Granny squares were one of the first things I learned to crochet, nothing fancy like all the granny squares out there today, just a plain and simple granny square.
I still have the very first afghan I made when learning to make granny squares. It was made in blocks of 12 which were hand stitched together and from time to time I have to restitch parts of it. I’ve come a long way since then.
Around the outside of the 12 blocks I did a row of white and then blue. The blue rectangles were all edged in white and then the whole thing had white and blue edging added. Not a fancy edging, just the 3 double crochets in the spaces. This one is more than 40 years old as I learned to crochet when pregnant with our first daughter.
I’ve made lots of afghans since then but always seem to go back to the granny square.
Lapghans were a favourite, using the pattern, Thoroughly Modern Granny from the book Ultimate Book of Scrap Afghans. I call these lapghans as they tuck over your lap and legs while sitting in the armchair. I started this pattern with a friend when we made afghans to donate to our school auction. We did these ones over two consecutive years. Each of us crocheted half the squares, then one of us crocheted them together and one of us added the fringe. A good team effort.
It uses the regular granny square with loops on all corners. It is a fun pattern to make and something you can work at one square at a time. Each time you get to a corner you do a chain of 10, join to form loop at corner and continue along with the regular crochet of the granny square. Do this on 3 rounds, and then the 4th is just the regular crochet. When I do the last round, at each corner starting at the inside, you poke the loop through the next loop. When you get to the last loop, you just do the regular crochet around the corner. You can see the loops better in the images below.
Clear as mud??? After you’ve made a few it becomes as easy. The pattern book is out of print now but I’m sure you can still buy it online.
I liked it so much I started making them for myself, for family and for friends. Over several years they were done in greens, browns and beiges. Another matched the old paint scheme of burgundy, blue and sage green with beige for the connecting and edging. For a couple of years everyone on my Christmas list got one of the lapghans. I am always thrilled to see them still in use.
It is a great stash busting projects. You can change how it looks by the colour scheme you choose. I’ve done a variety of colours, blocks with the same colour for the last round, and blocks all the same colour scheme. Some of these lapghans were made BDC (before digital cameras) and I had taken some photographs and scanned them. I didn’t take photos of all my projects BDC so some I have no record of.
Do you still have your first crochet afghan?
Cozy Afghans
- black & grey
- granny suare afghans
- grey & mauve afghan first, second, third updates
- ripples and stripes
- stay warm afghan
- spiderman round afghan
- stash busting afghans
More from the Crafty Side
knit & crochet …. sewing & plastic canvas … patterns … Crafty’s projects … craf-tea ideas … kids crafts … Christmas
Lavender Dreamer
I love the old fashioned look of these. And that’s the first thing I learned to crochet too. I think I still have mine in the linen closet. Enjoy your day sweet lady!
linda
Hi Linda…
Great Grannies!!
As you know…I am a great fan of the Granny Afghans as well…
I have yet to do the individual squares…kinda lazy to stitch them all together!
I do the big continous Granny Square…working on 1 for my DIL’s birthday in August…
Foggy here today…big winds expected…not at the cottage, as new granddaughter Nora is being baptized on Sunday…can’t wait to give her the gift I made for her…♥️
Enjoy your weekend…
Cheers!
Linda :o)
Linda aka Crafty Gardener
Big granny afghans are a fave of mine too, got a few of them made from all the left over bits and pieces. We use them in the van to cuddle in after swimming lessons. Enjoy Saturday’s special day for Miss N, lovely having all the family together.
Jennifer Jilks
That would fit right in with my Grandmothering post, except I cannot crochet!
I was thinking of you, the other day, as I was surprised with the bulbs coming up. I never remember what I’ve put in! 🙂
Elaine
All so pretty and cozy looking , Yeah know Papa here is the crafty one with his woodworking , to crochet and sewing and he still hasn’t finished his afghan yet from last year lol he puts it down and forgets about it as he gets into other projects , he is the kind that has to many projects on the go at one time or more like a jack of all trades and master of none I call him lol ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good weekend !
Myrtle
I always enjoy seeing your afghans, you have done some pretty one.s my dil gave me one to bring home with me, not granny squares though.It is made with much thicker yarn and so soft.
Margy
Mom always did granny squares for her afghans. She would ration herself to one square a night after dinner. That way one afghan would last quite a while. She didn’t like giving her work away, so I have lots, and lots of afghans. As far as the one I started, I have torn it apart. Since it was a large continuous piece it was easy to save the yarn. I’m using it to made arm covers for our sofa at the cabin. I’ll have a lot of yarn left so I may make a cushion cover for the one between us. We set a lot of things there so it will help keep it cleaner. – Margy
Margie
I don’t know how to crochet so I always admire your beautiful handiwork!
JULIE
Hi Linda, What a lovely collection of Granny square blankets I don’t think it will ever go out of fashion, I still have a few Patons crochet booklets which were my Grans and I can follow them quite easily only the basic stitches though.
Have a lovely weekend.
Ginny
Wow, what a lot of beautiful blankets. I keep thinking I should try and make one.
Teresa
I love them, granny squares blankets always look so cozy. Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned.