A granny square is a crochet

Crochet

Crochet is a process of creating fabric from yarn, thread, or other material strands using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by...

 technique for producing square fabric

Fabric

A fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...

 by working in rounds from the center outward. Granny squares are traditionally handmade. They resemble coarse lace

Lace

Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...

. Although there is no theoretical limit to the maximum size of a granny square, crocheters usually create multiple small squares (called "motifs

Motif (textile arts)

In the textile arts, a motif is a smaller element in a much larger work. In knitting and crochet, motifs are made one at a time and joined together to create larger works such as afghan blankets or shawls. A good example of a motif is the granny square.Motifs can be any size, but usually all...

") and assemble the pieces to make clothing

Clothing

Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...

, purses

Handbag

A handbag, or purse in American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, typically used by women, to hold personal items such as wallet/coins, keys, cosmetics, a hairbrush, pepper spray, cigarettes, mobile phone etc....

, Afghan blanket

Afghan blanket

An afghan is a blanket, wrap, or shawl of colored yarn. It is knitted or crocheted, often in geometric shapes. It can also be referred to as a "throw". Afghans were first made in Afghanistan and commonly featured geometric designs with many holes in the pattern. They are hand-stitched or knitted...

s, and other household textile

Textile

A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

s.

Granny square apparel is a cyclical fashion that peaked in the 1970s. As Stitch 'n Bitch

Stitch 'n Bitch

Stitch 'n Bitch is a phrase that has been used to refer to social knitting groups since at least World War II. Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitters Handbook, Published in 2003, was the first in a series of best-selling instructional books on knitting and crochet all titled with the phrase Stitch 'n...

series author Debbie Stoller

Debbie Stoller

Debbie Stoller is a New York Times best-selling American author, publisher and feminist pundit whose work includes magazines as well as books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York City, New York....

 describes:
Although particular color and pattern schemes for granny squares change with time, this class of motif is a staple among crocheters. Multicolor granny squares are an effective way to use up small amounts of yarn left over from other projects and basic granny square motifs do not require advanced skills to execute.

Construction

According to Edie Eckman in The Crochet Answer Book, "The familiar granny square is a special form of square motif. Although there are many variations on the granny square, the traditional one is a double-crocheted square made with a series of chains

Chain stitch

Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft - examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated to the Warring States period...

 and double-crocheted blocks--a kind of filet crochet

Filet crochet

Filet crochet is a type of crocheted fabric. This type of crocheted lace is gridlike because it uses only two crochet stitches: the chain stitch and the double crochet stitch Filet crochet is a type of crocheted fabric. This type of crocheted lace is gridlike because it uses only two crochet...

 in the round."

Any granny square begins with a small loop of chain stitch

Chain stitch

Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft - examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated to the Warring States period...

es. Basic granny squares alternate sets of double stitches and chain stitches. Variant patterns use different stitch types or produce other geometric shapes such as hexagons. In order to achieve a distinct angle at the corners the designer uses extra chain stitches. Subsequent rounds are added by wrapping multiple stitches around the existing chain stitches. Hundreds of variant motifs are in use and entire books have been devoted to granny square designs.

Further reading

• Susan Cottrell & Cindy Weloth, The New Granny Square, Ogden, Utah: Lark/Chapelle, 2006. ISBN 13:978-1-57990-980-2

External links

• Granny square tutorial