Granny squares - tips and pictures
Ca. one month ago I started a new handmade project. It was supposed to be something beautiful and great - now it looks like something huge and time-consuming. Nevertheless, I'm definitely going to finish it, not only 'cause it will be the biggest thing I've ever done with my hands but because I hate to give up.
So, here it is. In case you have no idea what is that - it is a blanket, or a plaid. Well, at least it will be someday.
It's a crochet "technology", we call it granny squares. So basically you just make hundreds of these squares, then put them all together to knit. That's it.
Once you've decided to start a project like this you will apparently have some key questions like "Which type of yarn should I use?" or "How much of yarn do I need?" or "How do I choose the crochet scheme?" or some others - at least these were mine :) You'll have to decide which colors to use as well as the size of your future plaid to be, but those to are completely up to you.
So, about the yarn. I suggest to choose worsted weight yarn. If it's 100% wool yarn then a) the plaid will be very hot and heavy and b) it will be very expensive. I think it's better to use 50/50 yarn, like wool/cotton or wool/acrylic - then the plaid will be lighter and still not nappy (because of wool) and a bit cheaper.
I use 51/49 wool/acrylic yarn and it's perfect.
About the hook. Mine is 7 mm and it's also perfectly fine. If you'd like your squares to be tight you'll probably need a smaller size like 5 mm or even 4 mm.
About the amount. I've bought 10 skeins of yarn. Why? I thought that the normal plaid is supposed to weight like 1,5 kilos and the weight of my yarn was exactly 1,3. Actually if you want to be accurate you should make one square first, measure its size and weight and do a bit maths.
Finally, about the scheme. There are dozens of them. I, for example, chose the first one I saw and I really like it. It's very simple and stylish, so I guess it's the perfect variant. Here is my scheme.
I've made a small modification during the process, so now my squares are more varied.
About the time. It takes me ca. 20 mins to do one square.
About the size. A normal plaid is ca. 2*2,2 m big if it's for a double-sized "purpose". My squares have a size 10*10 cm, so now, when I have 36 of them I see that I'll need 404 more. A bit tough don't you think?
So I'm thinking to make it smaller, like 1,90*1,50 m, so I have "only" 249 squares to go!
About the colors. A want to use my blanket in a living room - not sure how exactly, but still - so I've chose white/green color gamma 'cause I have light green curtains, white walls and a green pillow :) Also I have a grey/white couch, so I thought that grey color will be suitable as well. So by and large I use 5 colors: white (3 skeins), light green (3 skeins), grey (2 skeins), dark green (1 skein) and grass green (1 skein). Last two are almost indistinguishable, so it seems like there are only 4 colors.
Last but not least, is that you have to be very patient doing this stuff.
And, of course, if you decide to make a plaid, I wish you all the best! I hope one day your father, or husband, or son will fall asleep under the blanket you've made by yourself, and you'll feel completely ... happy :)
0 коммент.