Is there anything in crochet quite as classic as granny stitch? It’s been used in everything from afghans to accessories. It can be found everywhere from your Grandma’s couch to your favorite TV sit-com, and from the London runway to the red carpet. At this point, it’s a bit baffling that we keep finding new ways to employ this favorite stitch. And though our love for it occasionally wanes and we tuck those granny afghans and vests and jackets into the darker corners of our closets, we always seem to come back after a time with a fresh love and appreciation for what will always be a crochet staple.
With the weight of all that history and nostalgia on my shoulders, I bring you yet another granny stitch creation, my very first granny stitch creation – Granny Golightly. This granny is an infinity scarf or cowl designed specifically for cake yarns to be fast, easy, and classic, but still a bit unique. The pattern is free, right here on my website. Click here to go straight to it. Click here to get to the Ravelry pattern page.
What’s so special about this granny? First, she was designed with the idea of using cake yarn. Those pesky cakes are all the rage, and love them or hate them (I love them), they’re going to be around a while. So why not try and use them to their best advantage?
How do you do that? By letting the colors do the work.
Now, normally if you make a scarf or cowl with side to side rows you’d get big chunky stripes. In Granny Golightly we have big chunky stripes, but I’ve added a ninety degree angle in the middle of the rows. Like so…
That angle is the key to breaking up the wide areas of color. This creates motion and interest instead of big blocks of color or long narrow stripes.
I used exactly one cake of yarn on each of these. The size you get will depend on the size of your cake. See the details on my projects below for my recommendations.
Next, this granny has a built in scalloped edge. You’ll change up your stitches in the beginning and end of each row just slightly to achieve this.
And as with most granny projects, this one is fast. If you’re a seasoned granny stitcher you’ll be done in no time. I made the red-orange cowl in just three hours.
Here’s more details on each of my three Granny Golightly scarves:
Blue Infinity Scarf
Yarn: Caron Cakes in Cake Pop
Hook: 5.5mm
Size: about 12 inches wide and 56 inches around using the infinity scarf instructions
Notes: This scarf is nice and long which works well as a traditional scarf. It’s long enough to wrap around my neck twice.
Red-Orange Cowl
Yarn: Caron Cakes in Cinnamon Swirl
Hook: 5.5mm
Size: about 20 inches wide and 34 inches around using the cowl instructions
Notes: This works fine as a cowl, but that’s it. If I were to use Aran yarn again on a cowl I would use the pattern notes for adjusting my pattern down and decrease the starting chain by 16. However, it does wear well and can even be pulled up over my head if I need a little extra cover.
Multi-Colored Cowl
Yarn: Lion Brand Mandala in Chimera
Hook: 4.5mm
Size: about 16 inches wide by 44 inches around using the cowl instructions
Notes: This one is super stretchy so it’s actually hard to measure. It lays perfectly over my shoulders without touching my neck. I’m not a huge fan of things around my neck so I like the option of wearing them away from my neck. The yarn has a gorgeous drape that is excellent for an accessory like this. The colors blow me away. The look changes completely depending on how I turn the cowl. I did have some weird color changes and knots in my cake that I think were non-standard and I got this single row of golden yellow. In another project I might have been quite put out by this, but for this cowl it turned out amazing. I love that the stripes are different widths and that the yellow, which stands out the most, is such a tiny streak.
I do hope you’ll give Granny Golightly a try and think of it as your 2017 holiday gift from me to you, brought to your early so that you, of course, will have time to make it for the holidays.
Love and light always.
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What a clever idea that scalloped edge is – thanks for sharing!
I love the “As Time Goes By” square. Can this be made in one continuous, large blanket, instead of making multiple squares to sew together?
Thank you.