Read Crochet Patterns: Granny Squares – Round 1

How to Read a Crochet Pattern for the First Round of a Granny Square

This is the second in a series of articles on the details of how to make a Granny Square.

The first article on how to make a Granny Square talked about making the initial ring, into which the first round will be worked.

There is also an article giving an overview of what is involved in a Granny Square.

This article will explain how to work the first round after the initial ring. It will look like this when it is done:

Remember, from the previous article, that the initial ring looks like this:

Let us dive into the instructions.

Granny Squares: Round 1

Here are the instructions:

Rnd 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc here and throughout this pattern), 2 dc in ring, ch 2, (3 dc in ring, ch 2) 3 times; join with sl st in top of beg ch.

Now, I know, because I've taught so many beginner crocheters how to read patterns, that these instructions can be kind of intimidating.

So I'm going to break it down into manageable bits, in two different ways. One of them might resonate with you a bit more!

The first method is to consider the Whats and Wheres. As the link explains, start by just looking at what stitches you are supposed to work, and then just look at where you are supposed to work them. Here's what that analysis looks like:

• The What: Ch 3, 2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 2, join with sl st
• The Where: in ring, in ring, in ring, in ring, in top of beg ch

The Where is really useful: everything is worked into the ring.

The What is also useful - basically, you are alternating groups of 3 dc's with 2 chains.

Remember: the What and Where analysis does not tell you how to do it - it just helps you get a handle on what is about to happen.

The second method is to identify the Beginning, the Repeat, and the Ending in those instructions. Here is it:

• The Beginning: Ch 3 (counts as dc here and throughout this pattern), 2 dc in ring, ch 2,
• The Repeat: (3 dc in ring, ch 2) 3 times;
• The Ending: join with sl st in top of beg ch.

I STRONGLY suggest that when you are getting started in reading crochet patterns, you should try hard to find the repeated section in a set of instructions for a round or a row. In this case, it was easy, because it says to do the stuff in the parentheses three times.

How to Crochet the Instructions

Here's where the good stuff is: how to crochet this round of the Granny Square, with photos.

The Beginning

Here are the instructions for the beginning:

Ch 3 (counts as dc here and throughout this pattern), 2 dc in ring, ch 2,

Start with working 3 chains, starting from where you did the join at the end of making the ring.

The pattern says that this starting Chain 3 counts as a Double Crochet throughout the pattern. This is common practice - and one of the reasons that crochet patterns are so complex (because the pattern writers have to tell you to do the Ch 3 - they can't just tell you to do a double crochet, because your hook is not in the correct position to do a double crochet).

This photo shows the Chain 3 completed:

The next step is to work 2 double crochets into the ring. When it says to work "into the ring", it is saying that at the point where you insert your hook under something, it is under the ring (as opposed to into a chain).

This photo shows these two double crochets completed:

Notice how the bottoms of the two double crochets appear to wrap around the ring.

Notice also how it looks a whole lot like there are three double crochets standing side by side - only we know that the one on the right was really a Chain 3!

The last step in this beginning section is to work 2 chains. Chains are not "worked into" anything - they just dangle off of wherever you were, as shown in this photo:

The completes the Beginning section of the instructions. Now it's time to look at the Repeated section.

The Repeat

Here are the instructions for the Repeated section.

(3 dc in ring, ch 2) 3 times;

The first thing to note is that you are going to do stuff a total of THREE times.

And what you are going to do is work 3 DC's into the ring, followed by a CH 2.

IMPORTANT: REMEMBER that the repeat includes that CH 2. (That's something that I regularly have to remind my students about!)

So, you are going to do "3 dc in ring, ch 2" AND "3 dc in ring, ch 2" AND "3 dc in ring, ch 2".

In photos: this is after the first of the three repeats has been worked:

Notice the Chain 2 dangling from the hook. Remember, the Chain 2 is part of the Repeat.

It looks like two groups of 3 double crochets have been completed - so why is this only the first repeat? Because the first group of 3 double crochets was in the Beginning section, not the Repeat section.

This photo is after the second of the three repeats has been worked, showing three groups of 3 double crochets:

Again, notice the Chain 2 dangling from the hook.

And this photo is after the third of the three repeats has been worked, showing four groups of 3 double crochets:

And again, notice the Chain 2 dangling from the hook.

And the Repeat section of the instructions has been completed.

The Ending

These instructions tell you what to do after the Repeats are done:

join with sl st in top of beg ch.

That's pretty simple. The "join with a slip stitch" is similar to what you did before to make the ring. But in this case, the join is into the top of the beginning chain, that Chain 3 that is faking being a Double Crochet.

In this photo, the hook is pointing to where the slip stitch should be worked. (One stitch to the left would make it into the top of the first of the two double crochets, and that would not be correct.)

In this photo, the hook has been inserted into the spot, ready to grab the yarn and draw it through to form the slip stitch.

In this photo, the join is complete, as is Round 1.

By the way, if you want to compare what you have done so far to what was described in the overview article, at this stage you have created 4 ch-2 corner spaces.

If this is a One-Round-Per-Color Granny Square

If you are making a Granny Square in which each round is made of a different color of yarn, then the pattern will also ask you to fasten off. Make sure you leave at least a 6" or 15 cm tail. And I strongly suggest that you weave in the ends right now, before continuing with the next round - it is so much easier to work the next round without all those tails hanging loose!

To Be Continued

Round 1 is completed. Round 2 will be explained in another article.

The interesting thing about Round 2 is that the instructions are slightly different, depending on how many colors you are using and how often you change color.

So, depending on what kind of Granny Square you want to make, click on the appropriate link:

• Granny Square with One Color
• Granny Square with One Round Per Color
• Granny Square with Two Rounds Per Color

What if you want to make a Granny Square with Three or more Rounds Per Color? Well, the pattern will usually be a mixture of the One Round Per Color pattern and the One Color pattern. The thing to remember is that once you have done each of the three types described above, then it will be obvious what you have to do to make the kind of Granny Square that you want to make.