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In my humble opinion, granny squares are chicken soup for the crocheter's soul.
When I first began crocheting, I remember seeing the granny square in a beginner book and knew that I had to learn THAT! I remember the joy I felt after realizing that I could just continue going around and around, and the square would just get bigger.
Each of my babies had a large, single granny square blanket. My younger son named it Janie.
I see dozens of granny square patterns and get all dreamy-eyed looking at them.
Every so often, when I don't feel much like making anything else, a granny square is what I'll fiddle with to get my maker's mojo back.
So last month while poking around the Eat Sleep Knit website (you know...hanging around and trying to find what kind of yarnie trouble I could find), I found myself loading up my cart with Emma's Yarn Spectacular DK minis. I have several fingering weight minis, but not DK, and I thought that DK would be a fabulous weight for a small patchwork grannyghan.
Nothing fancy; just simple granny squares joined as I make them, then border with, maybe, a neutral speckled yarn. It could be something to put on the back of the couch in my yarn loft. Maybe it will motivate me to make the granny covering I've always wanted to do for the broke-down ottoman I have up there (not so motivating for this year, though; thinking maybe next year).
I ended up with 27 mini skeins in my cart. I'm going to granny as far as I can with each skein, and call it a day. I did that once years ago with some Red Heart tweed (much bigger skeins, though) and liked how it came out. I'm not certain how big the squares will be, but I think a full DK mini will give me a nice sized square. If it's not a size that I like, I'll lay it out in a way that will be easy to add on squares before the border.
Because...I can always pick up more minis...right?!
Now...27 squares...hmmmm...not the best planning on my part.
I could make the blanket 3 squares x 9 squares, but I don't think that will be wide enough. I could do 5x5, but I want more of a rectangle than square. If I do 4x6, then that's 24 skeins leaving me with 3. And with the 3, I could always make a pillow.
Someday, I'm going to be THAT woman whose couch is full of handmade pillows...hahaha!!
Back to the grannyghan...
I thought about arranging the skeins in rainbow order but if I'm being completely honest, I don't want to put that much thought into it. I think what I will do is ask a member of my family to close their eyes and pick a skein out of a bag. The only rule I will have is to not have two solid/semi-solid blocks next to each other. I sort of like the idea of it having a random look, and finishing it with a skein of Spectacular DK in After Party will be fun.
There are several granny square patterns out there, and I'll share with you how I will make mine for this project. Now...this isn't the way I originally learned how to do a granny square, but it's what I will be using so I can join them in the chain spaces on the last rounds.
How I'm Making My Patchwork Grannyghan Granny Squares
I won't know for sure until I make the first square, but I'm thinking a Size G/6 (4mm) hook will do the trick. If you're giving this granny square a try, use whatever hook best corresponds with the yarn you're using (check the label or the yarn listing on Ravelry for guidance).
NOTE: Granny square is made in joined rounds on the right side.
Create a magic circle.
Rnd 1: Ch 3 (this beg ch-3 counts as dc now and throughout), 2 dc in magic circle, ch 3, *3 dc in magic circle, ch 3; rep from * two times more, join with a sl st in top ch of beg ch-3. Pull the yarn tail to close up the magic circle.
Rnd 2: Sl st in the next 2 dc and ch-3 sp. Ch 3, (2 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in same ch-3 sp, ch 1, *(3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next ch-3 sp, ch 1; rep from * two times more, join with a sl st in top of beg ch-3.
Rnd 3: Sl st in the next 2 dc and ch-3 sp. Ch 3, (2 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in same ch-3 sp, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 1) in each ch-1 sp to corner, *(3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next ch-3 sp, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 1) in each ch-1 sp to corner; rep from * two times more, join with a sl st in top of beg ch-3.
Rep Rnd 3 as many times as you'd like for the size of your square.
How I'm Joining My Patchwork Grannyghan Granny Squares
In the last round of the granny squares, I am going to join the squares in the center chains at the corners, and the chain spaces between the 3-dc clusters. Depending on the placement of the square will determine at how many of these chain points I'll be joining.
The Layout
This is the type of layout I typically do with grannyghans unless I'm following another designer's pattern. I start with the top, lefthand corner, then attach one underneath that, then one to the right of the second (diagonally from the first), then above the third and to the right of the first. I continue in this fashion until I have the width I want, and then add more squares at the bottom for additional length.
Here's a quick diagram of my layout plan:
I could join in rows or columns, but I think this is much more fun! And it makes it easy to make it bigger should I need to.
I already know that I will probably need to make it bigger. This feels like it may be baby blanket size. We shall see!
The Border
I'm not 100% certain what I want to do yet. It depends on how large it ends up being. It may be a solid border like I typically do, or I may find a couple skeins and do something stripey. I'll see where creativity takes me when I get there.
Join the fun and make your own grannyghan! Use the instructions above to make your squares. I'll make a few reels on Instragram to show how to make the squares and attach them (I need 2 squares first, though). Make sure to tag me @yarngerie so I can cheer you on!
Next Time...
* See my first square.
* Will I need to make the grannyghan bigger? Smaller?
Stay tuned!
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