Tips & Tricks

Granny Square

As I said in my Granny Square Triangle Tutorial, Granny Squares and crocheting go hand-in-hand. I haven’t met a crocheter (or knitter!) who doesn’t love them, and I am no exception. Granny squares were the first motif I learned how to crochet, and I always go back to them when messing around with a new project or idea.
SET UP /
STEP 1
To begin any motif in the round you start by making a ring of single crochets. To do so, Ch 5 sts.
SET UP /
STEP 2
Join the chain into a circle by inserting your hook into the first ch, just above the slip knot, and pulling a loop through.
SET UP /
STEP 3
Pull this loop through the st on your hook – you’ve just worked a slip stitch. Now you have a little circle of chains, called a foundation ring.
ROUND 1 /
STEP 1
Ch 3, this acts as your first dc.
ROUND 1 /
STEP 2
Dc 2 into the ring, as if the open space of the ring were the stitch. In the image above, the ch3 and one dc has been worked. Once complete, you will have 2 dc and your ch 3 coming out of the circle. This is the first of 4 bundles of 3 dc you will be making in the ring.
ROUND 1 /
STEP 3
*Ch 2, work 3 dc into ring; rep from * 2x more, ch 2. You will now have 4 clusters of 3 dc’s, separated by ch 2’s.
ROUND 1 /
STEP 4
Work a sl st into the top of your ch 3 from step one. The first round is now complete!
ROUND 2 /
STEP 1
To work all consecutive rounds, you need to move the beginning of your round from where you worked the sl st over to the first ch 2 space separating your 3 dc bundles. To do so, insert your hook into the next dc, work a sl st. Repeat in the next dc. Finally, sl st into the ch 2 space.
ROUND 2 /
STEP 2
Ch 3, this acts as your first dc.
ROUND 2 /
STEP 3
Dc 2 into the ch2 space. You now have 2 dc and your ch 3 coming out of the space. This is the first of 8 clusters of 3 dc you will be making.
ROUND 2 /
STEP 4
Ch 2, work 3 dc into space, ch2, *(3 dc, ch2, 3 dc) into space, ch2; rep from * 2 times more.
ROUND 2 /
STEP 5
Work a slip stitch into the top of your ch 3 from step one. The second round is now complete! To complete the round in order to work round 3, insert your hook into the next dc, work a sl st. Repeat in the next dc. Finally, sl st into the ch 2 space.

To continue working your granny square, repeat the steps to work Round 2, adding additional 3 dc clusters in each ch2 space, and 2 3dc clusters separated by a ch 2 at the corners.