Many of us were taught to crochet by means of a Granny square. That iconic brightly coloured motif that we merrily sewed together to make blankets or the occasional cushion. Nowadays, all crocheted squares seem to be referred to as Granny Squares but what is the true origin of the name and design?
There seems to be lots of speculation about this. By far the most popular view is that it was left to good old granny to utilise every last bit of yarn to crochet up squares and sew these together making blankets to keep everybody warm.
Traditionally, a repeating series of 3 treble crochets separated by a chain would be used to create a square in whatever yarn you had to hand. Now there are hundreds of alternative styles using a variety of stitches and the colour schemes are more co-ordinated and tonal.
The Sunburst Granny Square is one of our favourites. Start with a centre ring of trebles, followed by a round of puff stitches and a circle of clusters.
Add doubles, half trebles and trebles to transform the circle into a square. This is then the base for a multitude of options and colour schemes. Jumpers, cardigans, cushions and of course, blankets.