Apr
Making the Granny Square Cardigan
So I made this patchwork cardigan back in spring 2022 when I was basically living on my couch watching old episodes of The Office for the third time, and honestly it turned out way better than I expected even though halfway through I wanted to throw the whole thing out the window.
The basic idea is you’re gonna make a bunch of granny squares and then sew them together into a cardigan shape. Sounds simple right? It kinda is but also it’s not because you have to actually think about the layout and sizing which I definitely didn’t do enough of at first.
What You Actually Need
I used Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice for most of mine because it was on sale at Michaels and I had a coupon. Got like 8 skeins in different colors – mustard yellow, this weird dusty rose, cream, and a dark teal. The good thing about Vanna’s Choice is it’s acrylic so you can just throw it in the washing machine later without panicking. I also had some Caron Simply Soft lying around from another project that I threw in there too.
You need a 5mm hook, or maybe 5.5mm if you crochet tight like I do. Scissors, yarn needle for weaving in ends which is the most annoying part honestly. And you’re gonna need a lot of time because making like 50+ granny squares is repetitive as hell.
The Granny Square Pattern
Each square starts with a magic circle or you can chain 4 and slip stitch into the first chain to make a ring, whatever works. I do the magic circle usually.
Round 1: Chain 3 (counts as first double crochet), then make 2 more double crochets into the ring. Chain 2, then make 3 double crochets. Chain 2 again. Keep going until you have 4 groups of 3 double crochets with chain-2 spaces between them. Those chain-2 spaces are your corners. Slip stitch to the top of the beginning chain-3.
Round 2: Slip stitch over to the first corner space. Chain 3, make 2 double crochets in that same corner space, chain 2, then 3 more double crochets in the same space. That’s your first corner done. Chain 1, then go to the next corner space and do the same thing – 3 double crochets, chain 2, 3 double crochets. Keep going around with chain-1 between each corner cluster.
Round 3: Same idea but now you’ve got more spaces to work into. Slip stitch to the corner, do your corner cluster (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc), chain 1, then 3 double crochets in the next space (the chain-1 space from the previous round), chain 1, then do the next corner. You’re basically building outward in a square shape.
I made most of my squares 4 rounds each but some I did 5 rounds because I ran out of one color and needed to make them bigger or… actually I don’t remember why I did that but it worked out okay.
The Thing That Annoyed Me
Okay so the most frustrating part was definitely keeping track of which squares I’d made and in what color combinations. I didn’t write anything down because I thought I’d just remember, but then I’d finish a square and be like “wait did I already make three of these or four?” and I’d have to count through my whole pile. Should’ve taken a photo or made a list or something but hindsight whatever.
Also weaving in ends. Each square has like 4-6 ends depending on how many colors you use and when you have 50 squares that’s literally 200+ ends to weave in. My cat kept trying to attack the yarn tails while I was working which didn’t help.
How Many Squares You Need
This depends on your size obviously but for a medium/large cardigan I made about 54 squares total. The layout I did was basically:
Back panel: 6 squares wide by 4 squares tall (24 squares)
Front panels: 3 squares wide by 4 squares tall for each side (24 squares total, 12 per side)
Sleeves: 3 squares wide by… wait I think I did them differently. Let me think. Okay so each sleeve was 3 squares going around and 2 squares long, so 6 squares per sleeve, 12 total for both sleeves.
But honestly you might want to measure yourself first. I just kinda guessed based on a cardigan I already owned and held squares up to it. Not super scientific but it worked.
Joining the Squares
There’s like a million ways to join granny squares and people get really opinionated about it but I just used the whip stitch method because it’s simple and I was already tired of this project by that point. You line up two squares with wrong sides together (so the seam shows on the outside which actually looks cool with this style) and whip stitch through both loops along the edge.
Some people do the join-as-you-go method where you connect squares while you’re crocheting them but I didn’t do that because I wanted flexibility to rearrange the color layout, which I did change like three times before committing.
Join all your back panel squares together first. Then do each front panel. Then sleeves. Don’t attach anything to each other yet.
Assembling the Cardigan
Okay so this is where you gotta think about construction. Lay out your back panel flat. Take your two front panels and position them on either side of the back panel at the shoulders. You’re gonna seam the shoulders together – usually about 2-3 squares worth of shoulder seam on each side.
