Crochet a granny-square blanket

A granny square is a small square of crochet worked in rounds from the centre out. It is one of the best things to learn with a hook: each one is quick, a pile of them makes a blanket, and the same simple move repeats every round. This guide uses US terms, which differ from UK terms. A US double crochet (dc) is a UK treble.

Choosing yarn and a hook

Pick a smooth yarn in light or mid colours, because dark yarn hides the stitches and makes mistakes hard to spot. Worsted weight is easy to see and handle. Use the hook the label suggests, or one size up if your stitches feel tight. Choose three or four colours that look good together, and keep the same yarn weight and fibre for all of them so the squares behave alike.

What to bring, beyond the list

• Scissors and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends.
• A tape measure, to check each square comes out the same size.
• A bag or basket for finished squares.

How to crochet a granny square

1. Make a ring. Chain 4 and join with a slip stitch into the first chain to make a circle. The magic ring works too, if you know it.
2. Round 1. Chain 3 (this counts as your first double crochet) and work 2 double crochet into the ring. Chain 2 for the first corner. Work 3 double crochet into the ring, chain 2, and repeat until you have four clusters of three, each separated by a chain-2 corner. Join to the top of the starting chain 3 with a slip stitch.
3. Move to a corner. Slip stitch over the next two stitches and into the first chain-2 space. This is also where you can change colour: join the new yarn in that space and cut the old one.
4. Round 2, first corner. Chain 3, then work 2 double crochet in the corner space. Chain 2, then work 3 double crochet in the same space.
5. Round 2, the rest. Chain 1, then in the next corner space work 3 double crochet, chain 2, 3 double crochet. Repeat for the other corners. Finish with chain 1 and join to the top of the starting chain 3 with a slip stitch.
6. Every round after. Work a corner (3 dc, chain 2, 3 dc) in each corner space. Along the sides, work 3 dc into each chain-1 space from the round before, with a chain 1 between clusters. Each round adds one cluster to each side.
7. Finish. When the square is the size you want, cut the yarn, pull the tail through the last loop and weave in the ends.

Joining squares

Lay the squares out on the floor and shuffle them until the colours feel balanced. You can sew them together with a tapestry needle, or join them with slip stitch or single crochet through both edges. A border of single crochet around the outside neatens the blanket.

What goes wrong

• The square curls. Your stitches are too tight. Go up a hook size. If it ripples and ruffles instead, they are too loose, so go down.
• It isn’t square. Count the clusters on each side. A side with an extra or a missing one means a space was skipped, or two clusters went into one gap.
• The chain space is hard to find. It is the gap under the chain, not the top of the stitches. Look for the little arch and put your hook through it.
• A hole at the corner. Corners always leave a small gap. It is part of the pattern.
• My squares are different sizes. Tension changes with mood and time of day. Blocking, gently wetting and shaping each one flat, evens them out before you join them.

Making one a night

Keep a ball of yarn and a hook by the sofa and make one square on a quiet evening. Done across a season, a few weeks of squares adds up to a blanket, and each one holds the colours you picked. Wash and block finished squares lightly if the yarn label allows it.

Make it a winter evening

Start with a single square tonight, with a hot drink and something on in the background. If you like company, bring your hook to a game night and work between turns. When the pile is big enough, the blanket is ready for a blanket fort.