Hello Sunshine Filet Blanket – Free Crochet Pattern

There is something endlessly satisfying about a blanket that feels like a warm afternoon in June. Light, airy, full of character, and woven through with something that looks almost like sunlight filtered through a garden trellis. That is exactly the feeling behind the Hello Sunshine Filet Blanket, a free crochet pattern that has quickly become one of the most beloved projects in the Truly Crochet collection. Whether you are a seasoned crocheter looking for your next statement piece or someone who has just graduated past basic granny squares, this pattern is going to make you feel like you can do anything.

Let’s walk through everything — the inspiration behind the design, the materials you will need, the stitches involved, the full written pattern, tips for success, and ideas for customizing it to make it completely your own.

What Is Filet Crochet?

Before diving into the pattern itself, it helps to understand the technique at the heart of this blanket. Filet crochet is a style of crochet that creates patterns using a grid of open and filled squares. The open squares are made with chain spaces, and the filled squares are made with double crochet stitches worked into those spaces. When you look at a filet crochet piece from a distance, the filled and unfilled squares come together to form a picture or a repeating motif — in this case, a cheerful sunshine design surrounded by a flowing grid.

The beauty of filet crochet is that it looks impossibly intricate but is actually built from just a handful of basic stitches. If you know how to chain, double crochet, and count, you can absolutely do this. The pattern reads from a chart, which can feel intimidating at first, but once you work through a few rows and start to see the sunshine emerging in your work, it becomes genuinely addictive.

About the Hello Sunshine Filet Blanket

The Hello Sunshine Filet Blanket was designed with cheerfulness in mind. The motif features a bold, stylized sun at the center of the design, with rays that radiate outward toward the edges of the blanket. The open mesh background gives the piece that light, breathable quality that makes it ideal as a spring or summer throw, a decorative blanket draped over a chair, or a sweet accent piece for a nursery.

The finished blanket measures approximately 40 by 48 inches using the recommended hook and yarn, making it a generous lap blanket or a lovely baby blanket depending on how you scale it. The design works up in a fairly consistent rhythm once you get past the first several rows, which means you can settle into a comfortable working pace without constantly stopping to recount.

This is also an incredibly versatile project. Work it in a soft yellow for the full sunshine effect, a crisp white for a vintage-inspired aesthetic, a pale blue for something coastal and breezy, or even a deep charcoal for a modern, graphic look. The design itself is strong enough to carry whatever color story you bring to it.

Materials You Will Need

Getting your materials together before you begin makes the whole process smoother. Here is what you will need for the Hello Sunshine Filet Blanket as written.

Yarn: Approximately 900 to 1,100 yards of worsted weight yarn (size 4). A smooth, plied yarn will give you the cleanest stitch definition, which is especially important in filet crochet where the visual impact depends on the contrast between open and filled squares. Cotton or a cotton blend works beautifully for this pattern because it has great stitch definition and a nice drape. Acrylic works just as well if you prefer easy care. Wool or wool blends can work but tend to give a slightly softer, more relaxed look to the grid.

Hook: A 5.0mm (H/8) crochet hook is recommended. This pairs well with worsted weight yarn and gives you a fabric that is open enough to read beautifully as filet crochet without being so loose that the structure is lost. You may need to adjust hook size based on your personal tension.

Other supplies: A yarn needle for weaving in ends, scissors, stitch markers to help you track your place if needed, and a printed or digital copy of the chart. The chart is what you will be reading as you work, so having it accessible and easy to see matters more in filet crochet than in many other patterns.

Gauge: 14 double crochets and 8 rows equal 4 inches in double crochet with the recommended hook and yarn. Gauge matters in this pattern primarily because it affects the finished size. If your gauge is tighter, your blanket will be smaller. If it is looser, it will be larger. For a blanket this is usually fine, but check your gauge if size is important to you.

Abbreviations Used in This Pattern

• ch — chain
• dc — double crochet
• sp — space
• sk — skip
• st(s) — stitch(es)
• RS — right side
• WS — wrong side
• rep — repeat
• beg — beginning

Open square (OS): ch 2, skip 2 stitches or ch-2 space, dc in next dc. This creates one open mesh square.

Filled square (FS): dc in each of the next 3 stitches or spaces (working into the ch-2 space of the previous row if applicable). This fills in one grid square.

Pattern Notes

Filet crochet is worked flat, turning at the end of each row. The right side of your work is the side that faces you on odd-numbered rows if you chain your foundation on the right side.

Each row begins with a turning chain that counts as the first double crochet of the row. Chain 3 to turn, and this chain 3 counts as your first dc. This is standard practice in filet crochet and keeps your edges clean and even.

When working into an open square from the previous row, you will work your stitch into the actual chain-2 space rather than into individual chain stitches. When filling a square that was open in the previous row, dc 2 into the chain-2 space and dc into the top of the dc that closed the square — this gives you 3 dc to fill the square properly.

Read the chart from right to left on right-side rows and from left to right on wrong-side rows. Each square on the chart represents one mesh square (either open or filled).

The Pattern

Foundation Chain: Chain 143.

Row 1 (RS): Dc in the 4th chain from hook (counts as first dc), dc in each ch across. You should have 141 dc total. Turn.

Rows 2–5: Ch 3 (counts as dc), work in dc across, creating a solid block of dc. These four rows form the bottom border of the blanket. Turn at the end of each row.

Row 6: Ch 3, dc in next 2 sts (first filled square is established), ch 2, skip 2 sts, dc in next st (open square made), repeat from to across until 3 sts remain, dc in last 3 sts. Turn. This row begins the filet grid.

Rows 7 through 11: Continue in the established mesh pattern, working all squares as open squares across the row with solid border squares at each end. These rows create the open mesh background above the bottom border before the sunshine motif begins.

