JOINING SQUARES

Whipstitch, Backstitch, Mattress Stitch
Slip Stitch, Reverse SC
Join-as-you-go Granny Squares
Continuous JAYG by Susan Van Winkle
Lacy Granny
Joining with Single Crochet

Join-as-you-go for Granny Squares
Update c2004 Sandra Petit, http://www.crochetcabana.com

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This is a great method for those who don't like to look at a bag full of squares and think about putting them together (yes, that would be me!). I recently added a more thorough tutorial, but left the first one here because sometimes just seeing it differently is a help. If the load time is too great, I may have to take off the original. Let me know if you have troubles.

Okay, here's how to join as you go.

Shell = 3 dc throughout

EXAMPLE 1

Start off with one square with border all around. This would be a regular granny square border. I used (ch 1, shell) along sides and (shell, ch 3, shell) in corners.

Here I have already joined a few squares, but it is the same procedure. The square with the border all the way around is your Square A. The one that has no border yet is your Square B.

Take Square B and join the yarn you are using for your border (pink in this case) with a slip stitch. The way you do that is to make a slip knot on your hook, insert hook into center chain corner space, yarn over, and draw through all loops including one on hook. Chain 2 or 3, whatever gives you the proper height for your shell. (A shell is 3 dc). Make 2 dc in same space (this completes your first shell), (ch 3, shell) to complete your first corner Work a side (ch 1, shell in next ch-1 space) across to corner	In second corner ch-3 space, work shell, ch1. Note: If you find you need to work an additional chain here to make it work, that's fine.	Now you are going to join Square B to your already finished Square A with a single crochet. There are a few things you need to know. First, you are joining wrong sides together. However, since what you see is the right side it might be difficult to understand that is what you're doing. If you have your two squares laid out on the floor or the sofa or wherever with right sides on top, here is what you do. You have just finished making your chain-1 so that is where your hook is now (picture above). You will lift up Square A, shove the dangling thread out of the way, so it lies on top of the front of Square A and away from you. Insert your hook from the BACK of Square A through the center hole between your corner shells. That's a mouthful, but take it slow. Yarn over, and pull through, then complete your single crochet by yarn over and pull through both loops.
Chain 1 (or 2 if necessary), then work a shell (that's 3 dc, remember?) in the center corner space of Square B, right next to the first corner shell. Do not make a chain-1 here. Your join will sort of count as your chain one.	insert your hook from the back in the next ch-1 space on Square A.	Work a single crochet around that ch-1 loop.
yarn over and insert hook in the ch-1 space on Square B. Work a shell there.	Insert hook in next ch-1 space on Square A and complete a single crochet. Continue in this vein moving from Square A to Square B, working single crochets in the ch-1 spaces of Square A, and shells in the ch-1 spaces of Square B until you get to the corner.	At the corner space, work a shell, then chain 1
insert hook in center corner space of Square A	work a single crochet, ch 1	yarn over and work the second corner shell on Square B

You have now finished joining Square B to Square A. Continue working the border around Square B. You will work (ch 1, shell) along sides and in the corners (shell, ch 3, shell). 

Now your Square B becomes your Square A. On your next square, you start the tutorial over, beginning with working one side of the border.

Okay, now you have all your squares joined into rows or columns -- let's assume rows just to make it easier to talk about. You need to combine those rows into an afghan. Here's how you do that.

First work a border all around one row. The border is your granny square (ch 1, shell) along sides and (shell, ch 3, shell) in corners. This will be Row A. The row without a border is Row B. You are going to join Row B to Row A.

Just as you did above, join your bordering color on Row B with a slip stitch in the corner chain space (in this case we have switched to the variegated for the border). Chain 2 or 3 to bring up to height. Work 2 dc in same space. ch 1. Insert hook from back into Row A corner ch-3 space. Yarn over, pull through and complete a single crochet.

Note that we are doing the joining on the rows without completing one side of the border as we did in the joining of the squares above. You can join the squares in this manner also if you wish. The reason we don't work a side here is because you are joining along the length. You would have to do two sides for it to work here because it is a rectangle, not a square. It didn't matter with the squares because all sides are equal in a square.

