crochet

After crocheting what seems like a bazillion little granny squares, this is the fun part – putting them all together and finishing off the blanket!

(If you missed part one of this tutorial on how to plan your granny square blanket and make the squares, go here to Part 1 first.)

Joining the granny squares:

With your white/cream yarn, starting with your first square in the first row, attach the yarn to one corner ch 1 hole and then chain 3 (this will act as your first dbl crochet + chain 1). [ Dbl crochet 3 times into the same hole (this forms a corner of the square), chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1 ] Repeat 3 times until you’re at the hole you started on and then slip stitch into the 3rd chain from the beginning. Pull yarn through loop and cut, leaving a tail.

Now, you will move on to the second square in the first row and join it this way:

Attach the white/cream yarn to one corner ch 1 hole and then chain 3 (this will act as your first dbl crochet + chain 1).  [Dbl crochet 3 times into the same hole (this forms a corner of the square), chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1.] Repeat once and then stop! Poke your crochet hook through one corner chain of the first square. Slip stich through.

Ch 1, dbl crochet 3 times in same hole (of second square), chain 1, [dbl crochet 1 time in the next hole, then find the middle dbl crochet of the adjacent “dbl crochet 3” on your first square and slip stich through. Dbl crochet 2 times, ch 1] Repeat from [ to ]. Dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1. Slip stitch into the 3rd chain from the beginning. Pull yarn through loop and cut, leaving a tail.

You’ll repeat this pattern for the entire first row of 12 squares.

On the next rows, when you need to join one square to others, only crochet up one side, and then start attaching it to the other squares.

Here’s a picture showing a slip stitch through the corner chains to attach the square corners together.

The blanket is 16 rows long, so this part takes a while. I would suggest to take a “break” every few rows and weave in the ends on the back of the blanket so that you’re not weaving them ALL in at the end (which is really annoying)!

Once the entire 16 rows of 12 are joined, you’re ready to edge the blanket.

Finishing the blanket:

I chose a very simple bobble edge so that the colourful granny squares were the stars of this piece!

I single crocheted for two rows around the entire perimeter of the blanket, and then I used this lovely pattern to make bobble edging. Isn’t it cute and quirky?

Weave in all of those pesky ends and your done!

I think we’ll cuddle up with this blankie on our living room couch, and then when our new house is built and Baby A has her own nursery, it will reside there. I like that it’s soft and made of natural fibers.

I’m totally in love with this crocheted granny square blanket – it’s retro-cuteness at it’s finest. And I’m really proud of it!

Have you ever crocheted a blanket? Please share your finished projects in the comments below.

I fell in love with vintage-looking granny square blankets last spring when I saw them all over Pinterest. I especially liked the ones with vibrantly coloured squares surrounded by white or cream stitches. So pretty!

I made it my mission starting last May to crochet a granny square blankie that I could use for my baby girl (or just as a throw in our living room). This project took me a long time (8 months!) but it was well worth the effort. And, honestly – it was a relaxing little project that was easy to pick up any time.

The pattern was concocted by staring at a million pictures of blankets I loved, and with the help of my mom who is wonderful at eyeballing crocheted works and duplicating them. I used a really soft and lovely organic cotton sport-weight yarn from Knit Picks. It was nice to work with and also budget-friendly. The yarn has since been discontinued, but check out Knit Picks for other inexpensive yarns in natural fibers.

Here’s how I made this blanket (I’ll divide this tutorial into two parts because it’s quite long)!

Finished blanket measures approximately 48″ by 64″. Gauge isn’t really important unless you want the blanket to be exactly this size (if so, the squares should measure about 4″ wide).

Materials:

• 2 skeins each of 8 different colours of yarn (164 yard skeins)
• 8 skeins of white/cream coloured yarn (164 yard skeins)
• size J crochet hook
• yarn needle

Directions:

Need help with basic crochet stitches and techniques? I recommend taking a Crafsty class on basic crochet.

Making the Squares

I made 12 different combinations of granny squares and I mixed up the colours in a way that was visually appealing to me. If you look at this photo, you can see the basic pattern I used. Feel free to copy it, or it’s a lot of fun to come up with your own colour combos with the different colours of yarn.

Plan the colours that will go into each of the 12 different granny squares, and then make them like this:

Chain 4, slip stich into the first chain to form a loop. Chain 3 (this will count as your first double crochet cluster and chain) and then dbl crochet into the loop, but don’t do the last step of the dbl crochet (leaving 2 loops on your hook). Dbl crochet into the loop again, and then on the final step pull your yarn through all the loops on your hook. This forms a double crochet cluster. Chain 1.

Repeat a dbl chrochet cluster + chain 1 6 more times so that you have 8 dbl crochet clusters on your loop. Slip stitch into the 3rd chain of your first faux dbl crochet cluster. Pull yarn through loop and cut, leaving a tail.

With your second chosen colour of yarn, attach it in a chain one hole. Chain3 (this will act as your first dbl crochet + chain 1).  [Dbl crochet into the next chain 1 hole 3 times. Chain 1. ] Repeat until you’re at the hole you began with, dbl crochet 2 times and slip stitch into the third chain you started with. Pull yarn through loop and cut, leaving a tail.

With a third colour, attach yarn to one of the chain 1 holes of the previous round. Chain 3 (this will act as your first dbl crochet + chain 1). [ Dbl crochet 3 times into the same hole (this forms a corner of the square), chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1, dbl crochet 3 times into the next hole, chain 1 ] Repeat 3 times until you’re at the hole you started on and then slip stitch into the 3rd chain from the beginning. Pull yarn through loop and cut, leaving a tail.

You will need to make 16 of each of the 12 squares. I used a tin to store them in. This is a great project to do a bit at the time – do a couple of squares each night as you relax!

Click here to move to Part 2 – Joining the Squares and Finishing the Blanket