The Crossed Stitch Granny Square Blanket

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Granny Squares are a wonderful crochet tradition. There are so many variations of Granny Squares, and just about every variation seems to have already been done – it is very challenging to come up with something totally new and unique. The Crossed Stitch Granny Square is my attempt at a variation which is a new take on the traditional version.

These are called Crossed Stitch Granny Squares owing to a round of ‘crossed trebles’, which is evident on both sides of the square. The crossed trebles also feature in the border rounds. The Crossed Stitch Granny Square is a 6-round design which uses 3 colours in each square. The ‘crossed treble’ stitches are found on round 5. The pattern uses two stitches – treble crochet (in US terms this is double crochet) and half treble crochet (in US terms this is a half double crochet). I found that the completed square satisfyingly square and and did not require any blocking. But, as everyone’s tension is different you may want to adapt the number of chains in the corners to suit your tension to make the square even and flat.

The first part of this page covers making the individual Crossed Stitch Granny Square, and there is a video tutorial as well as a written pattern available for you free. The second part of the page covers how to join the squares and how to work the border – again, there is a video tutorial available as well as a written pattern. The colour plan is available on this page below.

The colours I used for this blanket are bright and warm, which just make it a delightful project to spend time on. Of course, you can choose your own colour scheme. I used 9 colours from the Stylecraft Special DK range. You can purchase this yarn here.

Equipment

Crochet Hook: 4mm or size needed to achieve gauge

Yarn:

DK weight yarn in nine colours,100g/295m each.

I used Stylecraft Special DK in:

Lemon – (100g/295m),

Shrimp – (100g/295m)

Dandelion – (100g/295m),

Raspberry – (100g/295m),

Fuchsia Purple – (100g/295m),

Saffron – (100g/295m)

Clementine -(100g/295m)

Pomegranate – (100g/295m)

Fondant – (100g/295m)

You can purchase this yarn here.

Notions: Scissors, Needle to weave in ends

Finished size: Approximately 106cm x 106cm, the actual size of your blanket will depend on your tension (how tightly you crochet).

Skill Level: Intermediate

Gauge: Completed square (6 rounds) as per pattern: 11.5-12cm x 11.5-12cm. Gauge is not critical to this project, but may affect yarn quantities.

Abbreviations/Crochet Terms

UK terms are used throughout.

Sl st – slip stitch
htr – half treble crochet (US half double crochet)
tr – treble crochet (US double crochet)
ch – chain
*to* – instructions between asterisks will be repeated as specified
Beg-ch – beginning chain

The Crossed Stitch Granny Square Blanket Pattern – colour order

Video Tutorial

A video tutorial for the squares can be found here.

Written Pattern

Notes on the pattern:

Turn over after each round
Stitches are worked in between stitches rather than in the usual top of the stitch
The square is worked in 6 rounds, using 3 colours – 2 rounds of each colour.
If you find that the square does not lie flat, feel free to adjust the number of chains in the corners
You will need to make 64 squares

Round 1: Use Colour A

Ch4; sl st in first ch to form a ring (or make a magic ring);
Ch3 (counts as 1tr); 2tr into ring; ch1;
[3tr into ring; ch1] three times;
Sl st into third ch of beg-ch3 to close round. Turn over.
All subsequent rounds are worked in-between the stitches of the round below, this will be known as the ‘spaces’ in the following instructions.

Round 2 (RS): Continue with Colour A

Sl st back into the ch1 space you just formed.
Ch2 (counts as 1htr) 1htr into same ch1 space (this is the first part of the first corner formed);
1htr in each of the next two spaces between the stitches of the round below,
*[2htr, ch1, 2htr] in the ch1 space to form a corner, 1htr in each of the next two spaces*.
Repeat from *to* twice more,
2htr into first corner space, ch1, sl st into the second ch of the beg-ch2 to complete the corner and close the round.
Fasten off yarn A. Turn the square over.

Round 3 (WS): Use Colour B

Pull up a loop in any ch1 corner space,
Ch3 (counts as 1tr), 1tr in same corner space. Skip the first space between the htr’s below, 2tr in the next space, skip the next space, 2tr in the next space,
*[2tr, ch1, 2tr] in the corner space, skip the next space, 2tr in the next space, skip the next space, 2tr in the next space*.
Repeat from *to* twice more,
[2tr, ch1] in the corner space, sl st into third chain of beg-ch3 to close the round.
Turn over.

Round 4 (RS): Continue with Colour B

Sl st back into the ch1 space you just formed.
Ch2 (counts as 1htr), 1htr into same corner space, 1htr in each space between the stitches of the round below (a total of 7),
*[2htr, ch1, 2htr] in the ch1 corner space to form a corner, 1htr in each space between the stitches from the round below (a total of 7)*.
Repeat from *to* twice more.
[2htr, ch1] in the first corner. Sl st in second chain of beg-ch2 to close the round. Fasten off yarn B. Turn over.

