C2C Crochet Buck Graphgan - Free Deer Blanket Pattern

Whether you’re a hipster, a hunter or planning a woodland-themed nursery, the this corner to corner crochet graphgan will compliment your modern rustic style. Get the free graph pattern below or purchase the printable PDF with line-by-line color change instructions here.

This free corner to corner crochet graphgan pattern is part of a collaboration with Lion Brand Yarns. This post contains affiliate links.

The Buckhorn corner-to-corner crochet graphgan pattern as versatile as it is fun. Made with half double crochet C2C stitches, you’ll “illustrate” your deer before adding the perfect playful pom pom edging. Try it in ecru and red to add a splash of Scandinavian style to your holiday decor. 

Keep reading for the yarn and inspiration details or scroll down for the free pattern and tutorials to learn corner-to-corner crochet.

This Ain't My First C2C Crochet Deer Rodeo

A few years ago when I was sort of new to corner-to-corner crochet, long before I wrote a book on it or published lots of video tutorials teaching it, I designed a C2C graphgan I called the "Be a Deer Blanket." (You can find the free pattern here!)

It's been so inspiring to see many crocheters to their own creative stamp on the pattern, either with unique colors and borders or by working a solid color deer. I knew eventually I'd design a corner to corner graphgan with an entire buck's body and today is that day!

A Crochet Christmas Blanket (or Not!)

The reason I finally put together this design that has been swimming around my head for years is because it was chosen to be part of Lion Brand's 12 Weeks of Christmas pattern suite this year.

The Buckhorn Blanket, along with 11 other fantastic, wintery patterns have become kits on LionBrand.com. Some of the 12 Weeks of Christmas patterns make perfect gifts to give others, some make perfect gifts to give yourself, and some, like this blanket, can do both!

You can purchase the blanket kit here, which includes all the yarn you'll need plus a printed copy of the pattern with line-by-line C2C instructions.

One of the things that was important to me when designing this modern corner-to-corner crochet graphgan was that it felt wintery and cozy without feeling exclusively Christmasy. Depending on the colors you choose, this is an afghan you can enjoy year round as part of your contemporary or rustic decor, or you can go all in on the Christmas theme.

I would really love to see a Buckhorn Blanket made in red and ecru yarn for a Scandinavian Christmas look!

Related: 40+ Crochet Stitches to Use In Blanket Designs

A Great Yarn for C2C Crochet Graphgans

My mom and I have both crocheted a lot of corner-to-corner crochet blankets and Lion Brand Vanna's Choice has been our go-to yarn for almost all of them. Vanna's Choice is machine washable and dry-able and it comes in a wide variety of colors, which is often important when crocheting a C2C pattern.

I love that the Linen and Graphite Vanna's Choice we used in the Buckhorn Blanket both feel like enduring, timeless colors. The Graphite has little flecks of white and brown in it which really adds to the rustic sophistication of this design. (Check out all the colors of Vanna's Choice here.)

Another new yarn I tried recently that I think would work really well for this graphgan is called Basic Stitch. Like Vanna's Choice, it comes in a lot of colors and there's even an anti-pilling version. (Check out all the colors of Basic Stitch Anti-Pilling here.)

click to pin this pattern for later ⇨

Crochet Your C2C Buck Blanket Much Faster

While you can definitely crochet your buck blanket by following the free graph pattern, I’ve found that I can enjoy my C2C crochet projects much more when I have written line-by-line instructions. These give you exactly how many tiles of each color you should work in each row and in what order. I’m telling you, having access to written instructions is like a secret C2C weapon and results in much faster crocheting–and so much less counting!)

If you’re interested in getting the line-by-line instructions for this corner-to-corner buck graphgan, you can purchase the ad-free, printable PDF here.

More C2C Crochet Blanket Patterns

And if you love making corner-to-corner crochet blankets as much as we do, here are some of C2C patterns that are most loved by Make & Do Crew crocheters. You can always find all our free corner-to-corner patterns here.

Buckhorn Blanket
Free C2C Crochet Graphgan Pattern

Purchase the ad-free, printable PDF with line-by-line color change instructions here.

Save this pattern to Ravelry here.

Pin it for later here.

Purchase a kit with the yarn + printed copy of the pattern here.

Explanation:
Whether you’re a hipster, a hunter or planning a woodland-themed nursery, the Buckhorn Blanket will compliment your modern rustic style. Made with half double crochet C2C stitches, you’ll “illustrate” your deer before adding the perfect playful pom pom edging. Try it in ecru and red to add a splash of Scandinavian style to your holiday decor. 

