Joining Granny Squares

When I join my Granny Squares together I always choose to crochet them rather than stitch them. Its just the way that appeals to me, although many of my hooking buddies prefer the stitching method. I guess it's a personal preference.

And as many of you have asked me to supply this information, here you have it :: my take on joining the Grannies, in usual Attic24 style with waaaaay too many pictures I suspect. But hey, I want you to get it and not struggle with it, and I think pictures do the job better than words.

 

Ok, firstly put your two squares together, Right Sides together. See how you can see the "v" of each stitch? When crocheting the squares together, you will need to work under the OUTSIDE LOOPS only, the part of the V on the outside as you look down on the stitches from above. This is important....for a long while I was working through the inside loops when I realised I was doing it wrong. It makes a big difference.

So your hook goes through the outside loop of the square nearest to you....

...then through the outside loop of the square farthest away. Does that make sense??? Good-o, lets begin then.............

 

Start at the right hand corner, you are working right to left.

Put hook through OUTSIDE LOOPS of the corner stitches, and hook your yarn through both loops.

(Note :: I am using a contrasting red yarn here to join so you can see it easily, but best to use a matching colour. Obvious yes)

You will be making a SLIP STITCH.

So insert the hook through the next two outside loops of the V stitches and yarn over the hook. Then pull the yarn back through both blue loops and then through the red loop stitch already on the hook...

You end up making a little slip stitch chain, pictured above.

Work your way along, working slip stitches into each of the stitches, remembering to check you are going through the outside loops.

Again in words :: Insert hook through two blue stitches, yarn over hook, pull yarn back through two blue stitches and then  through red stitch on hook. It's only Slip stitching folks, its a doddle, it has it's own rhythm...HONEST!!!

When you reach the end of the row, if you are joining more than 2 squares together, DO NOT FASTEN OFF, you will be carrying on!

You should have a neat little ridge of chain stitches which will be on the WRONG SIDE of the work (above picture)...

...the RIGHT SIDE (above) should look nice and neat, the Granny Squares sitting beautifully flat and happy together. You should only see the stitches if you pull the squares apart.

If you are joining more than two squares together, you will work along in rows, making all the horizontal joins first, then all the vertical joins.

So after joining the first two squares, simply move on to the next two. Put them right sides toegther as before and simply carry on the slip stitch chain :; insert the hook through the corner stitches (outside loops only, remember?)....

 

...and make your slip stitch, as above.

Keep going, working right to left, making your chain of slip stitches.

Now, for this tutorial, I'm only working on joining four squares...I'll explain about joining more at the end.

You have just worked the horizontal row, so now you will need to spin the squares round 90 degrees and work the vertical row in exactly the same way. Fold the crochet so that the squares to be worked are sitting right sides together and begin at the right hand corner.

Work slip stitches exactly as before, making sure that when you get to the centre, you work right into the very last stitch on each side of the first chain ridge you made (as above). You might just like to check from the right side that you haven't left a "hole", that you've slip stitched every stitch.

Your second chain ridge will be made across the top of your first chain ridge (as above)

And there you have it...the above picture shows the WRONG SIDE, the picture below the RIGHT SIDE.

Now say you were making a square cushion cover and you have 25 squares total (5 x 5).

The way to join them is to make all the horizontal joins first. So line up 10 squares ready and think of it as joining up rows 1 and 2. Follow instructions as above and keep going, moving on through 5 pairs of squares placed right sides together. You will only have two tails to darn in then at each end of the long row.

Then move down and join in your 3rd row to the bottom of the 2nd row, working horizontally from right to left. Then your 4th row then your 5th row.

Then you can spin the whole lot through 90 degrees and do the same thing again, working in four long rows.

Its hard to explain this in words and I couldn't photograph to show you as I only had 4 squares available and not 25!! But hopefully it makes sense. For my Granny blanket, I had 88 squares altogether in a 8 x 11 formation, so I was joining veeeeeeeery long rows. But it means that you don't have to keep joining tail ends of yarn in the middle of your blanket, and the less joins the better really. 

If you are giving this a go and you get stuck in any way, please do leave me a comment on here and I will do my very best to help you out.

Good luck, and happy hooking!

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Comments

[Angie]

Thank you so much for this! I love your beautiful work, and your blog.

