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,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The use of ''afghan'' in the English language for a textile object goes back to at least 1831, when Thomas Carlyle mentioned "Afghaun shawls" in his ''

Sartor Resartus ''Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' is an 1831 novel by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in November 1833 – August ...

''. 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 A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, a ...

, and was being mentioned in novels:

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 a number of 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 A granny square is a piece of square fabric produced in crochet by working in rounds from the center outward. Granny squares are traditionally handmade as crochet cannot be manufactured by machine. They resemble coarse lace. Although there is ...

. 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.Senior
Kathryn. "What Is a Graphghan & How Do You Crochet One?" The Craftsy Blog. N.p., 01 Dec. 2017. Web. 16 Apr. 2018.

References

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