We all know about granny squares… and for a lot of people, they dredge up icky, untrendy feelings. I have to say, though… I’ve always had a soft spot for them. Portable, easy and open to a world of possibilities. That’s why I’m really excited to show you a baby blanket that I designed for Kraemer Yarns: the Diagonal Granny Squares Baby Afghan!

I love this design: the overall pattern of the blanket is big, diagonal stripes of color, but the blanket is made using your basic granny square (with a minor variation). Below, you can see a photo of a single block. Each block is crocheted using two colors, so that one half of the block is one color, and the other half is a second color. Then, when assembled, you get diagonal stripes! This blanket is crocheted with Kraemer’s Perfection Worsted, which is a wool/acrylic blend that can be machine washed… a must for baby blankets.

I was inspired by quilting: I love the way you can piece together simple blocks of color to get deceptive designs. For example, I quilted the wall hanging on the right… and it looks like stars and circles, but was constructed by piecing together interestingly divided squares. So much fun! Similarly, the diagonal granny square afghan allows you to create diagonal stripes by piecing together two-color squares.

This pattern is suitable for any crocheter with knowledge of single and double crochet. And, excitingly, this pattern is a free download courtesy of Kraemer yarns! To download, go to their patterns page and download away!

Tags: crochet, design, patterns

In: Fresh from Stacey