Skip to content
Sparrow Loop

Crochet in the round, counted stitch by stitch.

← Back to the index / All patterns

PatternMotifsBy The Hook Desk15 Sep 2026

Classic granny square, 12 cm

How do I crochet the classic granny square without wobbly corners?

Hook
4.0 mm
Yarn
Worsted (#4), approx. 12 g per square
Gauge
Rounds 1-3 = 8 cm square; a full 5-round square = 12 cm
Finished
12 x 12 cm after blocking

Five rounds, one colour or five, worked in joined rounds and turned after every round so the corners stack square. Twelve centimetres is the size that tiles neatly into a 120 cm blanket of ten by ten.

Materials

  • 12 g worsted weight yarn per square
  • 4.0 mm hook
  • Blunt tapestry needle
  • Rust-proof pins and a foam mat for blocking

Abbreviations

  • dc = double crochet
  • ch = chain
  • sl st = slip stitch
  • sp = chain space
  • corner = (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in the same space
Five rings of twelve: every round adds twelve stitches, four groups of three, one per side.
Round-by-round schematic Five rings of twelve: every round adds twelve stitches, four groups of three, one per side.

Round by round

Open any round to read what happens in it.

R1 · 12 sts

Ch 4, join with sl st to form a ring. Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc into the ring, ch 2, then (3 dc, ch 2) three times. Join with sl st to the top of the ch 3. Turn.

R2 · 24 stsinc

Sl st into the next ch-2 sp. (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in that space — this is a corner. Ch 1, then work a corner in each of the next three ch-2 spaces with ch 1 between them. Join and turn.

R3 · 36 stsinc

Sl st to the next corner space. Corner as before, ch 1, 3 dc in the side ch-1 sp, ch 1, corner. Repeat around: four corners and four side groups. Join and turn.

R4 · 48 stsinc

As round 3, but with two side groups between corners, separated by ch 1.

R5 · 60 stsinc

As round 3 with three side groups between corners. Fasten off and weave in both tails.

Finishing

  1. Block every square to exactly 12 cm before joining. Fifteen minutes of pinning saves an hour of easing later.
  2. Join squares with a slip stitch through the back loops only, which leaves a flat seam on the right side.
  3. Work one round of sc around the whole blanket edge at 1 sc per stitch and 3 sc in each outer corner to stop the border curling.

If it goes wrong

The square is ruffling and will not lie flat.

Too many chains between groups. Use ch 1 between groups, not ch 2, and keep the corner at ch 2.

The corners are rounded rather than square.

The corner chain is too long. Two chains give a right angle; three give a curve.

The square spirals instead of stacking.

You are not turning after each round. Turning alternates the direction and cancels the drift.

Related