Mindful Crochet - Giant Granny Square Blanket
Mindful Crochet - Giant Modern Granny Square Blanket
Pattern for Giant Modern Granny Square Blanket
Crochet, Mindfulness, and Well Being
I first took up crochet at a very stressful time of life. I had just had my second child and been made redundant whilst on maternity leave. I had also had a significant death in the family, and I had been in hospital with an infected gallbladder. Let's just say, life had dealt me several hefty blows all in a very short space of time. It was actually a friend of mine that suggested we could attend a beginners crochet class together at Toft and I rather reluctantly went along, but boy am I glad I did, as that one class changed my life.
We didn't actually make a granny square in the class, but learnt how to crochet a pigs ear (a bit random I know!), basically I spent 2 hours trying to crochet double crochets in the round (or single crochet for those of you familiar with American terms). I came away with a rather sorry looking circle, but I had so much fun, and more than anything I had found all my worries and stresses, that had been weighing heavily on my mind, had been quietened for the 2 hours whilst I concentrated on manipulating my hook in and out of the yarn. I went home feeling relaxed and with a beaming sense of achievement - even though it was just a small wonky circle.
From that point on, crochet became a big part of my life, my creative therapy, a time for me to pause from the daily stresses of life in the evenings, count stitches and relax into the rhythm of manipulating the hook and yarn. I chose bright happy colours to work with and at the end of each round or row I would look back and feel empowered to see that I'd achieved something positive, not matter how big or small.
And so my love of granny squares was born. Since that first one, I have crocheted hundreds of granny squares of all different types and sizes. Some have been ridiculously difficult with complicated stitches and intricate designs, but for me, nothing can quite beat a good old traditional granny when you just want a couple of simple hours of pure relaxation and joy.
Traditional Granny Square vs Modern Look
Traditionally, granny squares are made up of groups of 3 treble stitches (DC in American terms) with chain stitches in-between. This gives quite a holey look and I found I wanted a slightly tighter look to my squares. So I tend to just do the 3 treble groups with no chains in-between apart from the corners (see pattern below). For me, this gives a more modern look to the granny square.
The next big question when planning a giant granny square blanket is what colours should I use? And what order should the colours go in? Quite often you will see people chose between 3 - 6 colours that they love and then they will just work these colours one after another, repeating in the same order. Whilst this does end up in lovely blankets, I like to do something just a little bit different that gives the blanket a more modern feel. Over the years I have stumbled across a sort of random formula that seems to work really well. It also takes a bit of the control out of your hands, so is great for mindful crochet and gives you a lovely surprise as you see your colour pattern developing.
Choosing Which Colour to Use For Each Round
Here's my trick! Pick 5 colours you love, put them in any order you think looks best. Crochet the first 5 rounds in this colour order you have chosen. Now, holding on to the last yarn colour you used, put the remaining 4 colours in a bag (something that allows you to pick a yarn without seeing which colour you are picking). Pick one of your colours randomly out of the bag and crochet round 6, randomly pick the next colour out of the bag and crochet round 7, for round 8 - use the colour you saved out of the bag (the one you used for round 5), for round 9 randomly pick a colour out of the bag, and for round 10 use the last colour remaining in the bag.
You then start the process again. Hang on to the last colour you used and put the 4 other colours back in the bag. Crochet the next 2 rounds with your randomly selected yarn from the bag, the 3rd round is the colour you saved out of the bag (the one you used for the last round of the previous 5 rounds cycle), then the next 2 rounds are once again randomly selected from the remaining yarn in the bag.
You keep repeating this process until your blanket is the size you require.
This is a process that allows the blanket to have some slight colour structure to it, but also is completely random with what your overall blanket will look like. It takes away the pressure to make the decision yourself. It is a very trusting process and you get a lovely surprise as your work progresses and colour combinations come up that you wouldn't necessarily of thought of yourself.
I have popped the crochet pattern I use for my tighter modern granny square below.
Modern Granny Square Pattern:
Abbreviations (UK terms):
ch = chain
ss = slip stitch
tr = treble crochet (US equivalent = DC double crochet)
ch1-sp = chain one space
cl-sp = cluster space (gap between 3tr cluster groups along the side of your square)
Start with a magic circle (or you can create a circle by ch4 and then joining into the 1st ch with a ss)
Round 2: Join new yarn colour to any ch1-sp (corner space), ch3 (counts as 1 tr), (2tr, ch1, 3tr) into same ch1-sp, *(3tr, ch1, 3tr) into next ch1-sp**, repeat from * to ** two more times, ss into top of beginning ch3 to join. Fasten off yarn.
Round 3: Join new yarn colour to any ch1-sp (corner space), ch3 (counts as 1 tr), (2tr, ch1, 3tr) into same ch1-sp, 3tr in cl-sp, *(3tr, ch1, 3tr) into next ch1-sp, 3tr in next cl-sp**, repeat from * to ** two more times, ss into top of beginning ch3 to join. Fasten off yarn.
Round 4: Join new yarn colour to any ch1-sp (corner space), ch3 (counts as 1 tr), (2tr, ch1, 3tr) into same ch1-sp, 3tr in each cl-sp until end of side, *(3tr, ch1, 3tr) into next ch1-sp, 3tr in each cl-sp until end of side**, repeat from * to ** two more times, ss into top of beginning ch3 to join. Fasten off yarn.
Round 5 and any further rounds: repeat round 4 instructions.
Finishing Touches
Once you have reached the size you require for your blanket, do one final round in your favourite colour. Then to complete your giant granny square blanket why not add a giant pom pom to each corner! Pom pom tutorial coming to the blog soon!
I hope you enjoy this pattern, please do check out my Facebook page and Etsy store for other patterns and latest news. You can also find me on Instagram @melly.elly.crochet
Happy making,
Lucy x
