May
So You Want to Make a Granny Square Blanket
Okay so the basic granny square is like THE easiest thing once you get it but the first time I tried to figure it out back in spring 2022 I literally sat there for like an hour being confused about where to put my hook. I was watching Ozark at the time and had to keep pausing it because I couldn’t concentrate on both things.
The classic granny square starts with a magic ring or you can just chain 4 and slip stitch it into a circle if the magic ring feels too fancy. Honestly I always do the chain 4 method because I’m lazy and it works fine. You’re gonna chain 3 (counts as first double crochet), then do 2 more double crochets into that ring. That’s your first cluster.
Then chain 2. That’s your corner space. Do 3 double crochets, chain 2, and repeat that three more times so you have four corners total. Slip stitch to the top of your starting chain 3 and boom you have round one.
Round Two and Beyond
This is where people get tripped up but it’s actually super repetitive. Slip stitch into the corner space (that chain-2 space from the previous round). Chain 3 again, do 2 double crochets in that same corner space, chain 2, then 3 more double crochets in the same space. You just made a corner.
Now chain 1 and go to the next corner space. Do the same thing – 3 double crochets, chain 2, 3 double crochets. Chain 1, next corner, repeat. Keep going around.
For round three you’re doing the exact same thing BUT now you have those chain-1 spaces between corners. So you’ll do your corner (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc), then chain 1, do 3 double crochets in that chain-1 space from the previous round, chain 1, then do your next corner. Each round adds one more cluster between the corners.
I usually make my squares about 6 or 7 rounds each. Some people do bigger squares but then you need fewer of them and honestly the joining process is what annoyed me SO MUCH when I made my big blanket in summer 2024. Like I had 80 squares and I thought I was being smart by making them all first and then joining but it took forever and my hands cramped.
Yarn Choices That Actually Matter
So for that summer 2024 blanket I used Red Heart Super Saver because I needed a LOT of yarn and didn’t want to spend like $200. I know people have opinions about Red Heart but whatever it’s durable and comes in a million colors. I did a rainbow situation with white borders on each square.
I’ve also used Caron Simply Soft which is nicer feeling but more expensive. For a baby blanket I made I used Bernat Baby Blanket yarn but that’s really thick so you’d use a bigger hook and probably only need like 4 rounds per square.
The thing about yarn weight is that it totally changes your project. With worsted weight (the normal medium weight) I use a 5.0mm or 5.5mm hook. The Red Heart Super Saver I used a 5.5mm. If you use bulky yarn you’re looking at like an 8mm or bigger hook and your blanket will work up way faster but also use more yarn per square if that makes sense.
How Many Squares Do You Actually Need
Okay so math time which I hate but you gotta figure this out. A typical granny square with worsted weight yarn and 6-7 rounds is gonna be about 5 to 6 inches across. For a throw blanket that’s maybe 50×60 inches you need like 10 squares by 12 squares so 120 squares total.
That’s… a lot. I’m not gonna lie to you.
For my summer 2024 blanket I did 8 squares by 10 squares (80 total) and it came out to about 40×50 inches which is more of a lap blanket size. Took me like two months working on it most evenings. My cat kept trying to lay on the squares while I was arranging them which was cute but also annoying because she’d scatter them everywhere.
You can make bigger squares to reduce the number you need. If you do like 10-12 rounds per square they’ll be about 9-10 inches and then you only need like 6×7 squares for a decent sized blanket. But bigger squares take longer individually so it kinda evens out.
The Joining Methods Nobody Explains Well
There’s like fifty ways to join granny squares and everyone has their favorite but I’ll tell you what I actually do. The whip stitch method is probably easiest – you just line up two squares wrong sides together and whip stitch through both loops along the edge. It creates a little ridge on the right side which some people hate but I think it looks fine and adds texture.
The join-as-you-go method is supposedly more efficient because you join the last round of each square to the previous squares as you’re making them. I tried this once and messed it up so bad because I wasn’t paying attention to which sides connected to what. If you’re more organized than me it might work great though.
Slip stitch joining is flatter but harder to keep even tension. You slip stitch through both squares and it creates almost no ridge but if you pull too tight it puckers and if you’re too loose it gaps. I don’t have the patience for it honestly.
For my 2024 blanket I did whip stitch joining with the same white yarn I used for the borders. Took forever like I said. My thumb was actually sore for like three days after I finished because of all the needle pulling.
