How to Choose Colours for a Granny Square Blanket

Choosing colours is one of my favourite parts of designing a granny square blanket. The right combination of shades can completely transform a project, whether you’re creating something soft and calming, bright and playful or warm and cosy.

If you’ve ever found yourself surrounded by balls of yarn, unsure which colours to choose, you’re not alone! Planning a colour palette can feel overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

In this guide, I’ll share the approach I use when designing my own granny square blankets. Although I use Stylecraft Special DK in many of my blankets, these ideas work equally well with Paintbox Yarns, Hayfield Bonus DK, Stylecraft Bellissima, Drops Merino, Scheepjes Colour Crafter and many other DK yarns.

How Do You Choose Colours for a Granny Square Blanket?

The easiest way to choose colours for a granny square blanket is to start with one colour you love, decide on the mood you want to create, build a balanced palette using light, medium and dark shades, and repeat those colours throughout the blanket. Testing your layout before joining the squares will help create a harmonious finished design.

Who is This Guide For?

This guide is ideal if you:

• are making your first granny square blanket
• struggle to choose yarn colours
• want your blanket to look balanced rather than random
• are using Stylecraft Special DK or another DK yarn
• love colourful crochet but don’t know where to start

At A Glance

✓ Start with one colour you love
✓ Decide on the mood
✓ Mix light, medium and dark shades
✓ Think about warm and cool colours
✓ Repeat colours throughout the blanket
✓ Choose joining and border colours carefully
✓ Test your layout before joining

Start with One Colour You Love

Rather than trying to choose all your colours at once, begin with a single shade that you know you want to use.

This could be:

• your favourite colour
• a colour inspired by nature
• a seasonal favourite
• a shade that matches your home
• or simply a ball of yarn you’ve fallen in love with.

Once you’ve chosen your starting point, it’s much easier to build the rest of your palette around it.

For my Amethyst Granny Square Blanket, I started with Stylecraft Special DK in Wisteria, a beautiful warm mauve. From there I chose complementary shades to create a balanced colour palette that felt soft, elegant and cohesive.

This formed the palette for my Amethyst Granny Square Blanket, a blanket that I made early on in my crochet journey in 2020. You can find more about this project on the dedicated blog post.

Decide on the Mood

Before selecting more colours, think about the feeling you want your blanket to create.

Do you want it to feel:

• calm and relaxing?
• bright and cheerful?
• modern and minimalist?
• cosy and autumnal?
• fresh and spring-like?

When I design a blanket, I usually start with the mood first and then choose colours that support that feeling.

Build a Balanced Colour Palette

One of the easiest ways to create a harmonious blanket is to include a mixture of light, medium and dark shades.

A balanced palette might include:

• one or two lighter shades
• two mid-tones
• one darker colour for contrast

I often photograph my yarn pegs or yarn balls together before I start crocheting a project. Looking at the photo makes it easier to spot colours that dominate the palette or shades that don’t quite fit. Switching your phone to black and white also helps check that you have a good mix of light, medium and dark tones.

This variation helps individual granny squares stand out and prevents the finished blanket from looking flat.

Consider Colour Temperature

Another way to create a balanced colour palette is to think about colour temperature. Colours are often described as either warm or cool, and this can have a big impact on the overall feel of your blanket.

• Warm colours such as reds, oranges, golds and warm pinks create a cosy, inviting feel.
• Cool colours including blues, greens and cool purples tend to feel calm, fresh and relaxing.

You don’t have to use only warm or only cool shades. Mixing both can create beautiful contrast, but keeping most of your colours within the same temperature often produces a more harmonious result.

If you’d like to learn more about how warm and cool colours work together, take a look at my Colour Theory for Crocheters guide.

How Many Colours Should You Use?

There’s no perfect number, but these are good starting points.

• 3 colours create a clean, modern design.
• 5 colours work beautifully for most granny square blankets.
• 6–8 colours create a colourful patchwork effect.
• 10 or more colours are perfect for scrappy blankets using leftover yarn.

Don’t feel you have to use lots of colours—simple palettes can be just as striking.

Should Every Granny Square Be Different?

