Happy Granny Square Day 2022

 Well here it is. There are not many days celebrated in the UK with such a riot of colour going on. It never fails to lift my spirit to go on Instagram and browse all of the colourful contributions from all over the world.

Having said that, my contribution is a bit muted, but I love it.

This started life out as a jumper then I changed my mind and decided to make it a blanket then I changed my mind again and now it's a jacket 😁. Who knows what it will end up being. I just love the variegated yarn. It is King Cole Riot DK and is crocheted in four shades. Domino is the joining shade and the colour sections are a mix of Urban, Autumn and Funky and as of today 15/8/2022 still available on the Wool Warehouse website in the UK.

The humble granny square is still relatively new in the yarn world with the first granny square pattern appearing in Weldon's Practical Needlework in 1897. The first granny square is thought to have been crocheted in 1891 in the USA. The only difference to today's granny square is that they used two trebles per cluster back then.

The name granny square was adopted for these versatile creations as it was mostly the older female generation who crocheted them.

The granny square has come and gone in fashion over the decades largely due to the granny image that couldn't be shaken off. However, since around 2008 granny squares and crochet in general has had a massive resurgence thanks, in no small part, (in my opinion) to Lucy of the now legendary Attic24 blog and shows no sign of waning.

Every pattern on Lucy's blog is free and a breathe of fresh air to read. You are in for a treat if you have never seen it before. Find attic24 here.

The versatility of the granny square is seemingly endless. So far I have made granny square hats, cowls, wrist warmers, jumpers, coasters, lamp shades, blankets, bags, bunting, shawls and many more on my to-do list. This is not to mention the variations of the granny square e.g. granny stripe, granny triangles, granny circles (just think mandalas).

Apparently, the number of people who learned to crochet during lock down more than doubled worldwide with many stating that it helped their mental health during this time.. Maybe the granny square is not so humble after all.

I do hope you also enjoy Granny Square Day, whether you have joined in before or not your in for a colourful treat especially on Instagram.

If you have never crocheted a granny square before but would like to learn then here is a link to my YouTube video How to Crochet A UK Granny Square.

Lastly, and to add a bit more colour to this post-here is a picture of a granny square bag I designed recently. The flowers are from the attic24 blog here Attic24 Teeny Tiny Flowers.

Happy Granny Square Day

Sue x

Crochet Granny Stripe Blanket Afghan Free Pattern

The humble granny stripe has been around longer than you might think. Not long before her death in January 1901, Queen Victoria crocheted 8 granny stripe scarves that were to be issued to "the best all-round men taking" part in the South African War campaign.

Only six of the scarves are known to exist to this day, 5 of them in museums around the world and 1 owned privately.

Articles about the scarves crocheted by Queen Victoria incorrectly refer to them as being hand-knitted - a bug bear of many a crocheter.

Today I am sharing my own take on the granny stripe blanket/afghan pattern with a crab stitch border below:

For this blanket I used two strands of Stylecraft Special DK held together throughout.

UK crochet terms

Finished size approx 78” x 78” or 192 x 192 cm

The quantities listed are for a double bed size blanket

You will need

4 of each of the following colours;                 

Duck egg

Vintage peach

Mushroom

Camel

Wisteria

Pistachio

Buttermilk   

6 mm Crochet hook

Possibly a 6.5 mm crochet hook for the foundation chain or loosen your tension for this row.

If you want to adjust the size of your blanket then the rule of thumb for a granny stripe is to chain in multiples of three and then add two more chains. So for this blanket I chained 195 then added two more at the end to total 197.

Choose your preferred order of colours. I laid one of each colour in a row then took a photo, mixing them up and taking photos of each mix every time, then chose the most appealing order for me.

I chose to use the pistachio colour intermittently; otherwise I kept the order of colour throughout.

You may wish to use a larger hook for the foundation chain because if it is worked too tightly your blanket will be distorted.

Row 1 - Chain 197 and work one double crochet (dc) in 2^nd chain from hook. Then work a dc in each chain until you reach the end. 196 stitches (sts). Now turn your work ready to go back the other way.

Row 2 – Chain 3, work 1 treble (tr) into the first stitch. *Miss 2 sts and then work 3 tr into the next st*. Repeat from * to * until 3 sts before the end, miss 2 sts and work 2 tr into the last st. Turn.

Row 3 – Chain 3 and working in the space between the trebles on the previous row, work 3 tr. Work 3 tr into each space between the trebles on the previous row until the last stitch – this will be the 3^rd chain of the chain 3 you made at the start of the previous row, make 1 tr stopping when you have 2 sts left on your crochet hook.

Cut the first colour leaving a tail. Finish the 2 sts left on your crochet hook with your next colour. Tie the tails of the 2 colours once to hold in place. You are now ready to continue. Turn.

I find this method of joining in new colours the neatest.

Row 4 – Chain 3, work 1 tr in to the first space between the trebles of the previous row.

Now work 3 trebles in each space between the trebles of the previous row until you get to the final space. Work 1 tr into the space and 1 tr into the 3^rd chain of the chain 3 at the beginning of the previous row. Again, I think this practice makes the neatest edge. Turn.

Row 5 – Chain 3, work 3 trebles into each space between the trebles of the previous row.

Once you reach the end of the row make 1 tr into the 3^rd chain of the ch 3 at the start of the previous row, stopping when you have 2 sts left on your crochet hook.

Cut this colour leaving a tail and complete the treble with the next colour. Tie the tail ends together once.

You may find it easier to sew your tail ends in as you go as it is an enormous job to tackle at the end.

Repeat rows 4 and 5, working two rows of each colour until the desired length has been reached. Fasten off.

Border

I made a row of double crochet all the way round the edge of my blanket, working 3 double crochet in each corner.

Then I finished with a round of crab stitch. This gives the edging a nice rope effect that I thought was fitting for this chunky blanket.

Crab stitch is just a reverse double crochet and is completed as follows;

Join yarn to any side of your blanket and ch 1.

Insert your hook in the stitch to the right of your ch 1. Grab your yarn and pull through – 2 sts on hook.

Yarn over your hook and pull through these last 2 sts and that’s it. You follow this all the way round your blanket doing exactly the same, even on the corners.

Be prepared to have to twist your hook around a bit more than usual in order to pick up your yarn going in this direction. It may seem a bit awkward at first but go slowly, you’ll be fine.