Square-A-Day Blanket

Over the weekend I went to the Art Gallery and after trolling other people’s art I was feeling very motivated to get on making some of my own. As a warm-up, I’m taking my cue from my excellent friend Rosie and I started a “Square-A-Day” blanket. As you can imagine, a “square-a-day” blanket is the kind of thing where you make a square every day for whatever time you choose (ex. a year?), then join them together.

You can knit or crochet your square-a-day, use any type of yarn, and of course make any type of shape. You could make a rectangle, or a circle, or a triangle, or a hexagon a day blanket – it’s up to you.

See Square-A-Day Blanket Projects on Instagram

Should I Knit or Crochet?

It doesn’t matter whether you knit or crochet your squares, it really depends on what you enjoy! I’ve been teaching a lot of crochet lately, and after seeing a lady at the Art Gallery wearing a granny square sweater I was kind of itching to get my hooks out. I also like crochet for blankets because for me it’s a little faster than knitting. The downside of crochet is it uses up about 30% more yarn, but if you are using your square-a-day to move through some stash, then so much the better. Personally, I believe that because it’s a hobby the most important strategy to adhere to is JOY – whatever brings you the most personal pleasure and satisfaction is key.

Popular Patterns

• Cosy Memories Blanket (knit) see on Instagram

Yarn

I would stick to one size yarn, to make it easier to join your pieces. If you start with Worsted or DK, stay in that weight range. I would definitely choose a thickness or tension that is very common and easy to match, like Fingering, DK, or Worsted weight. This way, when you need to get more yarn, it’s easy to find something. These are also yarn weights that are fairly simple to seam in the end. Inevitably, once you get going you’ll like how a few colours are looking and want to fill in with more.

Blanket Size

Before you start, You should consider what size blanket you want to make, which will help you decide how many squares you need to make, and what size your squares should be.

Square Size:

1. Decide on the size (for example, we’ll use a throw of 50″ by 60″ over a period of 365 days)
2. Multiply the blanket dimensions (50 inches x 60 inches = 3000 inches squared)
3. Divide the number your calculator just spat out by the number of days you are working on it (3000/365 = 8.219 inches squared)
4. Press the square root button on your calculator (square root of 8.219 is 2.87 inches).
5. If you are seaming your squares round up a little (2.87 can go up to 2.9 or 3)
6. My squares need to be around 3″ x 3″ if I want to make one per day for a year and end up with a throw that’s at least 50″ x 65″.

Square Distribution

You may also want to figure out how many squares you actually need … because 365 might not be the optimal number of squares for your blanket.

1. Divide the width of your blanket by the width of your squares and round up to the next whole number (50″/3″ = 16.66 …. rounded up to 17)
2. Divide the height of your blanket by the width of your squares and round up to the next whole number (60″/3″ = 20)
3. Multiply the two numbers (17 x 20 = 340)
4. The actual number of squares I need is 340 … perfect for a project started a month late into the year!

Colour & Texture

This is a long term project, so whatever you choose, make sure it will keep you entertained and stimulated. I’m a colour person, so I’m leaning into that, knowing that no matter what kind of mood I’m in today, a year of neutrals or dark colours will starve my spirit.

1. Go crazy with colour and experiment with using the colour your resonate with every day. You’ll get a picture of where you were at through the year. You can go random, make a moodblanket and assign a specific colour for the mood you’re in when you’re making your daily square (kind of like a weather blanket, but for emotional states).
2. Use a single colour and play around with different stitches and textures in your squares. Get a book of different granny squares (like Granny Square Flair or Granny Square Patchwork, or for beginner crocheters Granny Square Academy) and try doing different ones. Or go to 365 Days of Granny Squares …. she’s got videos!
3. Go monochrome and experimenting with blending all the blues available in a yarn, or a bunch of greys and blacks, or browns and neutrals.
4. Choose a yarn with a co-ordinating palette and smaller 50g balls like Sandnes Garn Double Sunday or Berroco Vintage Baby and just get one of each and let the yarn figure it out for itself.

Assembly

Some people join the squares as they go, which gives you an interesting perspective on where you were at throughout the year. Others make their shapes individually and join them at the end. I love the aesthetic control you have over placement when you don’t join as you go, but I think the prospect of seaming a bunch of little squares at the end of a long project will make me want to stick a fork in my thigh. I’m doing a hybrid and making my squares in strips and then seaming them. This is an exercise in knowing your limit and crafting within it.

Join as you Go

Joining as you go is an option (see videos below), but it comes with a hitch – as your project gets bigger it loses its portability and bets physically burdensome. If you are crocheting motifs, there is a hybrid option – you can do a final round in a single colour which joins them all as you go: see instructions HERE.

• Crochet: Join-As You Go Videos
• Knitting: Join as You Go Video

Our Blankets

My Blanket

I’m totally winging my blanket and trying to embrace a little bit of chaos …. I’m crocheting using fingering weight yarn I’ve had in my stash and a 3mm crochet hook. I didn’t measure or blanket out my square sizes, I just started going. I’m not a fan of lots of seaming, but I want my project to be portable, so I’m making the squares in strips and then I’ll seam them together. One thing I love about crochet is I can weave in/tack down the ends as I change colours. I experimented a little a settled on a simple single crochet stitch. My first strip of squares measure about 2.5″/6cm wide over 15 stitches. I’m trying to lean into the scrappy aesthetic, so I’m combining both semi-solid and variegated yarns.

Rosie’s Blanket

Rosie is also using up some stashed fingering weight yarn. She’s using a 4mm crochet hook and making classic granny squares in 4 tires/rounds.

Project Ideas You Won’t See On Instagram

Squares are awesome, but there is also something very satisfying and very liberating about an irregular shape. Irregular, asymmetrical shapes are what nature is made of! Plus, when you put them together they hide a multitude of sins …. no straight edges that need to line up.

Personally, I’ve always loved the idea of a throw that looks like a giant baroque doily, like the Temair Throw by Nicky Epstein.

Lots of people make squares and hexagons, but what the world needs more of is Paisleys … by Teva Durham, either in Crochet or Knitted. Would you do a paisley-a-day?

Would you make a circle a day and cobble them together into a patchwork, like this Circle Blanket? If you’re a crocheter you can easily so the same thing with dots!