[Linda]

Thank you! Makes so much sense, but so, so helpful to have it laid out so explicitly in words and pictures. It's good of you to take the time to do this.

[Potiron]

Thank you, although when I do traditional grannies, I like to join them as I do the last round, but with solid grannies, like for the Babette Blanket I'm doing, this just might work!!! So far, whatever I have done just was ugly!!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this tutorial, it's a great help!!!

[Mrs. Jane Doe]

A million and one thank yous for taking the time to do this! You have done a wonderful job with the pictures but with the explanation as well which with many crochet books/blogs are not clearly outlined as you have done here. I hope you continue to do this as well as share some of your patterns. Fabulous Job!

xo

[cherrie]

Thankyou.A great tutorial -it makes sense. Cherrie

[Vicki]

Awesome! Now I don't feel so overwhelmed when I see that stack of squares waiting joining...this looks utterly easy and do-able with all the beautiful photos! Thanks again, you continue to amaze me with your willingness to share!

[Sherri]

Nice, nice, nice I love your description Fantastic I will use it the next time I do some granny work:) Again I love your site I wish I lived closer just to visit your little part of the world. Tata for now...

[susan]

Sweet! I've always wondered about how to do this. I love your tutorials and I love the fact that you include so many pictures. It really helps me to *see* what's going on.

[karen smith]

thanks so much for that it's a great help.

[Luci]

After 30 years (i started real young!!!) of sewing Granny Squares together in a cloud of red mist you are officially MY HERO!

I gonna do a couple of squares right now just so I can have a go, you've made it sound so simple!

Thanks ever so.

[Pantha]

Thanks you so much for that. You have explained it so well.

[Maddy]

Great photography Lucy, and very easy to follow along with. Thank you.

[Sal]

Thanks Lucy, the above comments echo my sentiments too! No excuse not to join my Grannies now!! Have a good weekend, love Sal x

[Sharon]

Oooh, lovely ~ thank you so much for posting this tutorial, Lucy. It all makes absolute sense to me LOL
Sharon

[debra cooper]

Oh, thank you, Lucy! What a wonderful tutorial! I've been wanting to make something with Grannies for so long but dreaded sewing them together! I even have a basket of blocks I was going to toss after coming to the conclusion that I would never ever ever not even if trapped on a deserted island alone with them actually sew them together. Never. I'm so glad I didn't toss them!! Thank you!

[Anne]

Thanks Lucy - you did a wonderful job explaining this. I am a visual learner so the pictures were wonderful. It is so much easier to understand a concept when there are plenty of pictures - you really out did yourself on this tutorial.

[Linda]

Thanks Lucy....happy grannies...I prefer to crochet them together rather than sew. Really good pictures.

[aneela]

Delightfully explained and so neat, cannot wait to have a pile of grannies ready to try out your method. Quick sidenote, have you noticed how the second to last picture in this post resembles a grannysquare swastika???

[SummerSadie]

This tutorial looks explained so well. As I'm on hex's now, and not granny squares, I won't be able to try it right now. Unless you could put hex's together that way also? If I went ahead and made the hex's all the way done, and then used this method to join them? Think it would work? I'm trying to figure out to block hex's, and thought it would be nice to block the whole hex, rather than just the circle centers. What do you think?

[Z.]

Thank you Lucy! Great tutorial.

I have a question though. Do you block your squares before you join them or after? Does it make any difference?

Thanks!

[Paola]

Lucy, thank you very very much for share us your ideas!!... I love your works, your photos and your blog... I'm from México... Greetings!!
Thanks again!!

[sylvia castillo]

i like this web that you did it is great, I love to crochet too and it is very helpful. Thank you

[sylvia castillo]

It's me again, if you can make a book it will be very good for us I would like to buy it with all the pictures and instruction, just like you have it here in your blog, I am from Mexico too and I loved, loved to crochet. And I want to learn more and more. God Bless you.

[ohnonichole]

finally! someone has posted instructions i understand! i love this website, and thank you so much for this!!

[Nancy]

I have been struggling with joining grannies the last few days, not happy with anyway I sew it. This is wonderful and I love the pictorial. Thanks so much for your help. I came here to see the awesome redo on your chair, glad I found your blog.

Nancy in South Texas