Cozy and beginner-friendly, this mitered granny square glows with fireplace warmth—quick to make and perfect for blankets, pillows, or A Very Cottage Christmas crochet along.

By the Fireplace Granny Square

Nothing captures the magic of the holiday season quite like settling in beside a roaring fire. You can almost hear the crackle of the logs and see the stockings hanging in anticipation.

That feeling—the warmth, the glow, the quiet joy of being home—is exactly what the By the Fireplace Granny Square brings to your hook.

Designed for A Very Cottage Christmas, this square shines in festive holiday colors, adding a welcoming brightness to any room. Its unique mitered design invites you to play with color in a way that feels personal and meaningful, letting you tailor each square to your own cozy holiday style.

So pour yourself a hot cocoa, settle into your favorite chair by the fire, and let every stitch wrap you in the comfort and charm of the season.

Design + Construction

The By the Fireplace Granny Square uses a classic mitered construction, starting with a traditional center and then building outward with partial rounds.

You work your way from one corner to the opposite, creating a shape that almost looks like it’s glowing—like the gentle heat radiating from a cozy fireplace. A simple single crochet border ties everything together for a clean finish.

It’s beginner-friendly, quick to make (usually under an hour!), and versatile enough for all kinds of home décor projects—blankets, pillows, and of course, the garland in A Very Cottage Christmas, where it first made its debut.

The Yarn

This granny square builds beautiful depth with a new color introduced in each round. I’m not always a fan of changing colors every round but this beautiful granny square design just begs for the rich colors we chose.

Any worsted weight yarn will work see what I used in the pattern below 👇). You’ll need small amounts of 5 different colors.

For a budget-friendly option, shop your yarn collection and use up some of those valuable leftovers.

Create your own color scheme with what you already have or splurge on new yarn in a specially curated color scheme.

Choose a cozy color scheme, make it monochromatic, or go bold for a truly unique creation.

A Very Cottage Christmas Crochet Along

A Very Cottage Christmas was created as a gentle pause—an invitation to breathe deeply and find a moment of calm in the midst of holiday chaos. When the season feels overwhelming, you can slip into the mindfulness of stitching beautiful granny squares, giving yourself space to regroup, recharge, and reconnect with the joy of making.

We wanted something simple, festive, and heartwarming to celebrate the season—something that would bring handmade charm into your home without adding stress, pressure, or extra expense. From that desire for ease and comfort, A Very Cottage Christmas was born.

An eBook Loaded With Extras

The By the Fireplace Granny Square is one of 6 patterns featured in the blog-style crochet along. To find out more about the event and make your garland at no cost, visit the event post HERE.

The pattern for the By the Fireplace Granny Square is included in the jam-packed A Very Cottage Christmas eBook. It’s a must-have for your crochet library with so many features for a festive holiday season.

You won’t want to miss getting your very own copy. It includes 4 bonus squares (not available anywhere else), a project planner (make notes about your journey), coloring pages (plan your colors) and a fun Word Search puzzle (Why not?!).

The crochet along price of $14.99 is good until Dec. 15th so don’t delay!

Where to get the PDF for the By the Fireplace Granny Square

The By the Fireplace Granny Square is a free crochet granny square pattern in this blog post. Scroll down to view the free version.

Upgrade to a printer friendly, downloadable version and you’ll be able to take your project with you to work on whenever you’re out and about.

The PDF is easy to read and beautifully formatted without ads for a great experience. 

Get your copy today! Available only in my Ravelry shop. 

The By the Fireplace Granny Square Free Pattern

General Information

Yarn

Lion Brand “Color Theory” 100% acrylic worsted weight (3.5oz/246yd; 100g/225m)

Small amounts of 5 colors:

• 1st color – Tourmaline
• 2nd color – Peacock
• 3rd color – Himalayan Salt
• 4th color – Bee Pollen
• 5th color – Ivory

Any worsted weight yarn will work – shop your collection!

