An afghan is a blanket or shawl, usually knitted or crocheted. It is sometimes also called a "throw" of indeterminate size. Afghans are often used as bedspreads, or as a decoration on the back of couches or chairs.

Etymology

The word ''afghan'' refers to the people of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The use of ''afghan'' in the English language for a textile object goes back to at least 1831, when

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

mentioned "Afghan shawls" in his ''

Sartor Resartus ''Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' is a novel by the Scottish people, Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in November 1833 ...

''. By 1860, ''Afghan'' as a noun, not an adjective, denoted a type of handicrafted object shown at state fairs and other exhibitions, along with patchwork and knitted quilts, and was being mentioned in novels:

History

The Afghan blankets and shawls may have roots in the rich textile tradition of Afghanistan which consisted of geometric designs made with many crocheted or knitted squares of yarn sewn together into a fabric.

Types and styles

There are many styles of afghans: * Single-piece afghans are the simplest style to make and are especially popular with beginners. * ''Mile-a-minute'' afghans are usually made in many separate strips, with a minimum of stitches per strip, and then the strips are joined. * ''Join-as-you-go'' afghans are made up of many different pieces, one of which begins where the last leaves off. * ''Motif'' afghans are composed of many small motifs, squares, or blocks, such as a granny square. These motifs may be all of the same design or of different designs. However, to make it easier to join the motifs into an afghan, the blocks are typically the same size. Some favor the motif style because of its portability and versatility of design. The motif style is still a very popular and a complex design for making blankets, scarves, etc. Although not a requirement, an edge or border is most often added to nicely finish off the blanket. * A ''graphghan'' is an afghan made by following a flat chart. This method uses a grid of colored squares to create a visual design. There are three main methods to making a graphghan: pixel crochet, corner-to-corner crochet, and tapestry crochet.

References

Blankets Jackets Shawls and wraps Crochet {{textile-arts-stub