A Granny Square Crochet-Off

And what I learned from trying something I didn’t think I would like

My quest for the perfect granny square

People generally love granny squares or loathe them. It doesn’t seem there is a whole lot of middle ground on the topic, and if you look at the totality of my work, I love them, but up until four years ago, I loved one particular kind of granny square.

What makes a granny square a granny square?

Granny squares, to my mind, have two defining characteristics.

• They are worked in the round
• They have the visually iconic element of three double crochet stitches (or granny shell as I call it) worked into one space

and, which, close up, look like this:

Detail of a granny square and the 3 dc, granny shells

Within the world of crochet there is a lot of variation with what can be done with those granny shells.

There can be one, two, or three chains in a corner. There can be a chain between each granny shell, or there doesn’t have to be. It’s all up to the crocheteuse to decide what she…