Solid Large Granny Squares Throw (multi colours)

[fornight]

Hi, I know how all the simple techniques of crochet.  I managed to crochet a beanie hat not too long ago using a really crappy hook and cheap yarn - just to test out if I still got it.  After it, I stopped for almost 10 months because I wanted to try loom knitting a scarf.  My scarf is done - yes it took me 10 months because I got distracted by my new job.  Now I am thinking of doing a solid granny squares blanket. I am planning to give away this blanket as a present to an elderly friend.  I wanted it to be something she can use to cover herself up in her sofa during winter.

 

I really want this to be multi-colour because she loves colours but colours scare the hell out of me! I checked through lots of similar projects in the internet but most bloggers are doing a king size blanket.  I need the blanket to be solid granny square so that it will be warm enough without too much holes.  We have really really cold winter here.

 

I see most bloggers using 17 colours with the 17th being the colour to bind all the squares together. How do they make plan ahead to make sure the colour order for each row is nice?  Like I say, colours scare the hell out of me.  All my past projects are really mono colour or basic colours like Black, Grey with White - a.k.a. BORING.  The bloggers never really specify how much yarn they used for each colour.

 

I am starting to feel this might be too big a project for me.   Any advise will be deeply appreciated.

 

[magiccrochetfan]

now I looked at the picture, it seems like this blanket is going to look rather dark....sigh...I was hoping for a really cheerful bright colours.  I also realize that two of the balls are not from the same brand.

 

The yarns I purchased are for needle size between 3.5mm to 4.0mm.

 

I don't think your colors are too dark!  Well, blue is one of my favorite colors, and you have some nice blues there, so I might be biased!  ha ha Actually, I  just realized---look at my avatar, that is an afghan I made and the colors are fairly similar to what you chose, and this is one of my favorite things I have ever made.  So I think your friend will like these colors     Blue is really soothing and happy, and the other colors look great with it, i think.  

 

I looked up the Sandnesgarn Smart yarn http://www.yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=1887 and it is a dk weight.  I would suggest you try a bit larger hook with it; 4mm, 4.5mm, 5mm would all be reasonable options.  you may not like the larger gauge, but you may find that the stitches look better and the fabric is more relaxed.  

[Katieallen311815]

and there ya go, its gorgeous!

[FlossiePotts]

I have finished my Throw!!!!

Beautiful!

[FlossiePotts]

Granny, Fornight is doing a solid granny though, it is all dc except the chains at the corners.

 

You can still do the join as you go, just adapt it to doing the joins evenly along the edge.

[ddc]

That turned out really great! I love granny square afghans made with small solid color squares. But oy  ... the joining!

 

You did a terrific job. Your friend will surely be one happy lady. And think it turned out quite bright and cheerful.

[fornight]

I have finished my Throw!!!!

 

 

[fornight]

i have received my clover Amore crochet hooks!!!  It truly does feel more comfortable.

 

By the way, I have decided to change the pattern of my solid granny squares to the normal granny squares.  The decision is made after secretive attempt to find out which pattern my friend prefers.  We went to a craft store a week ago and we happened to see some ready-made works hanging on the store.  The works are an attempt to show customers what they can produce with the materials in the store.  they are just small projects for baby blanket and table cloth.  I was lucky to find both patterns, thus casually asked my friend which she prefer.  It seems like she prefer the normal granny squares.

 

so far, I have finished 2.5 rows out of the 24 rows that I am planning to make.  I am getting more and more used to it and hopefully can finish it before Christmas!  I can't wait to post the finished product!

[Avon Lady]

Here's a great "Invisible Seam":

1. Lay your granny squares side to side with the front sides facing up.

2. Insert a blunt needle into your first crochet stitch from the back to the front.

3. Repeat step 2 on the opposite side again--from the back of the stitch to the front of the stitch (in the square next to the square you're working on).  Continue this process on each stitch, alternating between sides.  It's sort of like lacing up shoes.

4. Lightly pull on both ends of your seaming yarn.  Your seam disappears!

5. Repeat with all squares, and that's all there is to it!  Weave in the ends, and you're ready to finish your afghan!

HAPPY CROCHETING!!

[fornight]

Still looking, I'm not finding one showing a solid edged quare.  There are a lot of joining links at the below site, though.  Come to think of it, the invisible join would work well sort-of as you go, just leave a long tail and sew surrounding squares together as you finish every couple of squares..

http://www.knotyournanascrochet.com/2013/04/10-different-ways-to-join-granny-squares.html

 

 

Hi, I never thought of an invisible join...hmm..that is an idea. Thanks!