Supplies:
• Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice (Weight: 4/medium -  218 yds, 3.5 oz)
- Light: Linen (860-099) – 9 skeins (approximately 825g)
- Dark: Graphite (860-407) – 5 skeins (approximately 425g)
• Tapestry needle
• Size K (6.5 mm) crochet hook 
• Free Buckhorn Blanket graph pattern

Size:
41 x 49” (excluding pom poms)

Gauge:
5 hdc tiles = 3.5”

Stitch:
c2c half double crochet

Abbreviations and Glossary (US Terms):
ch – chain
hdc – half double crochet
PM – place marker
RS – right side
sc - single crochet
sk – skip
sl st – slip stitch
st(s) – stitch(es)
WS – wrong side

puff st - [yarn over, insert hook in stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through first two loops on hook] 4 times, yarn over, pull yarn through all five loops on hook, ch 1 to close puff

Help with learning corner-to-corner-crochet basics can be found here:
BOOK: Corner-To-Corner Crochet: 15 Modern Projects
(I cover all the details you need to know to master C2C in this book!)

VIDEO TUTORIAL: How to Increase and Decrease to Create a Blanket (This is a great place to start if you're new to C2C.)

PHOTO TUTORIAL: How to Change Colors in C2C

PHOTO TUTORIAL: How to Increase and Decrease to Create a Rectangle

BLOG POST: How to Keep Your Yarn Organized Using Household Objects

Overall Pattern Notes:
• Main blanket pattern is worked using this free graph and the diagonal box stitch (c2c) in half double crochet stitches. The border edgings are added once the blanket is complete

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How to Read Written Pattern (only applies to printable PDF version):

→ Row 16 [WS]: L4, D, L11

• Arrow indicates direction of row. 
• Letter indicates which color of yarn to use. 
• Number indicates how many tiles of each color to work. Therefore, for this example, you’ll work 4 tiles in Light color, 1 tile in Dark color and 11 tiles in Light color. Then turn your work and proceed with Row 17.

MAIN BLANKET:

Begin in lower right hand corner and work diagonally through Buckhorn Blanket graph using the half double crochet C2C stitch.

Next: Fasten off. Weave in all ends. (You can do it!) When weaving in ends, consider using Dark tails to visually connect Dark tiles that have some Light yarn between them. Do do this, simply use the Dark tail to whip stitch around the Light yarn you want to cover. This can be particularly helpful in making the antlers appear fairly uniform.

BORDERS:

Notes:
• Borders are worked in the round with RS of blanket facing throughout.
• See photo above in blog post for close-up of borders.

Attach Dark yarn in any space between two tiles around the outside edge of blanket.

Border 1: Ch 3 (counts as sc and 2 ch), sk first tile, sc in sp between next 2 tiles, *ch 2, sk tile, sc in sp between tiles; rep from * around blanket. Place [sc, ch 1, sc] in each corner. Sl st to first ch from beginning of round to join. Do not turn.

Border 2: Ch 1 (does not count as sc), 2 sc in first ch2sp, 2 sc in each ch2sp around blanket, sl st to first sc from beginning of round to join. Do not turn. 

Border 3: See “Abbreviations and Glossary” at top of pattern for specific instructions on working a puff stitch. See photo tutorial below or watch video tutorial for this pom pom edging technique at the bottom of this post.

To begin: Ch 1, sc in first sc, sc in next 2 sc.

To make pom pom: *Ch 6, in third ch from the hook work puff st, ch 3, work puff st in ch1top of previous puff st, fold pom pom in half, sl st in same ch where first puff st was worked, ch 1 to tighten pom pom together, ch 3. 

To attach to blanket: Sk 2 sc, sc in third st, sc in next 2 sts.**

To work border: Rep from * to ** around blanket. For each corner: work 3 sc at corner. (Worry less about exact math of sc placement at corners and more about how the pom poms are visually spaced out around your blanket. Any approximate version of this will look beautiful.)

To finish border: Sl st to first sc of round to join. Fasten off and weave in end.

Grab a cup of hot chocolate, wrap up in your new blanket and head out to watch the snow fall!

I love to see your finished projects! Use #MakeAndDoCrew and tag me Instagram (@MakeAndDoCrew) to show off your stitches and have a chance to be featured.

More Free C2C Crochet Patterns

If you're on a corner-to-corner crochet roll, here are some more free C2C patterns that are most loved by Make & Do Crew crocheters. You can always find all our free corner-to-corner patterns here.

1. Free Range Kimono / 2. Nordic Super Scarf / 3. X Marks the Spot Pillow + Blanket Set / 4. Stockholm Stocking