Knit and Crochet Away!

Making My Own Granny Square Afghan

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Experienced crocheters – try not to roll your eyes too much while reading this post, ha!

I love Granny Square Afghans. I know how to do basic crochet (I’ve made simple crocheted afghans and scarves in the past) but I always thought Granny Square Afghans were something extremely magical and way beyond my skill level.

I’ve collected them over the years from thrift shops and garage sales. Here are examples of those in my collection:

2020-08-15_07-39-14_4692020-08-15_07-39-28_5712020-08-15_07-40-09_965And here is the link to a post I wrote in 2015 called Granny Square Rescue! about my obsession and an image of my collection circa 2015.

Rescued Granny Square Afghans - all safe and loved in my homeA couple days ago I randomly decided that it was time I learned how to make Granny Squares and a Granny Square afghan.

I’ve looked at patterns in the past but quickly grew intimidated since I am not that experienced a crocheter. Then I remembered my trusty friend YouTube and found a whole bunch of videos on making Granny Squares!

First I followed this video by Jayda InStitches 

And made this block!

2020-08-15_07-35-16_5262020-08-15_17-33-02_767I cannot tell you how pleased and excited I was to have completed my first Granny Square!

I did not feel like my stitches were not tight enough and so I looked for another instructional video just to get a different perspective on how to make a Granny Square.

So then I watched this video by Hooked by Robin:

The pattern/instruction was slightly different and she used a smaller crochet hook (the first video used an “I”/5.5 mm needle and the second video used a “G”/4 mm) and that seemed to make the difference for tighter stitches.

In the image below, the square on the left is the first one I made with slightly looser stitches (size I crochet hook) and the one of the right is the second one I made with the size G crochet hook.

2020-08-15_17-32-56_112Now I plan to make up a bunch of centers and get started on “production line” crochet.

I want to be more efficient with the color changes (work on one color of yarn at once instead of constant color changes) as I create enough blocks to make a GRANNY SQUARE AFGHAN!!!

2020-08-16_12-31-20_605This is going to be a lot of work but I am so excited to make my very own!

I will update you on my progress…

Postscript

Speaking of making things for the first time, my partner John recently made his first piece of actual furniture in his new workshop in our daylight basement. In the previous post on my blog, Guest Blog Post: A Whole Lot of Remodeling Going On , Mike the dog (giggle) shared that we recently turned part of the basement into his craft room.

Well this weekend he put the room to use and made two redwood side tables for our front porch which matched the style of the existing coffee table on the porch:

2020-08-15_14-46-33_8352020-08-15_16-35-17_7922020-08-16_12-32-30_5402020-08-16_12-32-52_530So we were both pretty proud of ourselves!

Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

41 thoughts on “Making My Own Granny Square Afghan”

  2. Your granny squares are looking good. I used to crochet quite a bit, and the granny square was one of my favorites. Every family member has an afghan that I made tucked away somewhere. I even made shawls for my mom and MIL. I would like to try to make me a shawl, but I will have to brush up on following a pattern. Mom would read the pattern, show me how to do it, and then I could do it. I’ve never followed one on my own. I recently purchased some t-shirt yarn and I plan to try and crochet a bag or a basket…whichever is easier. It is a bigger hook than I am used to using.
    Those side tables look very nice. What a creative household!

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    1. Thanks so much Chela – great to hear from you! I was just thinking about you today as I got behind on reading blog posts but I think you’ve been more on Instagram so I hope I am not too far behind. Wow your family is lucky to have all those afghans! I just got done with an evening in front of the TV making centers on the granny squares 🙂

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  3. Amazing granny squares, Tierney! I wish you many happy hours with the squares (you are well on your way, that’s for sure!). They are one of my favourite things to make; I hope you get positively “hooked” and inspired by your lovely afghan collection. 🙂

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  5. I love that you are learning crochet. Granny squares are perfect crafting for watching tv and when you are tired and still want to craft. May I suggest you look at Attic24 blog for lots of tips and crcohet things, including her tutorials- I like her join as you go method for joining the squares, saves having to do it at the end!
    Those side tables are wonderful, I can’t believe that’s a first attempt.

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    1. Thanks so much for the suggestion on Attic24 blog! I’ve dabbled in knitting (hats, etc) most recently but it has been so fun to return to crochet (it feels like it was 20 years ago since I last crocheted and I remember when my grandmother taught me as a kid). I like the idea of join as you go! I am pretty impressed on his tables too! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

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  6. What an industrious pair. I am impressed with your granny square blocks and feel I should warn you that crochet can be as addictive and quilting! You have inspired me to get out my bag of hooks and yarns. Thanks

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    1. I am already addicted! I did not want to go to bed last night, I just wanted to make centers for my GS 🙂 Thanks for your comments and I hope you are playing right now with your hooks and yarns!

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  10. Looks like you are off to a great start. Love the color combination. I have 16 of 24 blocks knitted for a blanket. I’m intimidated by the thought of sewing them together but I’m confident I’ll find a youtube video for that.

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  11. My grandmother did no needlework except making granny square Afghans, using a multicolored yarn in primary colors for the centers and then black for the outside round. All of them were the same, she never varied it, and many many family members had one. To me granny squares means happy memories. Glad you’re taking up the hooks and creating these, looking forward to seeing the results.

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  13. You both definitely should be proud of yourselves! You will have so much fun making your granny squares afghan – can’t wait to see how it turns out. And John’s tables look amazing. They go so well with your existing furniture 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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