During a recent reorganizing, I came across an afghan that I had completely forgotten crocheting and (as far as I can recall) never photographed or blogged.
It's a scrappy granny square afghan using my favorite version of the granny square. That is, clusters of 3 dc, 2 chains for the corners, and one chain between clusters on the sides.
Working through leftover balls of acrylic worsted (and possibly aran) weight yarn, I crocheted 192 squares with three rounds each. That sounds like a lot, but they work up quickly, and you can easily make a few at a time between projects, if you don't want to crochet nothing but 192 granny squares in a row.
According to my notes, I started this project in April 2016 and didn't finish until March 2018-- almost two years later. This included pauses to allow the scrap stash to replenish, time out to work on other projects, and probably some good old-fashioned procrastination.
(Also, I actually made more than 192 squares, because I eventually decided to leave out any that contained a particular very bright hot pink/magenta that I felt clashed too much with the other colors, and I left out a few more whose third round didn't contrast enough with the color I used for joining. Those went into a bag to wait for the next, less picky granny square afghan.)
When I finally had enough, I joined them into a 16 square x 12 square rectangle. I switched from a 4.5mm hook to a 5mm hook for joining, using a continuous join/flat join technique. (This pattern is probably available from many sources, but I referred to Edie Eckman’s Connect the Shapes, pages 48-49.)
I don't remember exactly, but I suspect this join was a little more involved than some other methods I've used. The result is pleasingly textural and polished, though, and once you get going, it's not difficult.
Using the same yarn as for joining-- Caron One Pound (Medium Grey Mix)-- I added another “granny round” to the whole blanket. I then went around again with a round of hdc in every stitch and ch-1 space, and once more with sc in the back loop and “back bump”, leaving the front loop free. (This gives a more stabilized feeling to the edge and adds a tiny bit more of textural interest to the border.)
The border itself is #18 from Edie Eckman's Every Which Way Crochet Borders. (I highly recommend any of Eckman's crochet pattern books, by the way. They have good, clear photos alongside written instructions and charts.)
And now for too many photos!
I really like the look of the bright, scrappy granny squares against the medium-dark grey. Joining granny squares with any color unifies them. I've seen great examples using white, cream, red, navy blue, black, etc.-- but I'm particularly fond of this dark grey. The darker color has a grounding effect. Really makes the colors pop and looks pretty cozy-- but isn't as stark as black yarn would've been. Also, granny square afghans joined with black yarn feel a little 70s/80s to me. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I prefer the grey.
It's funny, but looking at these photos has me thinking about pulling out the scraps and seeing if I have enough variety to crochet more granny squares, despite the fact that there are many other projects already underway and even more I'm already eager to start.
There's just something so timeless and comforting about the humble granny square. I think it'll always be a favorite.
It's a scrappy granny square afghan using my favorite version of the granny square. That is, clusters of 3 dc, 2 chains for the corners, and one chain between clusters on the sides.
Working through leftover balls of acrylic worsted (and possibly aran) weight yarn, I crocheted 192 squares with three rounds each. That sounds like a lot, but they work up quickly, and you can easily make a few at a time between projects, if you don't want to crochet nothing but 192 granny squares in a row.
According to my notes, I started this project in April 2016 and didn't finish until March 2018-- almost two years later. This included pauses to allow the scrap stash to replenish, time out to work on other projects, and probably some good old-fashioned procrastination.
(Also, I actually made more than 192 squares, because I eventually decided to leave out any that contained a particular very bright hot pink/magenta that I felt clashed too much with the other colors, and I left out a few more whose third round didn't contrast enough with the color I used for joining. Those went into a bag to wait for the next, less picky granny square afghan.)
When I finally had enough, I joined them into a 16 square x 12 square rectangle. I switched from a 4.5mm hook to a 5mm hook for joining, using a continuous join/flat join technique. (This pattern is probably available from many sources, but I referred to Edie Eckman’s Connect the Shapes, pages 48-49.)
I don't remember exactly, but I suspect this join was a little more involved than some other methods I've used. The result is pleasingly textural and polished, though, and once you get going, it's not difficult.
Using the same yarn as for joining-- Caron One Pound (Medium Grey Mix)-- I added another “granny round” to the whole blanket. I then went around again with a round of hdc in every stitch and ch-1 space, and once more with sc in the back loop and “back bump”, leaving the front loop free. (This gives a more stabilized feeling to the edge and adds a tiny bit more of textural interest to the border.)
The border itself is #18 from Edie Eckman's Every Which Way Crochet Borders. (I highly recommend any of Eckman's crochet pattern books, by the way. They have good, clear photos alongside written instructions and charts.)
And now for too many photos!
I really like the look of the bright, scrappy granny squares against the medium-dark grey. Joining granny squares with any color unifies them. I've seen great examples using white, cream, red, navy blue, black, etc.-- but I'm particularly fond of this dark grey. The darker color has a grounding effect. Really makes the colors pop and looks pretty cozy-- but isn't as stark as black yarn would've been. Also, granny square afghans joined with black yarn feel a little 70s/80s to me. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I prefer the grey.
It's funny, but looking at these photos has me thinking about pulling out the scraps and seeing if I have enough variety to crochet more granny squares, despite the fact that there are many other projects already underway and even more I'm already eager to start.
There's just something so timeless and comforting about the humble granny square. I think it'll always be a favorite.