Color Planning or Just Winging It
You can plan out your colors all fancy with charts and stuff or you can just make squares in whatever colors you feel like and arrange them later. I’ve done both ways.
The 2024 blanket I made a specific number of each rainbow color – 10 red, 10 orange, 10 yellow, etc. Then arranged them in a pattern when I was done. Laid them all out on my living room floor which my cat thought was a new bed situation.
For a different blanket I made in like 2023 I literally just grabbed whatever yarn color I wanted each time and ended up with this totally random scrappy looking thing. It was actually kind of cool in a chaotic way.
If you’re doing a scrappy blanket from leftover yarn you gotta make sure the yarn weights are all the same though. Don’t mix worsted and bulky or your squares will be different sizes and joining them will make you want to cry.
Border Situations
Most people do a border around the whole blanket after joining all the squares. I usually do like 2-3 rounds of single crochet or maybe one round of single crochet then a round of shells or something.
The border helps even out any wonkiness from the joining process and makes it look more finished. You can skip it if you want but the edges might be a little wavy.
For the border you’re gonna work single crochets around the entire blanket, putting 3 sc in each corner to help it lay flat. Count your stitches on each side and make sure they’re relatively even or one side will be tighter than the others.
I usually do a different color for the border than the main blanket. On my rainbow one I did white to match the square borders. On other blankets I’ve done black or gray or whatever color I have the most of leftover.
Things That Will Probably Go Wrong
Your tension is gonna be inconsistent at first and some squares will be bigger than others. This is normal and annoying. You can block them to try to get them the same size – like wet them and pin them out to dry in the right shape. I’ve done this and it helps but it’s tedious.
You’re gonna lose count of which round you’re on. I still do this constantly. Just frog it back if you mess up or honestly sometimes I just add an extra round to make squares match if one ended up smaller.
The magic ring might come undone if you don’t secure it well. This happened to me on like 5 squares and I wanted to throw them across the room. Now I weave in that starting tail really thoroughly and tug on it to test before I weave in the end.
Weaving in ends is the WORST part of this whole project. Each square has at least 2 ends, so if you make 100 squares that’s 200 ends minimum. More if you change colors within a square. I usually weave them in as I go now instead of saving them all for the end because doing 200 ends in a row made me question my life choices.
Yarn Amounts You’ll Need
This depends so much on your square size and how many you’re making but I’ll give you rough estimates. For worsted weight yarn and 6-inch squares you need maybe 15-20 yards per square. So for 100 squares you’re looking at 1500-2000 yards total.
Red Heart Super Saver comes in like 364 yard skeins so you’d need 5-6 skeins if you’re doing all one color. For my rainbow blanket with white borders I used about 2 skeins of each color (so 14 skeins total for 7 colors) plus like 4 skeins of white for all the borders and joining.
Buy more yarn than you think you need because dye lots are a thing and if you run out halfway through you might not be able to match the color exactly. I learned this the hard way on a different project where I had to rip out squares and redo them with less rounds because I ran out of the main color.
Variations If You Get Bored
The classic granny square is all double crochets but you can switch it up. I’ve made solid granny squares where you don’t do the chain-1 spaces between clusters – you just do clusters right next to each other with only the corner chain-2 spaces. Makes a denser square with no holes.
You can also do different stitch patterns in the squares like popcorn stitches in the corners or treble crochets instead of double crochets for a lacier look or… actually there’s a million variations and I don’t remember them all but you can find them if you google around.
Some people do granny hexagons instead of squares which is a whole different joining situation. I’ve never tried it because the geometry seems complicated.
Color changes within a square can be cool too – like doing each round a different color for a rainbow effect within each square. Just means more ends to weave in which brings me back to that being the worst part.
Actually Using the Thing When You’re Done
So after you spend like 50+ hours making this blanket you’re gonna want to use it right? Granny square blankets are pretty durable especially if you used acrylic yarn. I wash mine in the machine on gentle and lay flat to dry or tumble on low.
The holes from the chain spaces mean it’s not the warmest blanket ever but it’s fine for couch use. If you want a warmer version do the solid granny squares or add a fleece backing which I’ve never done but I’ve seen people do.
They also make good gifts if you hate someone and want them to feel obligated to use something that took you forever to make just kidding they’re actually nice gifts and people usually appreciate them even if they don’t fully understand how much work went into it.
My 2024 rainbow blanket lives on my couch now and I use it basically every evening. Worth the hand cramps and frustration honestly. The repetitive nature of making all those squares is kind of meditative once you get in the groove even though I complained about it the whole time.
