Crochet Granny Square Free PDF Pattern

Granny Square Crochet For Beginners US Version Shelley Husband Published by Shelley Husband at Smashwords Copyright 2015 Shelley Husband Smashwords Edition, License Notes Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to your favourite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. Table of Contents Granny 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. Back to Contents 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. Back to Contents 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 hook To 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. Back to contents How to hold the hook Just 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. Back to Contents Granny Square Instructions HINT : 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. Back to Contents Round 1 Making 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.

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