Spring Make: Granny Square Sweater

I always find a great deal of comfort in understanding my life and my world through the lens of history. Things that seem to make no sense (like, for instance, shutting down all social movement in broad swaths of the country and globe) suddenly become saturated with purpose and meaning when placed firmly in their historical context. On a more intimate scale, who I am as an individual can’t be understood independently of my family of origin. Some research even suggests we carry the trauma of past generations in our very DNA, shading and illuminating our current self and the way we interact with the world with depth and nuance, like an old oil painting rendered with chiaroscuro, drawing your eye to the meaning in the mess.

Old fashioned hand craft has often been an avenue into my historical self. I work the same basic granny square pattern as my grandmothers and great-grandmothers, the flick of a hook and the drag of fiber between my fingers seeming to tap into a muscle memory pre-dating my own body. In this I find a deep sense of belonging and longevity, foundations that surpass the chaos of the current moment.

In this spirit, I gathered together some wound up cotton from the small stash that has survived my many craft supply purges and just started working up squares using the oldest pattern in the book, something second nature, embedded in my brain. The repetition and ease felt incredibly soothing. It wasn't until about the tenth square that I started to catch a little vision of a completed piece and began adding in a few colors.

In this moment, I just needed something a little quirky. I needed something that would send myself the message that “flattering” is a a myth and comfort has intrinsic value. I needed something a little impractical, but also easy and kind of just fun.

This sweater is simply 98 granny squares, which I worked five or six or seven at a time over several weeks, then seamed together with an easy slip stitch. The only shaping this sweater pattern offers are the two diagonal half squares used to shape the neckline. If you’re interested in making your own, I’ve provided below the supplies I used, some basic instructions and measurements, and some simple assembly charts to follow.

The size could be easily adjusted by adding or subtracting rows of granny squares to the width and length of the front and back panels, or an extra row to widen the arms. I wouldn’t recommend making the arms smaller, as it will change the overall shape significantly.

Supples

About 1,500 yards of DK weight yarn of any kind. I used We Are Knitters Pima Cotton in Natural, Sand, and Khaki. Use what you have by making this project as a stash buster!
Hook size 5mm/H/8
Tapestry Needle

Size and Gauge

About a women’s medium, measuring about 24” flat across the body and about 17” from shoulder to hem.
Gauge: Each granny square measures about 3.5” across.
Note: The gauge and size do not have to be extremely precise, since 7th fit is open and boxy.

Abbreviations

Chain: ch
Slip Stitch: sl st
Double Crochet: dc

Pattern

To make one full granny square:

Ch 5, sl st in first ch to form a ring.
Round 1: Ch 3, 2 dc into ring, ch 2, (3 dc into ring, ch 2) 3 times, sl st to top of first ch 3.
Round 2: Ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in first ch space, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch space, repeat from * 2 more times, sl st in the tp of first ch 3.
Round 3: Ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in first ch space, *3 dc between the next two dc clusters, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch space, repeat from * 2 more times, 3 dc between the last two dc clusters, sl st to the top of the first ch 3.
Round 4: Ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in first ch space, *(3 dc between the next two dc clusters) 2 times,, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch space, repeat from * 2 more times, (3 dc between the next two dc clusters) 2 times, sl st to the top of the first ch 3.

Break yarn and weave in ends. You can switch colors at the end of any round, or whenever the mood strikes you.

You can also follow the chart in the diagram to make a simple granny square, if you prefer charts.

You will need 97 full granny squares to make the sweater as pictured.

To make a diagonal half granny square for the neckline:

Ch 5, sl st in first ch to form a ring.
Row 1: Ch 3, 2 dc into ring, ch 2, 3 dc into ring. Turn.
Row 2: Ch 3, 2 dc in same space, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch space, 3 dc in last dc of Row 1. Turn.
Row 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in same space, 3 dc between next two dc clusters, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in ch space, 3 dc between next two dc clusters, 3 dc in last dc of Row 2. Turn.
Row 4: Ch 3, 2 dc in same space, (3 dc between next two dc clusters) 2 times, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in ch space, (3 dc between next two dc clusters) 2 times, 3 dc in last dc of Row 3.
Break yarn and weave in ends. You will need two of diagonal half granny squares.

Note: The diagonal granny square half chart in the diagram isn’t an accurate representation of this pattern.

I recommend weaving in the ends as you go to avoid a giant pile of hairy granny squares, which I avoided for days because weaving in all the ends back to back sounded completely tedious. It’s much easier to weave as you go, in my opinion.