One of the best things about granny square blankets is that there isn’t just one right way to arrange your colours. Whether every square is identical or completely unique, both approaches can create beautiful results.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Use the same colours in every square for a classic, symmetrical look that’s calm and cohesive. This can be seen in the Pretty Silver Granny Square Blanket.
• Keep the same colours but change the order in each round to add interest while maintaining a balanced overall design. In Neon Spin, the same contrast colours appear in every square but in a different sequence.
• Give every square a unique colour combination for a vibrant patchwork blanket full of personality, such as the Cath Kidston-Inspired Granny Square Blanket.
• Alternate between two or three repeating designs to create variety while keeping the blanket feeling organised.
• Use one solid colour in every square to create a simple but colourful statement, as in the Dolphin Blue Granny Square Blanket.

Whichever approach you choose, repeating colours throughout the blanket helps create a sense of balance. If you’re making a blanket with lots of colours, try to use each shade several times rather than only once.

Repeating colours helps tie the design together and gives the blanket a more harmonious appearance. In my own blankets I often combine repeating and rotating colour sequences so every square feels different while the overall design stays balanced.

Ultimately, whether every granny square is the same or completely different comes down to the style you’re trying to achieve. A consistent colour layout creates a more traditional, structured blanket, while varied squares give a relaxed, scrappy look that’s full of character. Neither approach is better—the best choice is the one that brings your colour palette to life.

How to Spread Colours Across Your Granny Squares

Before joining your blanket, lay all of your granny squares out on a bed or the floor.

Look for areas where:

• several dark squares sit together
• one colour appears too often in one section
• similar shades are clustered together

Try moving the squares around until the colours are evenly distributed across the blanket. This was particularly important in the Midnight Garden Blanket where I wanted to balance the bright pink evenly across the design.

Taking a photograph of the layout can help you spot imbalances that aren’t obvious at first glance.

Choosing a Joining Colour

The joining colour has a big influence on the finished look.

Using the same joining colour throughout the blanket helps tie all the granny squares together.

Popular choices include:

• cream
• white
• light grey
• stone
• black for a bold contrast

For the example below I opted for Stylecraft Special DK in Pistachio. This made the bright red on the outer rounds of the individual squares stand out.

If your granny squares contain lots of different colours, choosing a neutral joining colour often creates a calmer overall design. If your palette is simpler, using one of the main colours for joining can produce a bolder, more graphic effect.

Choosing a Border Colour

The border is the finishing touch and can completely change the appearance of your blanket.

You might choose:

• the same neutral used for joining
• the darkest colour in your palette to frame the blanket
• the lightest shade for a softer finish
• a completely contrasting colour to make the design pop

If you’re unsure, crochet a few sample rounds before committing to the full border. Many of my Granny Square blankets, like the October Granny Square Throw, have a really simple granny stitch border in the same colour as the joining colour, but sometimes adding different colours to the border can create the perfect frame for the blanket, like the Magic Pink Granny Square Blanket.

Remember that the border frames your entire blanket. A narrow border in a neutral shade can create a subtle finish, while a wide border in a contrasting colour becomes a design feature in its own right.

Find Colour Inspiration Everywhere

Some of my favourite colour palettes have been inspired by everyday life.

Look for inspiration in:

• flowers and gardens
• beaches and coastlines
• autumn leaves
• sunsets
• home interiors
• artwork
• fabrics
• your favourite photographs

You’ll often discover beautiful colour combinations long before you pick up your crochet hook.

Common Granny Square Colour Mistakes

• Choosing colours with very similar tones
• Using too many bright colours with no neutrals
• Not repeating colours throughout the blanket
• Forgetting to consider the joining colour
• Choosing the border colour last without testing

Explore More Colour Inspiration

If you’re looking for ready-made colour combinations, browse my crochet colour palette collection. Each palette has been created using Stylecraft Special DK, but you can easily recreate the same look with similar shades from your favourite yarn brand.

You can also explore my free granny square blanket patterns to see how different colour palettes come together in finished projects.

You May Also Like

Choosing colours doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start with one shade you love, think about the mood you’d like to create and don’t be afraid to experiment. Some of the most beautiful granny square blankets begin with a colour combination that simply felt right.

If you’d like more inspiration, browse my collection of crochet colour palettes and free granny square blanket patterns to discover new colour combinations for your next project.