting so I hope maybe I can make some this way. Very excited about learn this new craft I hope someone out there is willing to help me in my venture.

I don't know about the book but you can find several free patterns for this type of items a abcentral.com there are 100's of patterns for barbie and ken including costumes. hope this helps

Eureka!!! I found out the name of the stitch used - it is the Crocodile Stitch. There are some patterns for sale on Etsy under Crochet/Patterns - Bonita Patterns - and I just bought a triangle shawl pattern using this stitch. The pattern starts from the point of the triangle and works by increasing each row to make a triangle. So I should be able to make a square baby blanket by continuing with the triangle DECREASING down from the halfway point to a final point. Crocheting a square diagonally from corner to corner. There is a tutorial on You Tube for Crocodile Stitch too. And this blog has a lot more about it http://yarn-muse.blogspot.com/2011/01/crocodile-stitch.html I can't wait to get started! Yvette in Toowoomba, Austraia

I think I would discourage you for a few reasons. First of all, chenille sheds badly and here and there a stitch can be hard to rip out when you make a mistake. Ripping out makes it shed even more and you risk bald spots in the yarn if it knots up or has to be ripped out a few times. Chenille cannot be washed. I am also surprised at the cost of the yarn listed with the pattern. This is an expensive project. But you could make it or any other pattern using another yarn. If you really want to make this afghan, I might suggest a chunky yarn or using two strands of a nice worsted yarn. Wool is warm and cozy, and acrylic will be machine washable and dryable as well as moth proof. Be sure you have a big enough crochet hook too. I also discourage beginners from making afghans with strips or squares until they have really practiced lots or made a couple of other items so they have a consistent size to their stitches. Gauge is very important when you make pieces that have to be exact matches with each other when they are sewed together in assembling. If you have not crocheted enough so as to develop even stitches, you will discover that your squares are all sorts of sizes when you try to sew them together, and that the first square is totally different from the 20th or 30th square you crocheted. I highly recommend the Basketweave Throw pattern on the same site. I have made a few of them and it looks especially nice in a deep color. I like to add an edge by stitching single crochet around the edge for 2 to 4 rows, making the 3rd of those edging rows in another color. Are you aware of No Dye Lot yarns? I like to use acrylic No Dye Lot yarns for big projects. That way, if I need to buy more, the new purchase will match the other yarn I bought previously. I have used No Dye Lot yarns I had bought years earlier to make something and then have been able to buy additional matching yarn to finish it up and had no problem. I don't think wool comes in No Dye Lot.