Mar
okay so patchwork blankets from scraps
I made one of these in spring 2022 when I had like four bags of leftover yarn just sitting in my closet and I was tired of looking at them. The whole thing started because I joined this yarn subscription box thing for like three months and then cancelled it but had all these random skeins in colors I wouldn’t normally buy. Plus stuff from other projects that didn’t work out.
The basic idea is you’re gonna make a bunch of squares and then connect them. I know that sounds obvious but there’s actually different ways to do it and which one you pick matters for how annoying the project becomes later.
picking your square size
I went with 6 inch squares because that seemed manageable. Some people do 4 inch which honestly sounds like torture because you’d need SO many squares. For a lap blanket you’re looking at maybe 48 squares if you do 6 inch (that’s like 6 squares by 8 squares). For a full throw blanket more like 80-100 squares.
Don’t make them too big though because then you lose the whole patchwork effect and it just looks like… well or you could just make a regular blanket at that point.
the granny square situation
Most people default to granny squares for this and yeah they work fine. The traditional granny square is just rounds of double crochet clusters with chain spaces between them. You start with a magic ring, do like 12 double crochets in the first round, then each round after that you’re making corner clusters and side clusters.
I used Red Heart Super Saver for probably half my squares because I had a ton of it. Also some Caron Simply Soft in this teal color that I bought for a sweater that never happened. And random stuff from Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn brand which is actually pretty decent for the price.
The pattern I used most was: magic ring, chain 3, then 2 dc in ring, chain 2, then *3 dc chain 2* three more times, slip stitch to top of beginning chain. That’s round 1. Round 2 you slip stitch over to the chain space, chain 3, 2 dc in same space, chain 1, then in the corner space you do 3 dc chain 2 3 dc, then chain 1, and repeat around.
But honestly you can find like a million granny square patterns online and they all work basically the same way.
other square options
I got bored of granny squares around square number 30 and started doing solid squares too. Just double crochet back and forth in rows until you have a square. Way faster actually but uses more yarn per square.
There’s also this thing called a sunburst granny square that looks cool where you change colors every round so you get this radiating effect. I made maybe 10 of those scattered throughout the blanket.
The important thing is all your squares gotta end up the same size. I kept a cardboard template cut to 6 inches and would measure as I went. Some squares I had to add an extra round, some I had to redo because they were too big.
the yarn situation and planning colors
So here’s what annoyed me the most about this whole project: trying to make the color distribution look random but intentional. Like you don’t want all your blue squares in one corner. But you also don’t want it to look too planned out. I spent probably two hours laying squares out on my living room floor while my cat kept sitting on them. I was watching The Great British Baking Show at the time and kept having to rewind because I wasn’t paying attention.
I had a lot of neutrals (white, cream, grey) from a failed attempt at making kitchen dishcloths that I hated. Then brighter colors in smaller amounts. What worked was using the neutrals as like anchor points throughout and then scattering the bright colors.
Weight of yarn matters too. I mostly used worsted weight (the medium stuff) with a 5mm hook. But I had some DK weight yarn that I used double-stranded to match the thickness. One square I accidentally made with chunky yarn and had to frog it because it was way too big.
actually joining the squares
Okay so there’s like three main methods: whipstitch them together, single crochet them together, or join-as-you-go.
I did NOT do join-as-you-go because I wanted to be able to arrange and rearrange my squares until I was happy with the layout. Join-as-you-go is where you connect each square to the previous ones as you’re making the last round, which sounds efficient but also sounds like you gotta have everything planned perfectly from the start.
I used the single crochet seam method. You put two squares wrong sides together (so the right sides are facing out on both sides of the blanket) and then single crochet through both loops of both squares along the edge. I used whatever neutral color I had the most of which was this off-white Red Heart.
The whipstitch method is where you use a yarn needle and just sew them together. It’s flatter and less visible but takes longer and my hands cramped up when I tried it.
I joined all my squares into rows first, then joined the rows together. So like I’d connect 8 squares in a row, do that 10 times, then connect all the rows. Made it easier to keep track of where I was.
the actual process timeline
Making the squares took me maybe 6 weeks working on it casually. I could make 2-3 squares in an evening watching TV. The solid double crochet squares were faster, maybe 45 minutes each. Granny squares took about an hour each especially if I was doing color changes.