The remaining squares on the front panels become your cardigan fronts that hang open. Make sense? So if your back is 6 squares wide and you seam 2 squares from each front panel to the back at the shoulders, you’ve got 4 squares creating the neck opening.
Then you attach the sleeves. This part is honestly kind of weird because you’re working in 3D now instead of flat. I pinned mine first with regular sewing pins to make sure the sleeve was positioned right before I started seaming. The sleeve top gets sewn into the armhole opening, and then you seam down the underarm and side seam all in one go.
The Edging
Once everything’s assembled you probably want to add edging around the front opening and bottom and sleeves to make it look more finished. I did single crochet around all the edges using the dark teal color. Just work into the ends of rows and try to keep your tension consistent so it doesn’t ruffle or pull tight.
For the front bands I did like 3 rows of single crochet to make them a bit sturdier. You could add buttons and buttonholes here if you want but I left mine open because I was gonna wear it with a belt anyway and also I was SO DONE with this project by then.
Sizing Adjustments
If you need it bigger just make more squares or make your squares bigger by adding extra rounds. If you need it smaller… make fewer squares or smaller squares. The nice thing about this construction method is it’s pretty forgiving. My cardigan ended up a little longer than I planned because I miscalculated but it actually looks fine, kind of like a duster length.
For sleeve length just add or remove a row of squares. Mine are 2 squares long which hits me about mid-forearm. If you want full-length sleeves you’d probably need 3 or 4 squares depending on your arm length and square size.
Color Planning
I did a scrappy random color thing where I just grabbed whatever colors I felt like for each square but tried to make sure the same color didn’t end up right next to itself too much. Some people plan out their whole color layout on graph paper first which is probably smarter but seems like a lot of work.
You could also do an ombre effect going from light to dark, or do each panel in a different color family, or make all the squares identical for a more uniform look. Whatever you want really.
One thing I’d recommend is making sure you have enough contrast between colors. I used one cream color that was too close to the light yellow and they kinda blend together in a weird way that bugs me when I look at it too long but nobody else has ever noticed so.
Yarn Amount
I used probably 10-12 skeins total? It’s hard to say exactly because I was pulling from my stash too. If you’re using worsted weight yarn figure maybe 2-3 skeins per color if you’re doing 4-5 colors. Better to have too much than run out halfway through because dye lots are a thing and trying to match colors later is annoying.
Time Investment
This took me like three weeks of working on it most evenings. Granny squares are fast to make individually – maybe 15-20 minutes per square – but when you need 50+ it adds up. The assembly probably took me two full evenings, and then weaving in ends was another few hours spread over several days because I could only handle doing like 10 at a time before wanting to stab myself with the yarn needle.
Wearing It
The finished cardigan is pretty heavy because of all that yarn but it’s super warm. I wear it around the house mostly or over a tshirt when it’s chilly out. It’s not like a professional looking garment or anything – you can see all the seams and it’s got that handmade vibe – but that’s kind of the point with patchwork stuff.
It stretches out a little with wear but going through the wash brings it back to shape. I just toss it in on cold and lay flat to dry or throw it in the dryer on low if I’m feeling lazy.
Variations You Could Try
You could make hexagon or triangle motifs instead of squares if you want a different look but the construction gets more complicated. Or do solid color squares and join them with a contrasting color. Some people add fringe to the bottom or sleeves which could look cool.
You could also make it cropped by using only 2 or 3 rows of squares instead of 4. Or make it oversized by adding more squares to the width. The basic construction stays the same you just adjust quantities.
Another option is to make the squares in different sizes and fit them together like a puzzle which looks really interesting but seems like it would be a pain to figure out the layout.
Mistakes I Made
I didn’t block my squares before joining them which meant some were slightly different sizes and I had to do some stretching and fudging to make them line up. If you’re a blocking person you should probably do that.
Also I should’ve tried it on during assembly instead of waiting until the end. I seamed the shoulders a little too wide so there’s some gaping at the neckline that I didn’t notice until it was done and I wasn’t about to rip out all that seaming.
And like I said the color thing where I didn’t plan ahead. But honestly it still looks fine, kind of chaotic but in an intentional way or at least that’s what I tell myself.
Oh and I made my starting chain too tight on a bunch of squares so the centers are kind of puckered but once they’re all joined together you can’t really tell unless you’re looking for it.
