Granny Square Crochet For Beginners

US Version

Shelley Husband

Published by Shelley Husband at Smashwords

Copyright 2015 Shelley Husband

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of ContentsGranny Squares

What will you need?

What makes a Granny Square a Granny Square?

How to hold the hook

Granny Square Instructions

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Rounds 4 and onwards

Finishing off an Weaving in Ends

Changing Colour

Blocking

Joining

Connect with Shelley Husband

Granny Squares Granny Squares have traditionally been made to use up scraps of left over yarn. I am sure you have seen giant granny square rugs made with random colours. Nowadays though, Granny Squares are more often made with thought about colour placement and style.

This eBook will give you all the skills you need to make Granny Squares. Even if you have never picked up a hook and yarn before, I will show you step by step how to make your very first granny square.

If you live in the US or a lot of other places in the world, then this version is right for you. If you live in the UK, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa, you may find the UK Terms version of this ebook more useful.

There are many, many ways to do this granny thing. These instructions are my way. I'm not saying it's the only way, just the way that works best for me. If you are interested in other ways, I have done a bit of a study of granny squares over on my blog. It's a 4 part series that begins here. You will discover there I have a few tricks and tips to make things look even better once you get the hang of how to make granny squares.

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What will you need?You will need a crochet hook, some yarn, scissors and a yarn needle. The hook size doesn't matter too much - anything from a 4 mm to a 5 mm will be fine if you are using 8ply (DK or Light Worsted). Match your hook size to what is on the label of the yarn you're using to start off with. I like to use cotton yarn as it gives great stitch definition and is nice and soft. You can use whatever you want, of course.

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What makes a Granny Square a Granny Square?

A granny square is made by completing "rounds". Each round is made on its own. It's not a spiral. You finish one round before beginning the next.

A traditional granny square is made up with 3 crochet stitches :

Chain (ch), Double crochet (dc) and Slip Stitch (ss).

I'll be using those abbreviations in brackets from now on. Learning these abbreviations is the first step to knowing how to read crochet patterns, which is handy if you want to go beyond Granny Squares.

Let's look in detail at a standard Granny Square.

Abbreviations Used

yo = yarn over - place the yarn over your hook from back to front

ch = chain stitch - yo, then pull that yarn through the loop on your hook

ss = slip stitch - insert hook where indicated, yo, pull yarn through all loops on hook

st ch = starting chain - a number of chain stitches used in place of a stitch to begin a round

dc = double crochet - yo, insert hook into space, pull a new loop of yarn to the front (3 loops on hook), yo, (4 loops on hook), pull that last loop through the next 2 loops, (2 loops on hook), yo, (3 loops on hook), pull that last loop through the last 2 loops left on the hookTo see me working a dc st, check out my video here.

The dc stitches are used to make what are called "shells". 3 x dc stitches = 1 shell.

The ch stitches are used to make a ring to start, instead of a dc at the beginning of each round (I'll explain why later), and for spaces between the shells. There is usually 1 ch between shells along the sides, and 2 ch in the corner between the 2 corner shells.

A ss is used to finish off each round, joining your corner ch stitches to your first shell.

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How to hold the hookJust do what feels comfortable for you. I use what's called "pencil hold" most of the time. It's how you'll see me holding the hook in the pictures and videos. It's basically an underhand hold.

A lot of people use what's called "knife hold". I use it when using really big hooks. It's basically an overhand hold.

There are many variations to each of these and no one "right" way. Just do what feels right to you.

When you are crocheting, make sure you are working on the thickest part of the hook shaft, not the narrower bit at the pointy end.

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Granny Square InstructionsHINT : The instructions come before the picture showing what to do.

Before you start making your shells, you need to make a ring or circle to crochet into. The traditional way to do this is to ch 4 and join the last ch to the first with a ss. When you first begin, it may help to ch 6 or so, until you get the idea, to have a bit more room to see what's happening.

Making a Circle Steps

Make a slip knot with your yarn and insert your crochet hook into the loop. Tighten the knot until it's firm but not strangling your hook around the thickest shaft part.

Step 1 : yo (wrap your yarn over your hook from back to front).

Step 2 : Pull that bit of yarn through the slip knot and pull the tail that goes to your ball of yarn to tighten it a bit but not too much.

That's 1 ch made.

Repeat the above steps 1 and 2 three times. This will mean you have 4 ch. (do more ch if you need more room to see what's happening.)

Now we make this strip of ch into a loop by making a ss into the first ch.

Step 1 : Insert you hook into the first ch as shown. You will have 2 loops on your hook.

Step 2 : yo, and pull that strand of yarn through the 2 loops on the hook.

HINT : Make sure you do the yo with the strand of yarn going to your ball, not the tail you started with.

You should have a circle to begin your Granny Square now.

