Hello, friend! It was a phenomenal Granny Square Day today, and I can tell you I spent way too much time on Instagram watching everyone post. Hashtag worth it!!
Granny Square Giveaway Update
I had over 260 people enter my giveaway celebrating Granny Square Day, and I will announce the 3 winners tomorrow. Look out for a blog post shortly with all the highlights and the fun giveaway info. I will be making virtual blankets with the squares that folks entered as well!
Head to #vvcalGSD2019 to see the entries!
Merryweather Square
As a thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway, and to all of the folks that shared the love by talking about it in their stories and IG / Facebook feeds, as well as just a HUGE thank you to everyone who follows this site, I decided to release a brand new free pattern today.
I named her Merryweather after the blue fairy on Sleeping Beauty, and I think it is just so fitting.
Here, you can see my full Merryweather Square made in Scheepjes Chunky Monkey [affiliate]. This square is nearly 12in! I just love this yarn. It is a smooth, non-pilling acrylic, and as you can see, it has incredible stitch definition. Very unique yarn.
Materials and Measurements
- Yarn: Scheepjes Catona – (100% Cotton Mercerized); (125m/50g)
- Hook: US Size 3.5mm
- Size: 6.5 inches
Related: Shop this yarn (affiliate links)
- Deramores
- Knotty House
- Wool Warehouse
- Black Sheep Wools
- Also available at other Scheepjes retailers.
Key Stitch Descriptions
- 2dccl 2 dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp indicated, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, pull yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, pull yarn through 3 lps
- 2trcl 2 tr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st/sp indicated, yoh, pull up lp, (yoh, pull yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, rep from * 1 time, yoh, pull yarn through 3 lps
- 3dccl 3 dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp indicated, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, pull yarn through 2 lps) 3 times, yoh, pull yarn through 4 lps
- beg beginning
- beg dc (sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
- beg tr (sc, ch2) – counts as 1 tr
- chN chain N number of times
- dc double crochet
- dc3tog (yoh, insert hook in next st, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, pull yarn through 2 lps) 3 times, yoh, pull yarn through 4 lps
- dc4tog (yoh, insert hook in next st, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, pull yarn through 2 lps) 4 times, yoh, pull yarn through 5 lps
- dc5tog (yoh, insert hook in next st, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, pull yarn through 2 lps) 5 times, yoh, pull yarn through 6 lps
- lp loop
- MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
- Rnd Round
- sc single crochet
- sk skip
- sp space (chain space)
- ss slip stitch
- st stitch
- yoh yarn over hook
Written Instruction
Rnd 1 MR, beg dc, (3dc, ch5, dc) 4 times omitting final dc, do not join rnd. [16 dc, 4 sp]
Rnd 2 (Beg dc in first st of Rnd 1, dc3tog) – counts as 1 dc4tog, (ch3, ss in ch-sp, ch3, dc4tog) 3 times, ch3, ss in ch-sp, dc in dc4tog – counts as 1 ch-3 sp. [4 dc4tog, 8 sp, 4 ss]
I forgot to photograph Round 2! How did that happen?! Sorry about that – you can see it in the first Round 3 pic below.
Note: On Rnd 3, stitches are worked around both ch-5 sps on Rnd 1, and ch-3 sps on Rnd 2, treating them as one and ignoring the ss. Refer to photo if needed.
Rnd 3 (Beg tr in ch-sp referring to note above, tr) – counts as 1 2trcl, * ch2, 2trcl in same ch-sp, (ch2, 2trcl) 3 times in next ch-sp, rep from * 3 times omitting final 2trcl, sk beg tr, ss in first full tr. [16 2trcl, 16 sp]
Rnd 4 Beg dc in ch-sp, (4dc in same ch-sp, ch2, sc in next ch-sp, ch2, 5dc in next 2 ch-sps, dc in next ch-sp) 4 times omitting final dc, do not join rnd. [60 dc, 4 sc, 8 sp]
Rnd 5 (Beg dc in first st of Rnd 4, dc4tog) – counts as 1 dc5tog, * (ch5, sc in next ch-sp) 2 times, (ch5, dc5tog) 3 times, rep from * 3 times omitting final dc5tog, sk beg dc, ss in dc4tog. [12 dc5tog, 4 sc, 20 sp]
Rnd 6 Ss in first 2 chs, sc in same ch-sp, * (ch3, sc in next ch-sp) 2 times, ch3, (2dccl, ch2) 3 times in next ch-sp, 2dccl in same ch-sp, (2dccl, ch2) 3 times in next ch-sp, 2dccl in same ch-sp, ch3, sc in next ch-sp, rep from * 3 times omitting final sc, ss in first sc. [32 2dccl, 12 sc, 28 sp]
Rnd 7 Ss in first ch, sc in same ch-sp, * (ch5, sc in next ch-sp) 2 times, ch3, (3dccl in next ch-sp, ch2) 2 times, 3dccl in next ch-sp, ch11, (3dccl in next ch-sp, ch2) 2 times, 3dccl in next ch-sp, ch3, sc in next ch-sp, ch5, sc in next ch-sp, rep from * 3 times omitting final sc, ss in first sc, cut yarn and finish off. [24 3dccl, 16 sc, 40 sp]
Joining Note: Motifs are joined on final round as you go in the center chain of the ch-11 sps, the ch-3 sps, and the ch-5 sps. Ignore the ch-2 sps and do not join in them.
I used the flat braid joining method as follows: Release the working loop, insert hook in adjacent ch-sp on completed motif, grab lp, ch 1 (this is the center chain of the ch-sp in progress) and then complete the chain.
For example, to join in the ch-5 sps: ch2, join on the next ch as instructed above, ch2, and continue the motif.
A note about joining the corners neatly: If the corners are on the “perimeter” of the blanket, join them up right away. If they are in the center of the blanket, then leave them un-joined, and their diagonal buddy will pick them up. This creates a criss-cross X that is very neat, and solves the problem of what to do at the corners.
If this has left you like, huh? then you can take a look at my Celtic Lace Join, or the Junior and Mini versions, and those are set up the same way at the corners. The photos on those tutorial posts will really help a lot.
When I am back from vacation, I will have the joining method and a wee start on the blanket all photographed for you!
Charted Instruction
I will have updated chart when I get back from vacation, but for now, this chicken scratch chart that I scrawled in pen while dinner is totally going to be a great addition to the pattern for a guide to see where the stitches go. Definitely I would not recommend just trying to do the pattern from the chart alone. Way too sketchy – haha …puns…
As you can see: nothing is labeled, but I did circle the first stitch of each round in red pen. Better chart coming soon !
Playing With Gauge
Lastly, I’ll leave you with this pic of the Catona square and the Chunky Monkey square side by side! The Catona one is 6.5in, and the Chunky Monkey one is 11in!
Tomorrow I will be making some of these up in the new fingering weight Organicon Yarn that Scheepjes just launched this week. When I say I can’t wait… Let’s just say that the Organicon samples I received is the only yarn I will be bringing with me on vacation… Yup.
Thanks for tuning in today and I hope you enjoy this square! Can’t wait to make a whole blanket out of it and see those corners come together.
Happy crafting, as always,
Rachele C.
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