Granny Stripe Throw Blanket

Blue, Red, Orange & Black

Skill level: Beginner
Construction: One-piece throw, worked from the bottom up in turned rows of granny stripe (groups of 3 double crochet). A single-crochet foundation keeps the starting edge firm and easy. Squares are not used.

This is a classic granny stripe blanket: bold two-row stripes in blue, red, orange, and black, framed with a simple black border. If you can chain, single crochet, and double crochet, you can make this.

Finished measurements

About 49" × 60" (124.5 × 152.5 cm) after blocking, including border.

Body before border: about 48" wide × 59" long (122 × 150 cm).

Materials

Yarn: Worsted weight (medium #4), four colors:

One 364 yd (333 m) skein each of A, B, and C, plus two skeins of D, is a comfortable shop list in a yarn such as Red Heart Super Saver.

Hook: US I-9 / 5.5 mm (or size needed to obtain gauge)

Notions: Tapestry needle, scissors, 4 stitch markers (optional, for border corners)

Gauge

4 granny clusters (four groups of 3 dc) = 4" (10 cm)
6 rows of granny stripe = 4" (10 cm)

Work a swatch of at least 8 clusters × 10 rows in the stripe pattern and measure the center 4 clusters × 6 rows. Change hook size if needed. Denser fabric is fine; a much looser gauge will make a larger blanket and use more yarn.

Abbreviations (US)

Pattern notes

• Ch 3 at the start of a granny-stripe row counts as 1 dc.
• A granny cluster is 3 dc worked into the same stitch or the same space.
• The fabric is built from spaces (the gaps between clusters), not from stitching into the top of every dc. After Row 2 you will almost always work into those gaps.
• Even granny rows (Row 2, Row 4, Row 6…) start and end with a 2-dc group. Odd granny rows (Row 3, Row 5, Row 7…) start and end with a single dc. This is what keeps the sides straight. Do not work extra clusters into the edge gaps on even rows or the blanket will widen.
• Color-change method (beginner): Work the last dc of the row until 2 loops remain on the hook. Drop the old color, yo with the new color, and pull through to finish the stitch. Cut the old color, leaving a 6" (15 cm) tail. Do not carry unused colors up the side — four colors will make a bulky edge.
• Weave tails in as you go (every 2–4 stripes) so you are not left with 88 ends at the finish.
• The single-crochet foundation (Row 1) is worked in Color A and is not counted as a stripe. Stripes begin at Row 2.
• Turn at the end of every row.

Color sequence

Work 2 granny-stripe rows in each color, repeating A–B–C–D eleven times (88 granny rows = 44 stripes = 11 of each color ✓).

The blanket ends on black so the border matches the last stripe.

Blanket

With Color A, ch 146.
(146 = 3 × 48 + 2 ✓)

Row 1 (WS, foundation): Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn.
145 sc (145 = 3 × 48 + 1 ✓).

Row 2 (RS, even row, Color A): Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in first sc (2-dc group made), *sk 2 sc, 3 dc in next sc; rep from * until 3 sc remain, sk 2 sc, 2 dc in last sc. Turn.

Check: first sc used + 47 repeats of 3 sc + last 3 sc = 1 + 141 + 3 = 145 ✓. You now have a 2-dc group, 47 three-dc clusters, and a 2-dc group (49 groups, 48 spaces between them ✓).

Row 3 (odd row, Color A): Ch 3 (counts as dc), 3 dc in each space between groups across (work into every gap, including the gaps right next to the edge groups), dc in top of tch. Change to Color B on the last yo of the final dc. Turn.

Check: 48 spaces × 3 dc, plus 1 starting dc and 1 ending dc ✓. You now have 1 dc, 48 three-dc clusters, and 1 dc.

Row 4 (even row, Color B): Ch 3, dc in first st (the same st as the ch-3 — 2-dc group made), 3 dc in each space between the 3-dc clusters across, 2 dc in top of tch. Turn.

Do not put a 3-dc cluster in the small gap right next to each edge stitch — the 2-dc groups fill those gaps. You should again have a 2-dc group, 47 three-dc clusters, and a 2-dc group ✓.

Row 5 (odd row, Color B): Ch 3, 3 dc in each space between groups across (every gap, including the ones next to the edges), dc in top of tch. Change to Color C on the last yo of the final dc. Turn.

Rows 6–89: Repeat the even-row / odd-row pair, changing color every 2 rows as in the Color Sequence.
Even rows = Row 4 style. Odd rows = Row 5 style.

Row count check: Rows 2–89 = 88 granny rows ✓. 88 rows ÷ 2 = 44 stripes ✓. 44 ÷ 4 colors = 11 stripes of each color ✓. Length: 88 rows ÷ 6 rows per 4" = 58.67" + Row 1 ≈ 59" body ✓.

Fasten off Color D at the end of Row 89.

Border (Color D, black)

The border is worked in joined rounds without turning. Join Color D with a sl st in the top-right corner (last st of Row 89) so you can work across the top first.

Round 1: Ch 1, 3 sc in the same corner st (place a marker in the center sc of these 3), sc in each dc across the top to the next corner, 3 sc in the corner st (mark the center sc).

Left side: Work 2 sc around the post of each granny-row tch / row-end and 1 sc in the side of the Row 1 sc. (88 granny row-ends × 2 sc) + 1 sc = 177 sc along the side ✓.

Bottom: 3 sc in the first foundation-chain corner (mark the center sc), sc in each remaining foundation ch across, 3 sc in the last foundation-chain corner (mark the center sc).

Right side: Match the left side — 1 sc in the side of Row 1, then 2 sc in each granny row-end. Join with sl st to the first sc.

Round 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc around, working 3 sc in each marked corner sc (move the marker up to the new center sc each time). Join with sl st to the first sc.

Fasten off.

(Two rounds add about ⅝" / 1.5 cm per side → finished size about 49" × 60" ✓.)

Finishing

1. Weave in every remaining tail on the WS. For tails at the side edges, weave along the stripe they belong to, not up through several colors.
2. Block: mist with water, pin to 49" × 60" (124.5 × 152.5 cm), and let dry. Acrylic can be steam-blocked by hovering an iron on steam; do not rest the iron on the stitches.
3. Trim any stray ends.

How to “read” the granny stripe (quick reminder)

After the first two rows you never count 145 stitches again. Look at the gaps:

• Odd row (single-dc edges): 3 dc in every gap from edge to edge, then 1 dc in the tch.
• Even row (2-dc edges): 2 dc at the start, 3 dc in each gap between full clusters, 2 dc in the tch.

If a row suddenly looks wider, an extra cluster was placed in an edge gap on an even row — undo that row and skip those two small edge gaps.

Yarn amounts if you change the size

Width: chain a multiple of 3 + 2. Every extra 3 chains adds 1 cluster (about 1" / 2.5 cm).
Length: add or remove stripes in pairs of rows (about 1⅓" / 3.5 cm per two-row stripe). Keep the A–B–C–D order so the last stripe is still black if you want a matching border.