Round 5 (WS): Use Colour C

Pull up a loop in any ch1 corner space,
Ch3 (counts as 1tr), 1tr in same corner space.
Skip the first TWO spaces between stitches, 1tr in the next space, go back and work 1tr in the skipped space to the right of the stitch you have just worked (you have just formed a ‘crossed treble’).
[Skip the next space, 1tr in the next space, go back and work 1tr in the skipped space to the right of the stitch] three times (you will have a total of 4 ‘crossed trebles’),
*[2tr, ch1, 2tr] in the corner space, skip the next TWO spaces, 1tr in the next space, go back and work 1tr in the skipped space to the right of the stitch, [skip the next space, 1tr in the next space, go back and work 1tr in the skipped space to the right of the stitch] three times*.
Repeat from *to* twice more,
[2tr, ch1] in first corner space. Sl st to third chain of beg-ch3 to close the round. Turn over.

Round 6 (RS): Continue with Colour C

Sl st back into the ch1 space you just formed.
Ch2 (counts as 1htr), htr into same corner space, 1htr in each space the stitches of the round below, (including in between the crossed stitches) (a total of 11 htr across, not including the corner stitches),
*[2htr, ch2, 2htr] in the ch1 corner space to form a corner, 1htr in each space between the stitches from the round below*.
Repeat from *to* twice more,
2htr, ch2 in the first corner. Sl st in second chain of beg-ch2 to close the round. Fasten off yarn C – keep a long tail if you want to use this extra yarn to sew your squares together.

Make 64 squares

Joining

Arrange the squares in number order as in the diagram further up the page, with square 1 in the bottom left corner. Join the squares together using whichever method you choose – I sewed them together using the using the long tails l had left at the end of working the 6^th round. With RS together. Work a mattress sewing stitch through the back loops (these will be the outer loops of both squares – be careful not to confuse these with the third loop of the htr stitches). Please see the video on joining and border.

Border

The border is worked in 9 rounds, using 5 colours (pomegranate, clementine, lemon, shrimp and saffron).

Video for Joining & Border

A video tutorial for joining and border can be found here.

Written pattern for the border

B1:

Start with the right side (RS) of the blanket facing.
Pull up a loop in any corner using Pomegranate yarn. Ch2 (counts as 1htr), 1htr in same corner space.
1htr in each space along the side of the blanket.
[2htr, ch2, 2htr] in the corner, continue along each the side of the blanket with 1htr in each space and working [2htr, ch2, 2htr] in each corner.
Upon reaching the corner where you started, complete the corner by working [2htr, ch2] and sl st into the second chain of the beg-ch2. Fasten off Pomegranate. Turn blanket over.

B2 (WS):

Pull up a loop in any ch2 corner space using Clementine yarn.
Ch2 (counts as 1tr). 1tr in same corner space.
*Skip first space, 2tr in next space*, repeat from *to* around the blanket, working [2tr, ch1, 2tr] in each corner.
When you reach the start of the round work [2tr, ch1] in the corner space and sl st into the third chain of the beg-ch3 to close the round. Turn blanket over.

B3 (RS):

Continue with Clementine. Sl st into the ch1 space just worked.
Ch2 (counts as 1htr), 1htr in same corner space.
1htr in each space around the blanket, working [2htr, 2ch, 2htr] in each corner space.
Upon reaching the start of the round, work [2htr, ch2] in the corner space and sl st into the second chain of the beg-ch2. Fasten off yarn. Turn blanket over.

B4 (WS):

Using Lemon, pull up a loop in any ch2 corner space.
Ch3 (counts as 1tr), 1tr in same corner space.
Skip the first TWO spaces, 1tr in the next space, go back and work 1tr in the skipped space to the right of the stitch. *Skip the next space, 1tr in the next space, go back and work 1tr in the skipped space to the right of the stitch*, repeat from *to* along the first side until you reach the corner.
[2tr, ch1, 2tr] in the corner space.
Skip the next TWO spaces, 1tr in the next space, go back and work 1tr in the skipped space to the right of the stitch. *Skip the next space, 1tr in the next space, go back and work 1tr in the skipped space to the right of the stitch*, repeat from *to* along the first side until you reach the corner.
Continue working crossed stitches along each side and [2tr, ch1, 2tr] in each corner until you reach the corner where you started.
[2tr, ch1] to complete the first corner, sl st into the to third chain of beg-ch3 to close the round. Turn blanket over.

B5 (RS): Continue with Lemon. Repeat as for round B3.

B6 (WS): Using yarn Shrimp. Repeat as for round B4

B7 (RS): Continue with Shrimp, repeat as for round B3

B8 (WS): Using Saffron, repeat as for round B4

B9 (RS): Continue with Saffron, repeat as for round B3.

Make sure all ends are woven in. Lightly block if needed.