Joining everything took another two weeks because I kept putting it off. It’s tedious. Your hands get tired. The blanket gets heavy and awkward to maneuver as it gets bigger.
border or no border
I added a border because the edges looked kind of messy without one. Just three rounds of double crochet in that same off-white color. First round I made sure to put 3 dc in each corner to keep it flat. Some people do fancy borders with shells or picots but I was so done with the project by that point.
The border actually helped a lot with making it look finished and intentional instead of just like I stuck a bunch of squares together.
yarn amounts if you’re trying to plan
I literally used up scraps so I wasn’t tracking amounts but if you’re buying yarn specifically for this: for a throw blanket size maybe 2000-2500 yards total? That’s like 5-6 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver (the big 7oz ones). But it totally depends on your square size and how many squares you’re making.
The nice thing about scrap afghans is you can just keep making squares until you run out of yarn or patience, whichever comes first. If you end up short you can always make it a smaller blanket or add more border rounds.
tension and gauge stuff
This is gonna sound bad but I didn’t really worry about gauge. Like yes technically you should keep your tension consistent so all your squares come out the same size but honestly I just adjusted by adding or removing rounds as needed. Some of my early squares were tighter than my later ones because I was still figuring out my tension with the 5mm hook.
If one square was slightly smaller I’d add another round. If it was too big I’d rip out the last round or switch to a smaller hook for that square.
things that actually helped
Keeping all my in-progress squares in a big ziplock bag with the pattern written on an index card inside. I thought I’d remember the pattern but after making like 15 squares I’d forget if I was on round 3 or round 4.
Taking a photo of my layout before joining squares. Because I definitely bumped my arrangement on the floor a few times and had to remember where everything went.
Using stitch markers on my first few squares to mark the corners. The chain-2 spaces are corners and you need to know where they are when you’re joining squares. After a while you can see it automatically but at first it helped.
Not weaving in ends as I went. I know everyone says to weave in ends immediately but I hate it so much that I saved them all for the end. Watched a whole season of something while weaving in like 200 ends. It was mind-numbing but at least I could binge TV guilt-free.
mistakes I made
Using variegated yarn for some squares. It looked cool as individual squares but in the finished blanket those squares totally dominated visually and threw off the whole balance. Should’ve stuck with solid colors or at least more subtle variegation.
Not blocking my squares before joining them. Some of them were slightly wonky shapes and blocking would’ve helped. I was too lazy though and just stretched them into shape as I joined them which mostly worked.
Starting with too many different colors. I think I used like 15 different colors and it would’ve looked better with maybe 8-10. More cohesive or whatever.
the finished blanket
It’s actually really warm because it’s basically double thickness where the seams are. I use it on my couch and it’s held up pretty well. The seams haven’t come apart or anything even after washing it a few times.
Washing instructions: I just threw it in the machine on delicate with cold water and laid it flat to dry. The Red Heart and Caron yarn are both acrylic so they’re pretty indestructible. If you used wool or cotton you’d need to be more careful.
Size-wise mine ended up being like 48 inches by 60 inches which is a decent lap blanket size. Not big enough for a bed but good for the couch.
if I were to do it again
I’d probably pick like 5 colors max and stick with them. Maybe three neutrals and two accent colors. Would look more cohesive.
I might try the join-as-you-go method just to see if it’s actually faster even though you lose the flexibility of rearranging.
Definitely would block the squares first. Just pin them to foam blocking mats and spray with water, let them dry. Would make joining so much easier.
Maybe use a smaller hook for a tighter fabric? The 5mm hook with worsted weight yarn made a pretty drapey fabric which is fine but a 4.5mm might’ve been better.
random tips that might help
If you’re using really small scraps you can do striped granny squares where you change color every round. Uses up tiny amounts of yarn and looks intentional.
Keep a list of how many squares you’ve made in each color so you can track if you’re running low on something. I ran out of the teal Caron Simply Soft and couldn’t find the same dye lot so those squares are slightly different shades which bugs me.
You can mix different square patterns as long as they’re all the same size. Like half granny squares and half solid squares gives you texture variation.
If your squares are curling at the edges you’re probably crocheting too tight. Go up a hook size or consciously loosen your tension.
The magic ring is better than chaining 4 and joining for the center because there’s no hole in the middle. But if you can’t do a magic ring just chain 4 and join, it’s fine.
When you’re joining squares with single crochet seams, don’t pull the stitches too tight or your blanket will pucker. Keep it loose and easy.
