YouTube has served as a remarkable resource for learning how to crochet. And my zeal to learn was all thanks to the Needlework community.
At first I hesitated in starting because I wasn’t sure what was going to become of this activity. But as I bought my tools and crocheted for the first time after so long, I knew I had found something special.
Designed my Images using Canva
Now the art of crocheting has not only served as a hobby but also as a solace to seek when my mind needs some peace and quiet. I literally stitch when I long for some zen. And it has become one of the things I do for hours on end without getting tired.
Anyway, I dabbled in making granny squares the other day. After seeing a lot of adorable patterns, I figured I should start with the most basic of squares I could find and work my way from there.
So here is a step-by-step on how to make a basic granny square.
Tools
· Any yarn of your choice
· A crochet pin
· Scissors
Procedure
The first step is to make a magic ring, as demonstrated below.
After making the ring, you make three single chains, one double crochet, and then two chains.
Going forward, you make three double crochets inside the magic ring, two single chains, and three double crochets. You continue this pattern until you are left with three double crochets and the one single double crochet you did at the beginning.
At this point, you do one more double crochet and then a slip stitch at the top of the first double crochet you made at the beginning. When done, you should be left with a square or rectangle-looking shape with four edges.
At this point, you could continue with the same yarn (if that’s what you want to do), or you could switch yarns, like I did. If you want to switch yarns, all you have to do is make a knot and cut off your old yarn. Then you make a slip knot using your new yarn and then make a single crochet in one of the spaces in the square.
After this, you then make one double crochet in the space, followed by two single chains, then three double crochets inside the same space. After this, you make one single chain and move to the next space in the base square and make three double crochets + two single chains + three double crochets.
You do this all around the base square until you reach the first section when you started. Insert one double crochet in there, then make a slip stitch at the top of the first double crochet you made.
Moving on to the third row, make a single crochet in any one of the spaces. If you observe well, you would see that we now have a single space in the middle of each row and a space in the corners as well.
In the middle spaces, we are only required to insert one set of three double crochets. While in the corner spaces, we would insert three double crochets + two single chains + three double crochets.
So if we were to start our single crochet from a corner space, we would do three single chains +one double crochet + two single chains + three double crochets + one single chain. Then moving to the middle space, we insert three double crochets and a single chain.
Then moving to the corner space, we insert three double crochets + two single chains + three double chains + one single chains. Repeat this pattern around the square, and in the last square (the beginning), insert one more double crochet and make a slip stitch into the first double crochet.
As you repeat this pattern, the size of the square begins to grow, and the number of the middle spaces also begins to grow. You can then ride with it and tweak it to your liking. This is the result of what I got.
PS: I know it might all sound confusing and that a video would be better, but just try your best to understand the instructions and trust your guts from there. You could refer to the pictures for guidance.
All images used are mine...