How to crochet a striped granny square with no holes

The pattern for a solid granny square with no holes is pretty simple, so before that I’ll teach you some tips on how to change the colors so you can get a pretty striped granny square. No holes, almost imperceptible start of the rows, no obvious color changes.

Materials:

• Your favorite yarn in various colors. I used DK/Light worsted acrylic yarn
• The crochet hook you normally use for your chosen yarn. In my case 4.00 mm crochet hook 
• Stitch markers 
• Scissors 
• Tapestry needle

Starting your rounds/rows

Instead of 3 chains, start your rounds/rows with “chainless double crochet” or “2 stacked single crochet”.

 Chainless double crochet: 

Step 1: pull up the loop on the hook to the height of a normal double crochet. Then, while holding the loop in your hook with your thumb finger, move your hook to the back so now the loop will be “over” the hook, something similar to a regular yarn over.

Step 2: Still holding the loop with your thumb, insert your hook in the first stitch from the previous row, yarn over and pull the loop through the stitch, yarn over and pull through the loop and behind the stretched loop from step 1. Yarn over and pull it through the 2 remaining loops.

Stacked single crochet: 

 DO NOT CHAIN, make 1 single crochet in the first stitch from the previous row. Insert the hook into the left vertical bar of the single crochet that you just made. Yarn over and pull up a loop. Complete the single crochet as normal.

Joining your rounds/rows

Alternative to Slip Stitch

1. When you finish your last stitch, pull up the loop off the hook. This loop will be the starting loop for your first stitch in the next row. Ensure it’s not too tight.
2. Insert your hook from the back of the second stitch of your current row.
3. Grab the loop and bring it to the back of your work.

Then, move your working yarn over the loop and to the left and continue working.

Don’t forget to crochet over the top of the first “skipped” stitch at the end of your round together with the loop. You can use stitch markers until you get used to this technique. Also take into consideration that your starting point will be shifted to the left after every row.

Joining a new color

When you are joining a new color and will need your working yarn in the next row, do this to avoid cutting the yarn. Before finishing your last row, make the loop short enough to close the row comfortably as you will work your first stitch with a new color. Then, just grab the new color and release the previous color.

Picking up the yarn from the previous row to the next one

Continue working with your new color until you have one stitch left. Insert the hook into the last stitch through the stitch, yarn over and pull the loop through the stitch, take the previous color and move it to the left over your working yarn, yarn over with your current color and pull through 2 loops, take the previous color again and move it to the right over your working yarn, yarn over with your current color and finish your double crochet as usual.

This helps to secure your carried yarn for a better look at the back.

Now that you know the tips and tricks, you can put them into use with the solid granny square pattern and change the colors as many times as you want. 

Solid granny square pattern

Make a magic ring or ch 3 and join with slip stitch. I’m not including the instructions on how to start and finish your rows, in case you don’t feel like following the tips: ch 2 as your first double crochet and join with slip stitch. 

 Row 1: (3 dc, tr) x 4 

 Row 2 - 5: dc into every dc from the previous row, work 2 dc, tr, 2 dc into each tr from the previous row.

I encourage you to create your own color combinations, play around with the possibilities but also if you want to make a blanket without worries I'll publish a pattern using this granny square design very soon along with a video tutorial. Stay tuned!!

I would love to see what you create with your solid granny squares! Please tag me @gavacrochet when you share on Instagram. I hope you learned something new with this post. See you again soon!