[Granny Square]

Oops, pardon.  I thought you meant solid color, duh.

 

You can still do a variation on that joining theme, which would work great on a multi-colored project because the join will be a color of 1 of the squares.  If you sewed or crocheted them together all at the end, it usually works better if the outer rounds are all the same color, which would not be the case in your project. 

 

The last round would be slst in square 1, ch-1, slst on square 2 (1 stitch offset from the corresponding stitch you came from on square 1), chain, back to square 1, skip a stitch, slst in the next, repeat..  So you make a zig-zag connection between the 2 squares, as you go.  I'll see if I can find a tutorial on that one.

 

Still looking, I'm not finding one showing a solid edged quare.  There are a lot of joining links at the below site, though.  Come to think of it, the invisible join would work well sort-of as you go, just leave a long tail and sew surrounding squares together as you finish every couple of squares..

http://www.knotyournanascrochet.com/2013/04/10-different-ways-to-join-granny-squares.html

[magiccrochetfan]

  Happy crocheting!

[fornight]

I looked up the Sandnesgarn Smart yarn http://www.yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=1887 and it is a dk weight.  I would suggest you try a bit larger hook with it; 4mm, 4.5mm, 5mm would all be reasonable options.  you may not like the larger gauge, but you may find that the stitches look better and the fabric is more relaxed.  

 

I also find my squares a bit too tight.  Yes, I will take your advice and use larger hook and see how it looks.  I have asked my friend (the one who gave me this 3.5mm hook) and she will loan me her 4mm as well as 4.5mm while waiting for my new hooks to arrive.

[fornight]

You can also join grannie squares as you go, by joining at the spaces between the 3-DCs (US terms).  It's no problem with the 2 you've completed, you can join other new squares to them when you're making the last round of the new squares.

 

It's just a matter of 'reaching over' to the other square and slip stitching to it after each 3-dc group.

 

 

Hi, I am not sure if this wil work because I only have two "holes" on each side.  The video is showing granny square that has lots of holes on the side, thus the stitch to connect the other square is on the loops between each double TR stitches.

 

I decided on solid granny squares because it has less holes and hopefully more warm for Witner.  My solid granny square looks like this

 

http://www.hookedonneedles.com/uploaded_images/solid-granny-square-738413.JPG

 

 

while the square in the video looks like this:

http://www.purlbee.com/storage/gran3.jpg

 

[magiccrochetfan]

You can also join grannie squares as you go, by joining at the spaces between the 3-DCs (US terms).  It's no problem with the 2 you've completed, you can join other new squares to them when you're making the last round of the new squares.

 

It's just a matter of 'reaching over' to the other square and slip stitching to it after each 3-dc group.

 

Granny, Fornight is doing a solid granny though, it is all dc except the chains at the corners.  

[Granny Square]

You can also join grannie squares as you go, by joining at the spaces between the 3-DCs (US terms).  It's no problem with the 2 you've completed, you can join other new squares to them when you're making the last round of the new squares.

 

It's just a matter of 'reaching over' to the other square and slip stitching to it after each 3-dc group.

 

[fornight]

finally managed to take a picture.

 

On the bottom right are the two squares that I made this evening.  The squares are 10cm by 10cm. 

 

now I looked at the picture, it seems like this blanket is going to look rather dark....sigh...I was hoping for a really cheerful bright colours.  I also realize that two of the balls are not from the same brand.

 

The yarns I purchased are for needle size between 3.5mm to 4.0mm.

[magiccrochetfan]

if your hands are tired after 2 squares, it could be that you are crocheting very tightly, which could be because the hook is too small to comfortably fit the yarn.  The label should tell the recommended knitting gauge, stitches per 10cm (4 inches).  Also it should tell the recommended knitting needle size.  From that information you can figure out what "weight" the yarn is, and from that you can get an idea of what hook sizes may be best to try with that specific yarn.  Usually it will be .5 to 1 mm bigger than the needle size, but it depends on your personal guage and the look and feel you want in the fabric. 

 

So, tell us what colors you got!  Would love to see a photo of it if you want to post one!  

 

As far as joining the squares, if you want it to be really solid you can sew them together with yarn.  this site, under assembly methods, has several ways of sewing as well as other methods http://www.crochetcabana.com/html/tutorials.html

 

if you want a bit of openness you could do something like flat braid join, here under afghan joinings http://priscillascrochet.net/freepatterns.html   it is a really pretty method, and I like it also because it makes the joining nice and flexible.   

[Katieallen311815]

good luck, do let us know how it goes from time to time!

