Traditional Granny Square Tutorial for Beginners, Step by Step

Reading Time: 5 minutes

When you hear “granny square,” what pops into your head? For me, it’s dusty attics, saggy blankets my toes poked straight through, and some truly questionable ’70s color choices. (Avocados are for eating, not a design choice)

But that reputation is doing the granny square dirty. It’s not outdated — it’s just misunderstood. Everyone tells beginners to start with one, yet almost no one explains why. But I promise, once you see how this classic square is built, a lot of crochet patterns suddenly make sense: working in the round, shaping corners, repeating stitches, even the reasons behind turning your work all start to click  It’s less about the square itself and more about what it teaches you to notice.

So let’s get hooking!

(And if you finish this tutorial and immediately want more granny square goodness, the granny square library is waiting for you. Because this little piece of crochet magic comes in all shapes and sizes.)

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Traditional Granny Square Tutorial 

Before we dig in, here are some helpful links so you don’t have to hunt:

● My Go-To Supplies – The hooks and supplies I reach for every single time
● Yarn – Because duh
● Stitch Library – A place to brush up on your basic stitches if you need to so the rest of this makes sense.

Materials Needed:

Yarn: A granny square can literally be made from all weights of yarn. However for this specific tutorial we’re going to be using medium worsted weight yarn. I used Red Heart Super Saver in the color Cornmeal, but you can use whatever you have.

Hook: You can use whatever size hook your pattern calls for, but for this square, we’re using a 5.0mm hook. (H size)

Yarn Needle, Scissors, Tape Measure – To cut yarn, weave in ends, and make sure you got the size you were looking for.

(Babysitter, Netflix, Diet Coke, Snacks) – And a locking door on your bedroom so you can have some much deserved me time.

Making the Granny Square: 

Stitches Used: (If any of these stitches feel unfamiliar, I’ve got you covered here)
● SL St- Slip Stitch
● Ch- Chain
● SC- Single Crochet
● DC – Double Crochet
● Cl St – Cluster stitch. (A group of 3DC’s to make one of the classic granny sections)

To Begin:
Make a magic circle (or ch3, sl st in the first ch to make a ring) ch2.

Round 1:  *DC 3 in the loop, then ch 2, DC 3, ch2* Repeat from * to * twice more. Sl st to the top of the starting dc and ch 2. You will now have four “clusters” in your beginning circle.

Round 2: 
In the ch2 space that you just completed, DC3 in the same space, ch2 and DC3 in the next ch2 space. Then ch2 and DC3 more all in that same space.

You are now making the corner for your granny square. (The corner should have 3dc, ch2, 3dc all in the ch2 space from the previous row)

When you get back to the first dc stitches you made to start the row, 3dc again in that same space, ch 2 and sl st to the top of the first dc. (Finishing the first corner and ending your round)

Ch2 and turn your work so the backside is now facing you. We do this to make it easier on ourselves going forward, and it creates a great texture on the square, and it lays more flat so future you doesn’t have to fight it.

Still with me? Good. You’re doing great.

If your square doesn’t look like mine right now, congratulations, you crocheted it. You’re human, not a machine and we’re all still learning. Let’s keep going!

Round 3

In the ch2 space that you just completed, DC3 in the same space, ch2 and DC3 in the next ch2 space. Now you’re at the corner. DC3 in the ch2 space, ch2, DC3 all in the same space. Repeat this around until you get back to your starting point, and then sl st into the top of the dc and ch2. Turn your work.

Round 4 onward
You will continue working in this pattern until you finish your square. Each round you will have more ch2 spaces between corners, but continue making the dc cluster and ch2 in each one all the way around. Making sure your corners have a cl st, ch2, cl st in each one.

A standard size square usually measures around 6”, (or about 5 rounds). The beauty of granny squares however is that you can continue making them forever. (or until you run out of yarn)

Some “oops” moments to watch out for.

(You’re human and learning. These are normal.)

Q: My square is just a mess of loops and weird looking stitches. What is happening?

A: Your stitch count is probably off. Yep, sometimes we really do have to count every stitch if we want things to behave. Go back to where it first started looking weird, rip that sucker out, and try again. This time, put the kids on mute so you can keep count, and it usually fixes itself.

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Q: My corners don’t look like yours. How do I fix it?

A: If your stitch count is right, try gently tugging the corners to square it up. Don’t yank the yarn like it owes you money. Just coax it a little. Stretch the stitches between your fingers, smooth things out, and see if it starts to behave. If you’re still unsure, work the next round and check the previous one. If the corner evens out, you’re golden. If not, frog it and start over.

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Q: I keep ripping out stitches, nothing is working, and I feel like I can’t do this. What’s wrong with me?

A: Sis, nothing is wrong with you. You’re learning. That’s the deal. The only way this gets easier is by doing it, and crochet is very forgiving like that. The more you practice, the smoother your stitches get, the easier it feels, and the more your brain goes hey, I like this. I promise it gets easier and more fun the longer you stick with it.

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Final Thoughts: 

If you made it this far, congrats. You officially know how a traditional granny square works, which means your crochet brain just leveled up whether you asked for it or not. (Which puts you way ahead of where most of us started, like for real) This little square is sneaky like that. Once it clicks, your brain starts spotting it everywhere and suddenly crochet patterns stop feeling like ancient runes.

If this tutorial triggered the urge to immediately make seventeen more piles of granny squares for no specific reason, welcome to the club. Meetings are on Tuesdays and we have cookies.

Change colors. Make it bigger. Make one too many and pretend it was intentional.

And when you inevitably want more ideas, (Trust me on this) I have a great resource of patterns waiting for you right here.

Also, if you’d like to see how I used this exact block on a project recently, check out the post here:

No rules, no pressure. Rip it out, remake it, and keep going. That’s the whole point.

Happy Hooking!