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Round 1Making a Granny Square Steps

HINT : I have learned from running crochet workshops, it helps to plonk your work down in front of you every now and then to see if you can make it match the picture of the step you just did. It can really help you keep on track.

I start my granny squares with the second half of a corner (where the needle is pointing) and work around towards the left, ending up with the first half of the first corner and 2 ch.

The first round consists of 4 shells, each separated by 2 ch. ie : 4 x shells & 4 x 2 ch.

So to do that :

A dc stitch is quite high. It's a stitch made from the top down, so it's not possible to start with a normal dc as we are at the bottom at our ring. We need to get up to the height of a dc before we can begin. This is why our first dc is replaced by 3 ch.

Steps

ch 3 just like when we made a loop. This is called a "starting chain" or "st ch" for short. It takes the place of a dc. We include it as a dc stitch when counting.

As we do the next bits, we'll want to hold the loose tail behind the ring and work over it. This will help hide and secure the tail.

Making a dc

Making your first dc. (Check the video to see me making dc's here.)

Step 1 : yo, insert hook into the ring (make sure you go under the loose tail too.)

Step 2 : yo again, and pull that strand at the back that leads to your ball of yarn through to the front. You should have 3 loops on your hook.

Step 3 : yo and pull that strand through 2 of the 3 loops on your hook. I like to give the yarn a tug to tighten the stitch at this point. You should have 2 loops on your hook.

Step 4 : yo and pull that strand through the last 2 loops.

You've just made your first dc. Go you! It seems long and hard, but it soon becomes easy. Honest.

Repeat the Steps 1-4 above from here to create 1 more dc. You've made your first 3 dc shell. (Well, technically, 3 ch in place of a dc & 2 dc, but you get the idea.)

Now we have to make our first corner.

Step 1 : ch 2 and you're done. Easy!

We need to make another shell now. (Go back here to see the dc steps again if you need to.)

Step 1 : Make 3 dc. That's it. Done.

Now it's time for our second corner.

Step 1 : ch 2. Done!

We need another shell, so :

Step 1 : Make 3 dc (steps here if you need them). Done.

Time for the third corner.

Step 1 : ch 2. Done.

It's time to make our fourth and last shell of Round 1.

Step 1 : 3 dc (need to check how to make a dc? Go here.)

A square has 4 corners, so it's time to make our fourth and last one.

Step 1 : ch 2. Done.

Finishing the Round

Now we need to finish off Round 1 by joining our last ch 2 corner to the 3 ch we made at the start to begin our round.

We do this by inserting the hook into the loop at the back of the 3rd ch where the needle is pointing and finish the round with a ss. (The step by step instructions are next.)

Step 1 : insert hook into the back of the 3rd chain of our st ch.

Step 2 : now yo and pull the yarn through the 2 loops on the hook to make your ss.

There you go. You've finished Round 1. Can you see you have 4 x 3 dc shells & 4 x 2 ch corner spaces? That's what makes the first round of a Granny Square.

HINT : Don't worry too much about your tension or tightness of stitches the first time. You are learning and consistent tension will come with practice.

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Round 2The second round is where you start the making corners as they will be from now on, which are 2 shells separated by 2 ch. This 2 ch is called a "2 chain space". ie (3 dc, 2 ch, 3 dc) = a corner. To get to the next corner, you make 1 ch. This is called a "1 ch space".

Here's how you do that :

Making the first shell

Step 1 : 3 ch (st ch) in place of a dc.

Step 2 : 2 dc into the 2 ch space of the last round. You are kind of working backwards a little bit. You insert your hook next to the 3 ch you just made where the needle is pointing in the following picture. You insert your hook the same as how the needle is pointing.

Remember we will finish this corner at the end of the round.

Now, we need to get to the next corner space.

Step 1 : ch 1. Done.

Making a corner

Now it's time to make our first corner that will be the same for the rest of your Granny Square, no matter how big you make it.

Step 1 : (3 dc, 2 ch, 3 dc) into the 2 ch space of the round below. Done.

Time to move to the second corner.

Step 1 : ch 1. Done.

Now we make our second corner.

Step 1 : (3 dc, 2 ch, 3 dc) into the 2 ch space of the round below.

Let's move to the third corner.

Step 1 : ch 1. Done.

Now we make the third corner.

Step 1 : (3 dc, 2 ch, 3 dc) in 2 ch space of round below.

Last time to move along the side to the corner.

Step 1 : ch 1. Done.

Here's where we finish the corner we started at the beginning of the round.

Step 1 : 3 dc in the same 2 ch space that we did our first 3 dc shell into on this round.

Step 2 : ch 2.

Step 3 : ss to 3rd ch of st ch. (Go back here if you need to see how to do this again.)

And that's it - you've completed Round 2. Well done!

