Val Pierce - Twenty to Crochet: Crocheted Granny Squares

The hand warmers shown opposite were based on the Tudor Rose design above (see page 24).

If you want to learn how to crochet, what better way than to make a granny square. The simple techniques have lasted for decades and now the humble granny square is making a comeback. Now even trendier than ever, and with endless colour and size variations, creating these hip little squares is lots of fun and very, very easy.

Used like building blocks, granny squares can be stitched or crocheted together to make gorgeous gifts, accessories and items for the home, or used on their own to embellish larger items. Each square takes only a few hours to make, and along with your hook and yarn will fit easily into a small bag, making it highly portable. Take your project with you when you go out and work on it whenever you have a few minutes to spare you will soon have enough squares to make a stunning throw for a bed or sofa that is totally unique and will last a lifetime.

In this book I will show you how to create 20 different granny squares, including flower patterns, circles, hexagons and triangles, all interpreted in different colours to create a kaleidoscope of effects. Also included are eight projects that show you how to make your squares into a pretty baby blanket, a pair of arm warmers, a gorgeous scarf, a vintage-style shoulder bag, a floral mat, a pincushion, a dainty mug cosy and a lacy cushion cover. DMC yarns have been used to create the granny squares, but various other knitting yarns have been used for the projects to demonstrate their amazing versatility. Experiment with different yarns and colour combinations, and you will soon be hooked.

Happy crocheting to you all!

American and British crochet terminology

In all the patterns, US terms are given first, followed by the UK terms afterwards in brackets. So US single crochet would be written as sc ( UKdc ) and US double crochet as dc ( UKtr ).

Techniques

The first pattern in this book is the traditional granny square. It is very simple to make and perfect for learning the art of crochet.

For all the granny squares, DMC Petra 3 crochet cotton and a 3.00mm (US D, UK 10) crochet hook have been used. You can, however, replace crochet cotton with an equivalent fingering (4-ply) yarn. For the projects, various knitting yarns have been used.

Granny squares can be made in most weights of yarn, though you will need to vary the hook size to accommodate the thickness of the yarn: use hook size 3.00mm (US D, UK 10) with Petra 3 crochet cotton and fingering (4-ply) yarn; hook size 4.00mm (US G, UK 8) with double knitting (8-ply) yarn; and hook size 4.5mm (US G, UK 7) with aran weight (10-ply) yarns. As you progress to more bulky yarns then the hook you use obviously needs to be larger.

Note: the US and UK hook sizes given in this book are for guidance only, as there is no precise correspondence between the two. All the US and UK hook sizes given refer to aluminium or plastic hooks; steel hooks are generally smaller than those used in this book.

Various yarns have been used for the projects, but these can, of course, be varied depending on your personal choice or what you have available in your stash. It is advisable to keep to the same weight of yarn within each project so that the squares are a uniform size.

Although squares are simple and quick to create, working in the hundreds of yarn ends resulting from many colour changes can prove very time consuming when making up the projects. Wherever possible, crochet over the yarn ends as you make the squares, but I find that it also works well if you make a certain number of squares then work in all the ends before continuing with the next batch.

Measurements

The dimensions of each granny square are provided with the patterns.

The most frequently used terms in this book are:

American

slip stitch (sl st)

chain stitch (ch)

chain space (ch sp)

single crochet (sc)

half double crochet (hdc)

double crochet (dc)

treble crochet (tr)