My sister requested a crochet version of this baby rattle. The end product was a plush more for decoration, but I have a method below that would make it into a rattle.

I have not crocheted in a long time. Months. Possibly at least a year. I very much consider myself a beginner. I actually had to refresh my mind on basic stitches for this one and also learned about crochet charts. Charts are such powerful tools for visual learners like myself!

I did manage to make my first pattern though! Not without making the pattern way too big at first.

First attempt at the top. About an inch too big. Never underestimate bulky yarn! Probably should have done a gauge swatch first.

There are definitely better ways to do this. This is just the way I found worked and made sense to me.

I used the Crochet Charts software to make this pattern. It is clunky and not the smoothest to use, but got the job done. See my review here.

I also wrote out the instructions if you prefer that format. The notation I use is the “Row # (color of yarn), total # of stitches in row when completed:”

For the yarn, I used Bernat baby blanket white & baby blue super bulky (6) yarn and bulky (5) Baby Bee pink (pink-a-boo) & yellow (bumblebee wings) adore-a-ball yarn. I wanted to keep it all consistent by using Bernat, but the craft store only had Baby Bee in stock.

Bulky & super bulky yarn can make it difficult to identify the stitches, so I highly recommend using stitch markers as needed.

Though the Baby Bee yarn recommends an 8mm crochet hook, I stuck with 9mm throughout the entire project. You can switch between 8mm and 9mm if you’re a stickler for having absolutely no gaps in the work.

See complete list of materials here.

The Rainbow

I made the rainbow in 4 pieces, and the loop around the ring as a separate piece. Part 1 is the front and top of the rainbow. Part 2 is the underside and back. Parts 3 and 4 are the two bottom end pieces.

Part 1

Part 1 consists of the front and top part of the rainbow (dark blue area in the first photo below).

Start with the yellow yarn. In the crochet chart bove, the starting point will be at the leftmost chain stitch at the center of the chart. Make a slip knot and place loop onto the crochet hook.

Beginning chain (yellow, 3 stitches): ch 3, turn

Row 1 (yellow, 5 stitches): tch 1, inc 1, sc 1, inc 1, before completing last stitch, switch color to white, turn

Row 2 (white, 9 stitches): tch 1, inc 2, sc 1, inc 2, before completing last stitch, switch color to blue, turn

Row 3 (blue, 19 stitches): tch 1, (inc 1, sc 1) four times, inc 1, before completing last stitch, switch color to pink, turn

Row 4 (pink, 19 stitches): tch 1, (inc 1, sc 2) four times, inc 1, sc 1, turn

You are now starting the top of the rainbow.

Row 5 (pink, 19 stitches): tch 1, sc flo 19, turn

Row 6 (pink, 19 stitches): tch 1, sc 19, turn

Row 7 (pink, 19 stitches): tch 1, sc 19, bind off (make a sl st and pull end of yarn through)

Part 2

Part 2 consists of the underside and the back of the rainbow (orange faces in the photo below). I realize now that I made the crochet chart different than I made the rainbow in real life. You can start this part two ways: ch 3 and make this a separate piece to be joined together later (like the crochet chart shows), or you can start it by (sc blo 1) three times into the foundation chain from Part 1 (shown in the photos below).

Either

Beginning chain (yellow), 3 stitches: slip knot onto hook, ch 3, turn

Row 1 (yellow), 3 stitches: tch 1, sc 3, turn

OR

Row 1 (yellow), 3 stitches: Stitch into the foundation chain from Part 1 (sc blo 1) three times, turn

The rest is the same for both methods:

Row 2 (yellow), 3 stitches: tch 1, sc 3, turn

Row 3 (yellow), 3 stitches: tch 1, sc 3, turn

You are now starting the back of the rainbow.

Row 4 (yellow), 5 stitches: tch 1, inc 1, sc 1, inc 1, before completing last stitch, switch color to white, turn

Row 5 (white), 9 stitches: tch 1, inc 2, sc 1, inc 2, before completing last stitch, switch color to blue, turn

Row 6 (blue), 14 stitches: tch 1, (inc 1, sc 1) four times, inc 1, before completing last stitch, switch color to pink, turn

Row 7 (pink), 19 stitches: tch 1, (inc 1, sc 2) four times, inc 1, sc 1, bind off with sl st

Parts 3 & 4

Parts 3 & 4 consist of the ends of the rainbow (white surfaces in the photo below).

[Start with yellow yarn. Make a slip knot onto the crochet hook.

Beginning chain (yellow), 3 stitches: ch 3, turn

Row 1 (yellow), 3 stitches: tch 1, sc 3, before completing last stitch, switch color to white, turn

Row 2 (white), 3 stitches: tch 1, sc 3, before completing last stitch, switch color to blue, turn

Row 3 (blue), 3 stitches: tch 1, sc 3, before completing last stitch, switch color to pink, turn

Row 4 (pink), 3 stitches: tch 1, sc 3, bind of with sl st]

Repeat once more to make the other end.

Joining The Pieces

My joining methods were inconsistent, so the seams have different looks. A.K.A. I messed up. Overall the bulky yarn helped soften the imperfections.

I knew I wanted to define an edge between the front and top of the rainbow and the back and top of the rainbow. My goal was to make a look similar look to the back loop only stitches (left).

To join part 1 to 2, I meant to turn the work wrong side out, join each sc stitch and back loop only (photo below), and turn the work right side out again. I did this on the right side by mistake and ended up with a sharper corner (above right photo).

The seam joint I made on the right side of the work. Oops.

Both edges softened up once the rainbow was filled with Polyfil.

Comparison of edges before and after stuffing the rainbow with Polyfil.

I joined the end pieces (Parts 3 & 4) by hand sewing them to the main body with a tapestry needle. I switched colors when needed to create a seamless look and tucked in the loose tails to hide them. It was a pain switching colors so often, but it was worth it!

The Loop

The loop is attached around the three top center stitches of the rainbow.

Aim for the middle 3 stitches in the 2nd top row. These are highlighted in green. The blue lines represent where the loop ends will attach. Start at the right side of the bottom blue line.

Start with a slip knot on the crochet hook.

Row 1 (white), 3 stitches: sc3 into the top of the rainbow, turn

Row 2 through 5 (white), 3 stitches each: tch 1, sc 3, turn

You should end up with 5 rows. Bind off with a slip stitch.

Slip the wooden ring around the work.

Bind off at the end of Row 5.

Join the loose end to the top of the rainbow with a tapestry needle.

Joining with tapestry needle.

Materials

  • Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in Baby Blue, super bulky (6), 100% polyester
  • Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in White, super bulky (6), 100% polyester
  • Baby Bee Adore-a-ball yarn in pink-a-boo, bulky (5), 100% polyester
  • Baby Bee Adore-a-ball yarn in bumblebee wings, bulky (5), 100% polyester
  • 9mm crochet hook
  • 50mm (~2in) wooden teething ring, I found some on Etsy
  • Polyfil
  • tapestry needle (or an unbent paper clip!)

Make it into a rattle!

Before you add the bottom pieces of the rainbow, fill a small plastic container with uncooked rice (any uncooked small bean would work too, like lentils or mung beans) and glue it closed. I was eyeing these makeup sample containers because they are the perfect size. The 3g or 5g size should work. Put one or two of these homemade shakers in the middle of the polyfill and close up the rainbow!