Granny square blanket for beginners – did that catch your attention? Let’s get into it!
Check out part one to this adventure here:
My left-handed granny square blanket adventure – Pt 1
Granny square blanket for beginners
I consider myself a so-so crocheter.
I’ve crocheted for two decades, but I kept it very simple with lots of double and triple stitch scarves using all kinds of beautiful textured yarn.
This year I decided to pare down my art supplies in a meaningful way.
Rather than donate, I challenged myself to use them to learn new skills. And maybe learn something new about myself!
I started my granny square blanket towards the end of December and worked on it almost every night for eight weeks. I even took my yarn when I traveled and crocheted in the hotel room! I am the type of person who gets very hyper-focused on one project at a time!
My intention was to use up all of my scrap yarn. I thought the bulkier the better, it would help me go faster. But then I ran out of my bulky yarn, or at least the colors I wanted to use, and that’s where the challenge came in.
BUT I DID IT!!!
I’m going to hold your hand, step-by-step. For context: My blanket is nine rows down and eight squares across.
Definitely check out my first post to get directions of how to actually crochet a granny square.
This is part two where I show how to put it all together.
Things I wish (as a beginner) I would’ve known before I started my granny square blanket:
Give yourself, grace, patience, and comfy time. This should not be a stressful project. Yes, there are moments of learning anxiety, but overall this is a very relaxing craft, and you will feel so good when you are finished!
Decide what kind of blanket you want to make, and what it will be used for. Will it be a lightweight baby blanket or a heavy, weighted blanket (like mine)! If you feel nervous, start with a baby blanket, and work your way up.
Use the same weight of yarn throughout the whole blanket. I used all scrap pieces and even though it looks great, the unevenness threw me off when it came to putting it all together.
Make extra. I made a total of 80 granny squares, knowing I needed 72. My blanket is nine-rows long and eight-rows across. I’m soooo happy I made those extra squares because a few were wonky. The extras worked really well as replacements. I did have some leftover and we’re currently using those as potholders!
Sort by fiber. Consider what types of yarn feel best against your skin. If you use acrylic yarn, it might be a little itchy, unless if it’s going to be a bedspread where you won’t be directly touching it. Softer and organic yarns are great for a cozy, cuddly vibe.
Once you have all your squares done, it’s time to add a border to each one. NOTE: You can also do this square-by-square.
Create the border on each square
The most common way: Use the same type of yarn to double-stitch around each square, and then stitch all the squares together. This will give an even border to each of the other squares and tie it all together, so it looks uniform.
Rather than use only one type of yard for the borders, use a different color for each row. That way it will still be vibrant and colorful, but will still have some order to it.
You know what? Just freestyle! Why not just use contrasting yarn for each square so each one is like a snowflake and completely different from the other others?
Blocking the squares
Buy or make a block with holes and pegs.
Mist each square with water and insert the corners on each peg.
Let dry and remove.
They are all perfectly square!
I only had one block form, so I blacked a stack every few hours. It took about three days to block all the squares.
Joining the squares!
SUPPLIES: Yarn needle, yarn.
I am going to share a professional video for this part because I’m a newbie and I feel like I’m still learning this.
However, it is pretty easy to join all of the squares.
Cut a long piece of yarn and thread it through a large yarn needle.
You are going to line up the squares with the fronts facing in. That means the wrong side of the crochet square should be facing out on both sides.
And then you simply put the needle through the top two back-stitches on both sides. The back stitch put the needle through the back stitch on each side and just keep going around until you reach the end of the row. Once you have those two joined together, you can keep adding them one-by-one until you are done with the row.
To connect the rows, you will do the same thing.
Either weave in or tie knots between each square to keep them all together. The more polished way is to weave in the yarn tails. I thought I did that, but now that I have been using my blanket, some of them have become unwoven. So I probably did it wrong, But I plan to do is tie a little piece of yarn on each square. Of course I will choose a cute color and have some texture with it!
To stitch all those squares together, I invited some friends over and we had dinner, we laughed and chatted while sewing all the squares together. Between the four of us, it took about 2 1/2 hours. The next day, I tackled sewing all the rows together. Once I got the hang of it, it went really fast and I finished in two hours!
Add a border
This is a double crochet going into the top stitch all the way around the blanket. For the border, I used scrap yarn as well. One side is smoky gray with metallic thread and the other half is a bright teal. I love the fact that I was able to use up so much of my yarn stash. I went from two bins down to one. And yes, I absolutely want to make another granny square blanket! I think I will work on one over the summer…
What I really love about this project is that it is so compact. You don’t have to worry about crocheting row after row after row the granny squares are so easy once you get the hang of it and they look so good!
Lastly, spread out your blanket and see what it needs. I found a gorgeous crochet corazón applique a friend made and gave to me. I used embroidery thread to stitch it on the front.
I LOVE IT!!!
Here is the final look:
