Crochet Crochet Patterns

Developing Your Crochet Skills With Granny Squares

Why making granny squares can really help you learn to crochet like a pro!

The Flower Star Square

Crochet is my main craft, but it has still taken time and effort to get it to the stage where I can call myself ‘an intermediate crocheter’ (I could say ‘advanced’ but I’m not sure what extra hoops you need to scramble through to get there 🙂 ).

And, although I began with what I considered to be simple items – like scarves and berets (more about the scarves later….) and moved on to making small bags, I was still looking for crochet methods that looked a little more decorative but were not too hard to do.

So, in 2018 I joined a facebook group to make granny squares.

I had tried the ‘classic granny square’ before and loved it – it grows so quickly 🙂 But making a different square a day was a whole new adventure.

Here are my first attempts at making granny squares:

My first set of Granny Squares

As you can see, they are okay… but I hadn’t at this stage worked out how to get the same tension on each square. I was pleased enough though 🙂

I had soon worked up to making what you would call an ‘intermediate square’. That was the Snowdrops and Butterflies Square by Jen Tyler.

Snowdrops and Butterflies Square made by me

In fact, I enjoyed making this square so much that I made 2 and then turned them into a little shoulder bag! (you can see it here: My Snowdrops and Butterflies Small Bag).

What I was discovering was the simple maxim – the more you do something the better you get at it. And I would add that you have to enjoy it too 🙂

By the time Granny Square Day came around later in 2018, I had designed my own crochet square the Flower Star Square. You can see my original Flower Star Square in the top picture and then a brighter version of that square below:

My Flower star Square in Bright Colours

And then, being someone who likes making bags… I turned it into a bag (well several actually). Here it is:
My Flower Star Square and Bags.

What I learned by making all those granny squares was:

  • Front post and back post stitches.
  • Overlay crochet.
  • How to make corners.
  • The ‘hidden’ stitch (stitch after a corner that it often slightly hidden)
  • How to stop a square from going sideways (I’ll do a post on that later).
  • Why keeping to the stitch count is vital 🙂
  • Learn to know your individual tension (for instance, my sc stitches work out tight, so I go up a hook size for an sc row).
  • How to read a diagram.

and lots more…

And for pattern designing:

  • How to make a square from a circle.
  • Keeping additional stitch count correct as the square grows in size.
  • How to add to the size of a square without changing the shape.

and so on…

What I’m really saying in this rather rambling post is that, from someone who knew how to make scarves, hats and the occasional small bag, I learned decorative stitches, how to read what looks like a complicated pattern, and how to have confidence in my crochet abilities.

So, for me, making lots of different crochet squares was how I really learned how to crochet.

For you it may be different, but if you are looking for something to learn crochet with (and something which doesn’t take too long to do), there are granny square Facebook groups, Ravelry groups, pages all over the internet, and more, so it won’t be a struggle to find them :).
So why not have a go at making granny squares?
I bet you’ll like it!