Row 12: Begin reading from the chart. This is where the sunshine motif starts to emerge. Work border stitches, then follow the chart row by row, filling in squares where indicated and leaving squares open where indicated. The chart will show you exactly where each filled and open square falls across the width of the blanket.

Reading the Sunshine Chart:

The sunshine motif is centered across the blanket. The sun itself is built from a rounded center filled-square cluster surrounded by rays that extend upward, downward, and to the sides. The rays are made of diagonal lines of filled squares, which creates that classic radiating effect.

As you work through the chart rows, you will first see the bottom of the sun appear — a curved row of filled squares that gradually widens. Over the next several rows the circular body of the sun fills in fully. Then as you approach the top of the motif, the filled squares taper back down and the rays extend outward from the sides and top.

Work through all charted rows following the filled and open square placement indicated. The motif spans approximately 32 rows from the first filled square of the sun to the last.

After completing the final chart row, work 5 to 7 rows of open mesh to mirror the open rows worked below the motif, then work 4 rows of solid double crochet to create the top border, matching the bottom border.

Fasten off. Weave in all ends.

Border

A simple border finishes the blanket beautifully and gives it a polished, intentional look.

Join yarn to any corner. Round 1: Ch 1, work 3 sc in corner, sc evenly around the entire blanket, working 3 sc into each corner. Join with a slip stitch to the first sc.

Round 2: Ch 3, dc in same st, ch 1, skip 1, dc in next st, repeat around, working (dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc) into each corner. Join.

Round 3: Sl st into first ch-1 sp, ch 1, sc in same sp, ch 3, sl st into 3rd chain from hook (picot made), sc in next ch-1 sp, repeat around. Join and fasten off.

This three-round border creates a clean frame with a delicate picot edge that complements the open, lacy feeling of the filet interior without competing with the sunshine motif.

Tips for Working Filet Crochet Successfully

The biggest challenge most people encounter with filet crochet is keeping accurate count. Because the pattern relies on precise placement of open and filled squares, losing track of your count can shift the entire motif sideways. There are a few things that make this much easier.

Print your chart and keep a ruler or sticky note beneath the row you are currently working. Check off each row as you complete it. This sounds simple, but it is genuinely one of the most effective ways to keep yourself oriented, especially as the design gets more complex.

Work in good light. Filet crochet in particular benefits from strong, clear lighting because you need to see your stitches clearly to place them accurately. Working in dim light leads to miscounts much more easily.

If you notice a mistake several rows back, do not panic. Many small errors in filet crochet are barely visible in the finished piece, particularly if they are in the background mesh rather than within the motif itself. Use your judgment about whether it is worth frogging back. Often, especially for a blanket that will be used rather than displayed in a frame, small inconsistencies disappear entirely in the finished project.

Tension consistency matters a great deal in this pattern. Try to keep your tension as even as possible throughout, particularly in how tightly you work your chain-2 spaces. Tension that drifts tighter or looser over the course of the project can make rows look different from each other and disrupt the visual regularity of the grid.

Block your finished blanket. Filet crochet opens up beautifully with blocking, and the sunshine motif will pop much more clearly after the piece has been wet-blocked or steam-blocked and laid flat to dry. This is especially true with cotton yarn, which really transforms with blocking.

Customizing the Hello Sunshine Filet Blanket

One of the most enjoyable things about filet crochet is how easy it is to customize once you understand the grid structure.

Change the size. To make a larger blanket, simply add more mesh squares to the right and left of the motif and add rows above and below. To make a baby blanket, you can reduce the overall dimensions. Just keep in mind that the foundation chain needs to be divisible by 3, plus 2, to maintain the grid math.

Add a name or date. Filet crochet is well-suited to lettering because letters can be charted on a grid just like any other motif. You can find filet alphabet charts online and incorporate a name or date below or above the sunshine — a beautiful personalization for a baby shower gift or a housewarming present.

Change the yarn weight. Working this pattern in fingering or sport weight yarn will give you a much finer, lacier result. It will take more time and yardage, but the result is exquisite — almost like lacework. Working it in bulky yarn will give you a cozy, graphic version that works up very quickly.

Work it in two colors. Though filet crochet is traditionally worked in a single color, you can use intarsia or carry techniques to work the sunshine motif in one color and the background mesh in another. This creates a striking, clearly defined design and gives the blanket a playful, bold look.

Finished Project Care

Care instructions will depend on the yarn you chose. For cotton or cotton blends, machine washing on a gentle cycle in cool water and laying flat to dry is generally ideal. For acrylic, most fibers are fully machine washable. For wool or wool blends, hand washing in cool water and blocking flat is the safest approach.

If you are making this as a gift, including a small care card with the yarn information is a thoughtful touch that lets the recipient care for it properly for years to come.

Why This Pattern Is Worth Your Time

There is a reason filet crochet has been beloved by makers for well over a century. It is one of those techniques that bridges the gap between craft and art — the finished pieces look like they belong in a gallery or an heirloom trunk, but they are made with accessible tools and basic stitches. The Hello Sunshine Filet Blanket specifically takes that timeless technique and fills it with optimism. There is something genuinely joyful about working a sunshine into your stitches.

Whether you are making it for yourself, for someone you love, or for a nursery that needs a little warmth on the walls, this blanket is the kind of project that makes you feel proud every single time you look at it. The open mesh catches light beautifully. The sunshine motif is bold and sweet at the same time. The border finishes it like a frame around a painting.

This is a project worth your time, your yarn, and your skill. And it is entirely free.

Happy hooking, and let your sunshine shine.

Pattern designed for Truly Crochet. All rights reserved. This pattern is free for personal use. Please do not redistribute or sell this pattern. Items made from this pattern may be sold; please credit Truly Crochet as the designer.