Assembly

Once all you squares are complete and ends are woven in, use the diagram below as a guide to lay out your squares for the back panel in a color arrangement that is pleasing to you. This is really fun to experiment with. Beginning with the bottom two rows, lay Row 4 on Row 5, wrong side facing. Slip stitch the rows together along the horizontal seam. Break yarn and weave in ends. Lay the two rows out flat in their positions in you panel arrangement. Join Rows 3 and 4 along the horizontal seam using the same procedure. Repeat to join Rows 3 and 2, and finally Rows 2 and 1. Now, working on the wrong side of the back panel, slip stitch each vertical seam together using the same process.

Repeat the same process for the front panel, using the digram below as a guide.

Now, it is time to join the front and back panels. Lay the front panel on top of the back panel, wrong sides facing. Slip stitch the sides together, beginning from the bottom edge and working up the length of two and a half squares, leaving the top two and half squares unseamed to serve as an armhole. Repeat for the other side edge. Make sure the granny squares line up evenly along the edge as you work. Slip stitch together the shoulder seams, starting at the outer edge and stitching across the top of the two outer granny squares, repeating for the other side. Weave in any ends.

Beginning anywhere around the neck hole of the sweater, slip stitch into a space and pull up a loop. Chain 1, then continue to single crochet in each space all the way around the neckline. Sl st to the first chain. You can repeat with one more single crochet round if desired-I did two single crochet rounds total to finish the neckline.

Repeat this process for the bottom edge of the sweater. I only did one single crochet row along the bottom edge. We’ve in any ends.

You should now have 30 granny squares left (unless you are adjusting the size), 15 for each sleeve.

The sleeves are five granny squares in circumference and three granny squares long. Arrange Them as you like and use the same process as with the front and back panels to join the horizontal and vertical seams. Finally, fold the piece so hat the left and right edges meet up, wrong side facing. Sl ip stitch the sides together and weave in any ends. This seam is the underside of the sleeve. Repeat this process for the second sleeve.

With the body of the sweater inside out and the sleeve right side out, slip the sleeve inside the armhole of the sweater, lining up the sleeve seam with side seam of the sweater body. Slip stitch into any space around the armhole of the sweater, working through both the body and the sleeve layers to join. Continue to slip stitch the arm and body together, working all the wy around the armhole. Slip stitch the first stitch to join and weave in and ends. Repeat this process for the second arm.

Lastly, you’ll be working a small ribbed panel for the cuff.

Chain 12, 1 sc in 2nd chain from hook and across. Turn. (10 sc)

Row 1: Ch 1, 1 sc in each sc across, working BACK LOOPS ONLY.

Repeat Row 1 until the ribbed panel fits the circumference of your upper forearm. Mine was about 10” long.

Seam together the last and first rows to form a ribbed ring, weave in any ends. Repeat once more for a second cuff.

With the sweater inside out and the cuff right side out, slip the cuff inside the end of the sleeve, lining up the cuff seam with sleeve seam. Slip stitch into any space, working through both the cuff and the sleeve layers to join. Continue to slip stitch the arm and body together, working all the wy around the armhole. As you work, you may find that you have to work one space on the sleeve for every two spaces on the cuff in order to join it evenly. To do this, simply insert your hook into the same space on the sleeve again, but move on to the next space on the cuff to join. I did not count the spaces or do any math to achieve this, I just worked it out as I went. It is probably a tiny bit wonky, but you can’t tell looking at it or wearing it. How many times you’ll have to doubly up on the sleeve spaces really depends nohow long your cuff is. Who you’ve made it around, slip stitch the first stitch to join and weave in and ends. Repeat this process for the second arm. Weave in any ends.

I highly recommend blocking the piece before wearing it. I soaked my sweater in water and a gentle detergent, then rinsed it by hand. I then played out several beach towels stacked, slayed the sopping sweater on them, and rolled it all tightly, like a cinnamon roll. This is a really affective method of squeezing out excess water without wringing your finished piece. I then pinned it to shape on my blocking boards and proceeded to wait eleventy-thousand years for it to dry. It is worth taking the extra time to block a piece like this well, as it helps to relax all the seams and make the whole sweater softer.

Please share your progress if you decide to take this project on, either as something to create while we are all staying as close to home as possible, or anytime you need something fun to make in small, easy to manage steps.

I’d love to see your progress! If you’d like to share on social media, you can find me on Instagram @Nicole_r_knutsen.

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