Granny Square goodness!

(this is a continuance of the blanket post i made on here. scroll down and you will see it)

so when and if you decide to make a granny square blanket you will need to know how to whip stitch them together once you have all your squares finished.. i hope this helps!
 at the end of this post ill be adding a link to a video i made for you that shows front loop, back loop, how to secure beginning and end, how to whip stitch and how to hide your tails just to make sure you understand how to do them all :)

first off.. normal needles kinda suck when it comes to yarn. its not impossible to "thread" it if you have a big needle with a big eye but from my own personal experience its easier to just get a plastic needle thats actually FOR yarn. 

when making your squares try to keep track of what sides are the front and what sides are the back. 

when ready to whip stitch put two squares together front to front.

in the middle of a corner grab the front loop of the chain that runs along the edge of the work on the square facing you.

on the back granny square grab the back post and pull through both leaving a tail long enough to sew in later.

its faster to grab front post and back post at once and pull through.

what the back looks like when its done.

what the front looks like when its done.

obviously you would not want to whip stitch two ends of the same two squares together like i did but i it was quicker to do one end completely before shooting the video then show all the stuff on the other end that way i could flip it and show you what it looks like when its totally done :)

let me know if you have any problems or questions!

Step by Step Hook-A-long Baby Blanket for Katie!

 

tip: ALWAYS have your own personal yarn checker! without one your yarn will come out perfect with no cat hair or slobber and thats just no fun! :)

 

now first of all you will need yarn.. how much you need will really depend on how big you want the blanket to be. for this i am using my odds and ends that are left over from other projects and i just happen to have quite literally a rainbow of colors :D and im using a size j hook. the bigger the hook the airier the project and the less time it will take.. the smaller the hook the smaller and tighter everything will be together.

Round 1:

put the yarn on your hook

chain four

put hook through first chain

pull yarn through and make slip knot. chain two.

double crochet 15 times through the circle that the chain four made. (later ill link you on how to make a "magic cirlce" which will make it so you can close that hole when this round is finished)

put your hook between the chain two and the first double crochet. pull yarn through and create a slip knot. 

Round 2:

chain two.

double crochet two times in that same hole.

 chain two.

double crochet three times through that same hole. (first corner made!)

count four double crochets from the first round and pull yarn through between the fourth and fifth. double crochet three times chain two double crochet three times again. (second corner made!)

do again for third corner!

and fourth corner!

put hook through between chain two and first double crochet of round two. pull yarn through and make a slip stitch then secure your yarn! -to secure just pull yarn through loop one more time, cut yarn and pull tight. this will make a knot and keep everything in place-

cut your yarn leaving a reasonable length tail.

Round: 3

Attach new color to your hook.

ok this part will make it so you dont have to weave in your tails later! pull the tail from round 2 to the right, put your hook through the gap and pull your yarn through and make a slip knot OVER the tail. then take the tail that is from your new yarn and pull it to the left of the slip knot between your hook and you and chain two.

double crochet twice and snip off the tails. (not sure why it turned this one and i have no idea how to fix it. ill come back later and turn it when i figure out how lol)

skip to corner. double crochet three times, chain two, double crochet three times again -first corner made!- (and this one is upside down. how annoying!)

continue around doing three double crochets in the middle holes and three double crochet, chain two, three double crochet in the corners.

slip stitch between chain two and first double crochet space. secure and cut yarn.

Round: 4

pull the last rounds tail to the right and slip stitch over it. pull new tail to the left and chain two over it.

Double crochet twice over the new tail in that same hole then snip off both tails. (sorry its got all the pics flipped all crazy directions)

continue around making three double crochets in each side hole and in each corner make three double crochet, chain two, three double crochet.

slip stitch between chain two and first double crochet. secure and cut yarn.

Round: 5

pull old tail to the right and slip stitch over it. pull new tail to the left and chain two over it.

double crochet twice and snip off tails.

continue around like on the other rounds.

slip stitch between chain two and first double crochet. secure and cut yarn.

Round:6

slip stitch and chain two over tails like previous rounds.

two double crochet over tails.

snip off tails.

continue around just like in previous rounds. slip stitch between chain two and first double crochet. secure and cut yarn.

Round: 7

slip stitch new color over old tail and chain two over new tail.

double crochet twice over tails and snip them off.

continue around like in the other rounds.

slip stitch between chain two and first double crochet. secure and cut yarn.

by now im sure you have a pretty good idea of what your doing! you can continue on adding more rows till the blanket is the size you want. OR you can stop here and make lots of squares just like this one (you can even do different colors or do the colors in a different pattern!) and ill make another post on how to whip stitch them together to make a blanket out of them!

 let me know if you have any problems! HAPPY HOOKING!

-Rach.