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Round 3The third round is where you start to work the sides. In between your corners, you will work 1 shell into the 1 ch space of the previous round, with a 1 ch before and after this side shell. So you will have 4 x corners (3 dc, 2 ch, 3 dc), 4 x single shells along each side, 2 x 1 ch spaces along each side.

Here's how :

Step 1 : 3 ch (st ch) in place of dc and 2 dc next to it as we did here.

Step 2 : ch 1, then 3 dc into 1 ch space of round below.

Step 3 : ch 1, then (3 dc, 2 ch, 3 dc) into 2 ch corner space of round below, just like here.

Now we do the same things a few more times.

Step 2 & 3 equals a side plus a corner. Step 2 is just the side shell.

Repeat steps 2 & 3 two times and then repeat just step 2 one more time. (Click here to go to Step 2.) Once you've done those repeats, your block should look like the next picture.

Now it's time to finish the corner we started at the beginning of the round.

Step 1 : ch 1, 3 dc into last 2 ch space that we did our first shell of this round in, ch 2 and join with ss to 3rd ch of st ch.

That's it. Round 3 done : You've got this now.

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Round 4 & OnwardsThe remaining rounds follow the pattern of the third round with the only difference being more single shells along each side. E.g. round 4, you'll have 2 single shells on each side & 3 x 1 ch spaces - each shell along a side is separated by 1 ch. Round 5 you'll have 3 single shells along each side & 4 x 1 ch spaces and so on.

You can just keep on going for a classic granny blanket, or you can make squares of the same size to join together into a blanket. There are no rules You can do what you want.

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Finishing off and Weaving in the EndsNow that you've made a granny square, you will need to tie off the yarn and deal with the loose ends. There will be one from the start and one from the end. This is my method. I REALLY recommend you do this as you go. Don't leave all your ends hanging until the end of a project. You will hate having to deal with them all at once.

Pull up a loop and cut your yarn about 10-15 cm from the square.

Turn the square over so the back is facing up and pull the tail through the loop your hook was in loosely - not all the way tight.

Put your thumb nail right up under the base of the loop and now pull the tail tight towards to centre of the square.

Now it's time to hide that tail. Thread the tail into your yarn needle

Thread the needle through the back of the stitch below the knot and then through the base of the 3 dc shell. Pull it through, being careful not to pull too tight as you will pucker the edge. Pull it back a bit if you do. Easy fixed at this point.

We want to make sure that end isn't going to come out so we need to weave it back and forth a couple of times to secure it. It's worth taking the time. Imagine your distress if your work came undone. Not good. Take the time now and you'll be glad you did.

Pull on the tail a bit, then snip it off very close to the stitches. Pulling it a bit as you cut means the cut end will sneak back under the stitches and hide.

Now for the tail left at the start. It's the same process as above. Make sure you weave the tail back and forth a few times to make sure it's secure.

Pull on the tail a bit as you snip it close to the stitches.

And you are done! Well done. :) Pat yourself on the back.

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What if I want to do more than one colour?Good question! It's really easy. Just finish off your colour and deal with the ends. Then grab your new colour and find a different corner to where you finished the last round. This helps hide the start of rounds and makes your square have a better finish.

Put your hook through any 2 ch corner space and pull a loop of the new colour to the front.

Holding on to the tail, work your 3 ch as normal. This can all get a bit loose, but is easily tightened by pulling on both the tail and the working yarn.

Continue as normal.

I like to deal with the ends of each colour as I go as it seems less of a chore to do 2 ends rather than 10 at the end if you've changed colour 5 times.

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BlockingBlocking is something that straightens out your work and makes it look really good. It doesn't take long and it really works. There are a few methods out there. I do it this way as it's quick and easy.

Step 1 : Pin your granny square out on something (I use a foam board I've ruled a 1 inch grid onto).

Step 2 : Squirt it with steam from your iron, making sure you just hover the iron over the square, not touching the pins or the square:

Wait a minute or 2, then remove your pins and voila! A lovely straight, even block.

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Joining Your SquaresThere are many, many ways to join your granny squares together into blankets or cushion covers or whatever you want. For some easy ways for beginners, check out my blog post about joining here.

That's it. You now know all you need to make lots of Granny Squares.

Have fun playing!

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Connect with Shelley HusbandThank you for downloading my ebook. I hope you've learned a lot and create some wonderful things. I'd love to see what you make.

Connect with Me:

Instagram is where I hang out most : http://instagram.com/spincushions

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About the author: http://www.smashwords.com/interview/spincushions

Other titles by Shelley Husband

More than a Granny UK Version & US Version - 20 Versatile Crochet Block patterns

Granny Square Crochet For Beginners - US Version

Coming soon...

Beyond the Granny - For those who only know how to crochet a Granny Square, taking you into pattern reading and more complex patterns.

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