My Granny Square Memories

My Great Grandmother, Alice, had a love of yarn and colour and during her later years (she lived well into her 90s) she would make Granny Squares using yarn that she unravelled and reused from garments she found at jumble sales or in charity shops. She made hundreds of blankets which she donated to charities and gave away to friends and family. Pretty much everyone in our family still has one of her heirloom pieces. The blanket shown in the centre of the pile in the image below was made by her.

​I was very young when my Great Grandmother died, but I vividly remember her sitting with brightly coloured crochet squares arranged on her lap while she worked out the order in which she would put her project together. I am pretty sure that at some point she showed me how to make a chain, but I didn’t get any further with my crochet skills until much later on.

​When I finally learnt to crochet (probably about 20 years ago) I did it as if I was knitting, holding the hook in my right hand like a knitting needle and throwing the yarn around the hook to make the stitches. I had previously attended a learn to crochet workshop where the tutor was adamant that I should hold the hook in the ‘correct’ way, but I couldn’t get on with holding yarn in my left hand so I went away and improvised my own technique, learning the steps of the stitches as I did so. I finally taught my left hand to get involved once I had mastered all the stitches and I wanted to get faster. I hate it when proficient crocheters seek to shame others by talking about the ‘correct’ way to do things, don’t you? I feel like it can put people off and make them give up quickly. As far as I am concerned, if you can make stitches that look good, then you can crochet! 

​When I started designing crochet along projects in 2011 I was still relatively new to the craft, but I was very keen to get away from the idea of traditional Granny Squares and tried to create projects that’s pushed the boundaries of the craft a little. Since then, I feel a bit like I have made a rod for my own back, trying to create more and more complicated designs, with lots of layering and colour changes. I am very proud of my back catalogue of designs, but I think the complexity of many of them has started to hold me back in terms of new designs. 

​I have recently made a pact with myself to go back to simpler projects going forwards, especially as the reaction to our Zero to Granny series on YouTube, and its accompanying free download pattern, has been so good! It is heartening to know that there are still plenty of newbies out there, who are keen to get going.

Granny Square Day presents beginners and seasoned crocheters alike, with the best excuse to sit and crochet all day! I am incredibly proud to have been chosen as one of Simply Crochet Magazine’s GSD Ambassadors this year. Part of my commitment to them has involved designing a new free Granny pattern, which Emma has named Estella – inspired by the star shape that sits around the central flower. ​I am never totally sure what classes as a true Granny Square, but I like to think that the traditional clusters of stitch groups (usually 3tr) are part of the remit, so I have included them in this square. You can find the free pattern by following this link.

Happy Granny Square Day!