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Granny Square Day 2019 Part 2

Granny Square Day (August 15th) is fast approaching! I hope the video in last post helped navigate the mysteries of the slip stitch technique for the centre of my #peppergoosegranny2019 pattern. This is exactly the same technique I used to embellish my Sashiko Happy Coat for the #cgoa2019 Design Competition, so its a great way of giving it a go.


With the tricky embroidery done in Part 1, its time to add some squishy textured edging rounds and join squares together.



Below is a pic of the finished granny square in 2 easily seen Scheepjes Our Tribe colours: Yarn A (Motivate 983) and Yarn B (Pistachio Branch 878). This is quite nice - good for demonstrating technique, but I love a colour-overload project and at the end of the granny square pattern, I share how I am going about building my very colourful blanket at the bottom of this post ;)



Abbreviations (UK crochet terms)

approx approximately

beg beginning

blo back loop only: insert hook under back lp only

ch(s) chain(s)

ch-sp(s) chain space(s)

cnr corner

dc double crochet

dtr double treble crochet

htr half treble crochet

lp(s) loop(s)

PM(s) place markers

prev previous

rem remaining

rep(s) repeat(s)

RS right side

ss slip stitch(es)

standing with the starting loop on the hook, work the designated stitch normally as a means of joining new yarn to the piece of crochet where indicated

st(s) stitch(es)

tr treble crochet

yoh yarn over hook

Special Abbreviations

puff 3htr cluster with dc finish: (yoh, insert hook into designated st, yoh, pull up lp) 3 times (7 lps on hook), yoh, draw through first 6 lps, yoh, draw through 2 rem lps on hook.(Note: this is not a regular puff – I do this variation as I like how the dc finish makes the stitch taller.)


STITCH CHART to show complete Granny Square:


SO this is where we left off at the end of the previous post: Fabric square made, Edging Round 1 complete, and slip stitch embroidery worked at the centre of the "square". Continuing on...


Edging Round 2 With 2 strands of Yarn B and 5mm hook, reverse starting loop (see my blog CT#1 for more information about this), beg with a standing dc blo in 10th edging dc along from a corner stitch on the RS of the square, * dc blo across to cnr st, (dc blo, ch1, dc blo) in cnr st, rep from * 3 more times, dc blo across to beg dc blo, ss to beg dc blo, do NOT turn.

Before working the next round, check that you now have 23 stitches per side counting corner ch to corner ch. If you don't, then frog and re-work Edging Round 2, "fudging" (using a dc2tog blog or 2dc blog) as necessary to end up with 23 stitches per side.

(Tip: You can gently pull on starting tail to tighten the beg standing dc blo now if it’s a bit gapey, because you reversed the starting loop).


Edging Round 3 Ch1 (does not count as st), puff in st at base beg ch (see Special Abreviations), ch1, skip next dc, (puff, ch1) in every second dc across to cnr st, * (tr, ch1, dtr, ch1, tr, ch1) inserting hook under both loops of cnr st of 2 rows below (encasing the 3 cnr sts of prev row within these taller sts), (puff, ch1) in next and every second dc across to cnr st, rep from * 2 more times, (tr, ch1, dtr, ch1, tr, ch1) inserting hook under both loops of cnr st of 2 rows below, (puff, ch1) in next and every second dc across to beg puff, ss to beg puff, turn.


Edging Round 4 Ch1 (does not count as st), (dc, ch2) in each ch sp around to beg dc, Secret Sew Finish sewing through top 2 loops of second st of round over the top of the beg dc, sew tails in neatly.

You should now have 14 ch-sps cnr to cnr on each side of the square, with 13 dc sts between them. All done - ready for blocking and photos for Granny Square Day 2019!


MY MANY COLOURED GRANNY SQUARE BLANKET

I made the original square in two light colours for ease of demonstration, and never one to be content with just one version of something, I then really went to town picking up a bunch of colours and smashing them together for a much more vibrant palette!



Here is what I will be using for my blanket:

Colours 1-7 will be randomly used for Main Fabric or Edging Round 3:

1. Jellina Creations 971

2. Look At What I Made 972

3. The Curio Craft Room 974

4. Fifty Shades of 4 Ply 961

5. Haak Maar Raak 963

6. Simy 2 980

7. A Spoonful of Yarn 977

Colours 8-10 will be consistently used to make it look cohesive over multiple squares:

8. Heart 979 (all Edging Round 4)

9. Pistachio Branch 878 (all ss embroidery and all Edging Round 2)

10. Happy in Red 968 (all Joining Seams)


JOINING SEAM

You can of course, join the squares with what ever method you prefer. Here is the join I plan to use for my blanket: its what I call a "Chain Rope Join".



With 2 strands Yarn B and 5mm hook, reverse starting loop, beg with a standing ^ ss in aligned cnr ch-sps, * ch3, remove hook from active loop, insert hook front to back under both top loops of next dc on both pieces, pull active loop back through the dc sts, rep from * across squares to last ch-sp, ch3, remove hook from active loop, insert hook through aligned last ch-sps, pull active loop through the ch-sps, ch1 between squares, rep from ^ for each square across, ss to fasten off at end of last square.


Also refer to video demonstration joining the multicoloured squares below:



Joining squares for a blanket: Assemble all long side seams of blanket first then assemble all short side seams second, working a ch1 over the top of the previously worked long seams between squares.


Trim Blanket

With 1 strand each of Yarns A and B and 5mm hook, reverse starting loop, begin with standing dc in RS of any ch-sp of any square, (dc, ch2) in each ch-sp around, ss to beg dc.

Sew seam tails after completing Blanket trim.


Granny Square Slip Stitch Embroidery Variations:

You might have noticed - I also played around with the slip stitch technique: For the video demonstration in my previous blog post, I use 2 strands of yarn with a 5mm hook and work one pass of “Phase 1” shape, then one pass of “Phase 2” shape, (which is how I worked the surface crochet using Alpaca Rhythm in my #sashikohappycoat), but then I tried something a little different....


Variation of slip stitch technique

I really liked the effect of using 1 strand with a 5mm hook for Phase 1 and Phase 2, then turning back and retracing Phase 2 then Phase 1 backwards, so you end up with a double line of slip stitch of the same motif, and I think it gives it a more sleek, smoother finish for this project. The stitches bunch a bit where you make the 180 degree turn, but its at the same location as the starting and finishing tails, so you can use those to sew it down again as you fasten off. The number of slip stitches required to make the shape just doubled though, so maybe you won’t be a fan, ...but I like it!


Then of course, why stick with the one motif? I swapped the halves of my original motif over and the round motif becomes a flower of 4 petals. My start and finish point for this one is in the bottom right corner of the motif.


Variation of slip stitch technique and pattern

Go ahead and experiment! If you can draw it in a continuous line on a 16 x 16 square grid, it will fit within this Main Fabric square! Make up your own design... (Hint – who doesn’t love a heart shape?)


If you are looking for some of this squishy flecked Scheepjes "Our Tribe" yarn, look here:

Caros Atelier (Netherlands)

Yarnish (AUS)

KnitPurl Boutique and Yarns for All if you are in my home town of Perth, Western Australia.


Post your square on Instagram 15th August and follow Simply Crochet Magazine's posts


To be a part of Granny Square Day 2019, post a square cropped photo of your completed granny square on your Instagram account ON AUGUST 15TH 2019, with the tag #grannysquareday2019 and check out Simply Crochet Magazine's presentation of a virtual blanket! (Add the extra tag of #peppergoosegranny2019 and then I can see them too!)


Happy Stitching!!!






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