[fornight]

Hi,

 

I managed to buy some yarns from a craft store near to my flat.  Someone recommended me to go to a particular store in Oslo who is famous for having the  most number of international yarns today.

http://www.tjorven.no/

This store allows online shopping as well.

 

But another friend told me the prices in this store is significantly higher than other small stores as well!  I wanted to make a wool blanket thus I decided to go to a small craft store near my flat instead.  Since the store is small, they might have more discounts.  The shop assistant recommended me to use a particular norwegian brand called SandnesGarn.  it is 100% wool and Washable.  the price is approx GBP 3.40 per ball (50g).  The colour selections are not as vibrant as I want but they will do.  I did not ask for discount as the original owner was not around instead it was a young student running the store (probably summer vacation job).

 

I just finished my first two Solid Granny Squares.  I have a problem now.  Originally I was thinking of joining them using the "As it goes" method...but since I am using solid granny square patterns, I do not have as many holes to do the "As it goes".  What other joining method is preferred for Solid Granny Squares pattern?

 

Oh yes, I just put in an order for Clover hooks but I think i will still stick to 3.5mm hook.  I hope the hooks will arrive soon.  My hands are feeling tired just crocheting two squares.

[magiccrochetfan]

When I posted about the Stylecraft, I was thinking that you were in the UK for some reason.  Then I realized you are in Norway but since Deramore's ships worldwide i thought that was still a possible resource.  34% customs is pretty high!  

 

If you want to, you can add your location to your profile so it will show on your posts and help people tailor replies to your situation---no use getting a lot of advice to shop at Hobby Lobby for example when it is a store that only exists in the US! 

 

Oh before i forget---about the 3.5 mm hook, that is going to be rather small for a lot of yarns, and is a further limitation on the kinds of yarn you can use for the granny square blanket.  I did see your post about looking for places to buy more  hooks, so I wish you good luck in that search!

 

So tell us more about the shops you have access to , to look for yarn for the blanket.  What kinds of yarn do they carry?  Can you order online from companies within Norway?  

 

It really is best to see the yarn in person, so that you can accurately see the colors and feel the texture of the yarn.  But sometimes that is not an option so we have to rely on online descriptions and color pictures.  

[fornight]

The blogger did mentioned that he was using Stylecraft colours pack.  The problem is I can't get it locally in Norway.  If I order online, anything that is more than USD 20 (inclusive of shipping fees), the Norway custom duties charge a ridiculous 34% extra as taxes. I think the government is trying to discourage people from purchasing online but the local prices are ridiculously high.

 

I only have a 3.5mm useable hook anyway that someone gave to me for free.  I will probably do a few sample squares to check the measurements.

[magiccrochetfan]

Does that blogger say anything about the specific yarn used? You could use the same, if you like those colors.

 

Have you seen the Stylecraft special packs? http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#sort=best&query=Noble%20silk%20suit

Actually maybe that is what was used in the photo you linked.

[fornight]

Hi,

 

sorry that my post is not clear.  I meant the solid granny squares pattern.  I was hoping to do the project like this:

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OfPQreW-1Js/UIv3mXwUNCI/AAAAAAAAFPQ/W3Hamp3FtAQ/s640/IMG_5648.JPG

 

 

I don't think I will dare to venture into multi colours PER square yet.  That will be for the future. 

[magiccrochetfan]

When you say 17 colors, it amkes me think you are talking about the Babette blanket http://www.interweavestore.com/babette-blanket

Is that right?  

 

if so, you could try to come as close as possible to the original colors.  But that might be hard if you are not using the original yarn.  I agree with Katy, any kind of granny design usually looks good in a real mix of colors.  You are going to have so many colors that the color order is really not worht worrying over---colors are going to be next to each other where the squares meet any way.  

 

So let us know if it is the Babette or a different pattern that you want to make, and we can offer more ideas.  

[Katieallen311815]

Hi,

Ive done many granny square blankets, and a mish mash of color is always safe! Least it has been for me, I have not seen a granny square yet, that isn't color pleasing, and without much planning if any! ! Did you say you wanted a solid Pattern, or a solid color squares, I am not clear on that from your post. If its a solid pattern there are lots of tutorials and videos on you tube for a closer and closed stitched granny square. And if is is a solid color, pick a pallet, earth tones, brights, pastels, gem tones, nuetrals, etc. Or mix and match and make it a modge podge of colors! Looks like patch work quilt-y that way.... For ideas on how to join them, again, many tutorials out there. Stop in the thread below Granny Square Friendship thread, and look at some of the squares people have crocheted for others in the group. If you need help, feel free to ask anyone there! Hope that helps!