Ch 1. Work 3 dc in corner space of Row B next to the previous shell. (note: If you find you need an additional chain before and after the sc, that's fine. Whatever works to make your piece stay flat and your stitches line up properly.)

Continue as you did when you joined the squares. Work a single crochet in the next ch-1 space of Row A, then work a shell in the next ch-1 space of Row B. When you get to the joining of two squares, you will work a shell in the chain space of Row B, ch 1 (not shown), sc in the next ch-1 space of Row 1, skip the joining on Row B, and work a shell in the chain space of the next square on Row B.

Here is the joining of the two rows up to the square joining.

Here is what happens when you get to the joining between two squares on Row B.

When you get to the end of that side you will be at a corner. You will make one shell on Row B, ch 1, (or 2 if you need it), work a sc on Row A, ch 1 (or 2), work a shell on Row B to finish the corner. Then continue around the row as before working (ch 1, shell) along sides and (shell, ch 3, shell) in corners. When you arrive back at the first shell, join with a slip stitch or use the Invisible Finish Off.

Here is the completed joining of Row A and Row B.

Now Rows A and B become your previous Row A, and your next unfinished row becomes your Row B. You can continue to join as many rows as you like. Here's a picture of 3 rows joined. This particular ghan will have four rows joined altogether. Then at least one round in pink around the entire thing.

EXAMPLE 2

The example below is my original tutorial which shows granny squares using (shell, ch1 shell) for corners.

1) Make a completed square (A), including a round in your joining color. In this case, the joining color is aran. Finish off.

2) Join aran in the next square (B) and make one corner, work along the sides, and do the first shell of the next corner, ch1

3) Place the first completed square (A), with wrong side facing the wrong side of the new square (B). Insert hook in the  center chain space (in this case ch-1 space). Complete a single crochet here to join the two corners.

NOTE: Be careful when you make your single crochet that your yarn strand is in the right place. You want to insert your hook in the center chain space First and then yarn over in step 4. However, you want your dangling yarn to dangle sort of towards the back and to the right of the hook.

4) Yarn over hook

5) Insert hook in corner of square B (new square) and finish a double crochet. What you are doing here is finishing your corner. Remember that a corner is (shell, ch 1, shell). A shell is 3 dc. Now make two more double crochets in that same corner space. DO NOT make a chain 1 here.

6) INSTEAD of making a chain-1 on that square now (as you would do if you were just making a granny square and not joining) you will make a single crochet on your original completed square, square A like this:  Insert hook in chain space on square A, yarn over, and complete your single crochet.

7) Now, yarn over and insert hook on your new square, square B, in the space between the corner stitches and the next shell. Make 3 dc there.

8) Now you will continue in like manner. You will do a single crochet in the ch-1 space of square A, then a shell in the next ch-1 space on square B, continuing along the side. You can see that it doesn't matter how large your square is. This will work on any size square.

9) You have just finished the single crochet in the last space on square A before the corner stitches. Yarn over, going over to square B, insert hook in the center chain space of your next corner shells, yarn over and pull through. Make a shell in that space.

10) chain 1, insert hook in center chain space of corner shells on square A and make a single crochet there to join the corners.  (Picture below shows where to insert hook to make that sc.)

11) chain 1, Go back to square B and make a shell there. This finishes the corner on that square.

12) You will have completed the one-side joining and must now finish the border round of that square. Just finish the square as you would normally, putting a shell in each chain space and then a chain-1 between shells. Work your corners as normal. (In this case, shell, chain 1, shell)  Note: I usually make my grannies with a ch-3 between corner shells but the squares I had were made using ch-1. That's not a problem as long as they are all done the same. :-) When you get to the end, join with a slip stitch and finish off.

13) Now your square B becomes your new square A. If you are working a pattern in your square placement, be very careful to pick up the correct square to join next. It is not easy to rip back with this method. Try it, you'll see what I mean. (Yes, I did it! Don't laugh!)

Special notes:
You don't have to do a complete side on square B. You can start anywhere once you know the procedure.
I am joining the squares in a row first and then will join the rows together. It is possible to join squares on two sides. The above is the one-sided joining procedure.

There is a flat braid join-as-you-go method that has gotten rave reviews. You can find it here.
 

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04/17/08


 

The buttons above were my first at the Cabana. I keep them for sentimental reasons. :-)

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