CROCHET Grannies, Part 2: Stripes

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In Part 1 of Crochet Grannies, we looked at granny squares. Today lets take a look look at the super-fun Granny Stripe! Granny Stripes are a bit scrappier than their cousin the square, but they are also simpler in some ways because they don’t need to be seamed. These projects are great stash-busters, and are marvellous opportunities if you like playing with colour and a little bit of chaos.

In honour of the granny STRIPE, here are some project ideas that bring crochet’s casual boho-chic back for some love …

SEE MY GRANNY INSPIRED GALLERY OF PROJECTS

Ravelry: Granny Project Searches

BTW, Is it time to learn how to crochet?

After reading this, you may find yourself feeling inspired to get your granny on … if it’s time for you to learn how to crochet you can take a private lesson with us in-store, or check out these free video tutorials online.

Want a quick tour of the granny stripe? No problem, check out this video from Bella Coco, one of my favourite youtube crochet instructors (just remember that she’s British and uses UK crochet terms … see this chart converting American and British crochet terms)

Holly Woodward Designs

One of my favourite designers of the granny (stripe AND square) is Holly Woodward. Her designs are colourful, classic, elegant, and size-inclusive (to me that doesn’t just mean they are available in larger sizes, but that they also fit and look great on curvy bodies). She tends to design in DK weight yarn, so any of the following will work for her patterns:

Granny Go Round Cardigan

You can make this simple granny-stripe inspired cardie in a multi-coloured yarn like Berroco Vivo, or control your palette with a solid coloured yarn and get the old-skool look (for spring/summer I recommend Berroco Modern Cotton DK, for fall winter consider Sandnes Garn Double Sunday, Berroco Vintage DK or Berroco Vintage Baby)

See projects on Instagram

See projects on Ravelry

Size

  • XS(S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL)
  • Finished bust circumference: 33.5(37.5, 41.5, 44.5, 49.5, 52.75, 57.5, 60.75) inches OR 82(94, 104, 112, 124, 132, 144, 152)cm
  • intended to be worn with approx 2.5 to 4 inches OR 6 to 10cm of positive ease

Granny Go Round Cardigan by zitronenkekse.

YARN Multi Colour Option (Spring/Summer): Berroco Vivo:

If you want to liven things up fry more than one colour of this yarn and play around with even more striping fun!

  • 4(4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7) skeins

YARN Solid Colour Option (Spring/Summer): Berroco Modern Cotton DK:

  • Main colour A: 1(1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) skeins
  • Contrast colours B, C, D & E: 1(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2) skeins

Other Materials

Granny Go Round Jumper

The same suggestion for the Cardie above apply to the pullover version:

a multi-coloured yarn like Berroco Vivo, or control your palette with a solid coloured yarn and get the old-skool look (for spring/summer I recommend Berroco Modern Cotton DK, for fall winter consider Sandnes Garn Double Sunday, Berroco Vintage DK or Berroco Vintage Baby).

See projects on Instagram

See projects on Ravelry

Size

  • XS(S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL)
  • Finished bust circumference: 33.5(37.5, 41.5, 44.5, 49.5, 52.75, 57.5, 60.75) inches OR 82(94, 104, 112, 124, 132, 144, 152)cm
  • intended to be worn with approx 2.5 to 4 inches OR 6 to 10cm of positive ease

The Granny Go Round Jumper on instragram from the crocheting crohnie and squirrel collective

YARN Multi Colour Option (Spring/Summer): Berroco Vivo:

If you want to liven things up fry more than one colour of this yarn and play around with even more striping fun!

  • 5(5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8) skeins

YARN Solid Colour Option (Spring/Summer): Berroco Modern Cotton DK:

  • Main colour A: 2(2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3) skeins
  • Contrast colours B, C, D & E: 1(1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) skeins

Other Materials

See My Vest

Montgomery Burns could give his empire for this vest …. it’s great for using up bits of yarn, or use a yar that changes colour on its own to get a bright, bohemian look: for spring & summer I recommend a bright, light cotton like Berroco Vivo or for autumn/fall a marled ombre merino like Schoppel Edition 3.

Size

  • Finished Bust: 36 (40, 44, 48, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72) inches
  • To fit Bust: 28 – 30(32 – 34, 36 – 38, 40 – 42, 44 – 46, 48 – 50, 52 – 54
    56 – 58, 60 – 62) inches
  • Intended to be worn with 6 to 8 inches of positive ease

Yarn Options

Other Materials

Attic 24 Granny Stripe Blanket

The Attic 24 Granny Stripe Blanket is the ultimate in versatility … I can attest to this myself, I’ve made it, and it’s one of my favoruite throws at home (just kidding, I love all my babies equally). Simple strips of granny stitch mean there’s NO SEAMING! The pattern works two rows per colour to make a rick-rack-like effect, but you can go off-grid and do as many or as few as you like (I changed my colour every row – my appraoch to colour was leveraging contrast).

See Finished Granny Stripe Blanket Projects

Yarn Options: DK Weight

If you’re starting your project from scratch

From time to time I muse about making this blanket with a mish-mash of Scandinavian colours from Sandnes Garn Double Sunday …. just. a whole bunch of beiges, roses, golds, yellows, dusty greens, blues, greys and neutrals.

If you want the extra vibrance and excitement of a yarn that shifts colour on it’ s own try a bright, ombre striped cotton like Berroco Vivo or a marled ombre merino like Schoppel Edition 3 (makes a great baby blanket).

Stashbusting Suggestions

You can use this project as a great way to use up stash, get creative with colour, or plan it out completely with a comprehensive palette. You can use any thickness of yarn you like, it’s easy to make it larger or smaller, just stay with the same thickness of yarn throughout (I recommend DK/Sport weight yarn or Worsted weight yarn, but lots of people have made it with fingering weight).

I made my blanket in left-over fingering weight yarn, and it took a while to complete and is a bit on the light side (I like to snoodle up under a blanket with a little weight to it). If you’re thinking this might be a great way to dispose of your sock-yarn stash (it is), you might want to consider combining yarns and holding a seocnd strand of a unifying colour throughout – either a simple fingering like Cascade Heritage or Berroco Vintage Sock, or a strand of lacewieght mohair like Drops Kid-Silk. A strand of neutral coloured mohair can do miraculous things to soften colour, texture, and bulk up a thin base yarn so your project moves faster!

Other Materials

Granny Stripe Blanket

Granny stripes can also be wickedly sophisticated in solid, neutral blocks … the crocheting might get a bit boring, but the finished product is simple and stunning.

Yarn Options

Other Materials

Granny Market Bag

This project would be especailly great fir you’ve got scraps or stash left-over from another project. You’ll need about 450m for the body of the bag and 90m for the straps. For colours that shift by themselves, try using 2 balls of Berroco Vivo.

Materials

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