Hook

US size H-8 (5mm)

Finished Size

Approx. 5″ across

Gauge

Not important for this square

Skill Level: Advanced Beginner

Abbreviations – US crochet terminology

• beg – beginning
• ch – chain
• dc – double crochet
• hdc – half double crochet
• MR – magic ring
• rep – repeat
• rnd – round
• sc – single crochet
• sp – space
• st(s) – stitch(es)
• YO – yarn over

Repeats

• (…) – Work everything within the parentheses in the same st or sp
• […] – Repeat everything within the brackets the indicated number of times

Special Stitches

Chain-1 space (ch-1 sp) – The number denotes the number of chains made

Granny stitch (GS) – 3 dc in the same st or sp

Note: A standing stitch replaces attaching the yarn and working a series of chains to begin a round. All standing sts begin with a slip knot held firmly against the hook to avoid slipping, then the st is worked as it normally would be.

Standing double crochet (Standing dc) – Make a slip knot, hold the slip knot firmly against the hook with the forefinger of the same hand, YO, insert hook in the indicated st, YO, pull up a loop, [YO, pull through 2 loops] twice.

Stacked single crochet (STsc) – (This stitch is used at the beginning of a round to replace the traditional turning ch-3. It has the appearance of a dc.) – Insert hook in the same st as the loop, YO, pull up a loop, YO, pull through 2 loops (bottom sc made), insert hook through the left vertical bar of the bottom sc, YO, pull up a loop, YO, pull through 2 loops (top sc made).

Pattern Notes

1. Do not turn after any rnd. The right side of the square will always be facing you.
2. A “ch 3” may be substituted for the STsc and Standing dc at any time.
3. A “ch 1” at the beg of a rnd does not count as a st.
4. Rnds 2-4 are partial rounds, worked like rows. After Rnds 2 & 3, rotate the square back to the beg to start the next rnd.

Video Tutorial

In this video on YouTube, I show you all the steps to crochet your very own By the Fireplace Granny Square.

Pattern Instructions

With the 1^st color, ch 4, join with slip st to form a ring OR use a MR, closing the ring at the end of Rnd 1.

Rnd 1: (STsc, 2 dc) in the ring, ch 3, [GS in the ring, ch 3] 3 times, join with slip st to beg st, fasten off. < 4 GS, 4 ch-3 corner sp >

Rnd 2: With 2^nd color, (Standing dc, 2 dc) in any ch-3 corner sp (counts as 1^st GS), ch 1, (GS, ch 2, GS) in the next ch-3 corner sp, ch 1, GS in the next ch-3 corner sp, fasten off. < 4 GS, 2 ch-1 sp, 1 ch-2 corner sp >

Rnd 3: With 3^rd color, Standing dc in the 1^st st of Rnd 2, ch 1, GS in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, (GS, ch 2, GS) in the ch-2 corner sp, ch 1, GS in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, dc in the last st of Rnd 2, fasten off. < 2 dc, 4 GS, 4 ch-1 sp, 1 ch-2 corner sp >

Rnd 4: With 1^st color, (Standing dc, 2 dc) in the 1^st ch-1 sp of Rnd 3, ch 1, GS in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, (GS, ch 2, GS) in the ch-2 corner sp, ch 1, GS in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, GS in the last ch-1 sp, fasten off. < 6 GS, 4 ch-1 sp, 1 ch-2 corner sp >

Note: In Rnd 5, pay close attention to the way the corners are worked. Two corners use the traditional GS and the other two use hdc instead. This is to keep the finished square from slanting.

Rnd 5: With the 4^th color, (Standing dc, 2 dc, ch 2, GS) in the ch-2 corner sp of Rnd 4, ch 1, [GS in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1] twice, (3 hdc, ch 2, 3 hdc) in the last st of Rnd 4, ch 1, GS around the last dc of Rnd 3, ch 1, GS in the partial corner of Rnd 1, ch 1, (GS, ch 2, GS) in the ch-3 corner sp of Rnd 1, ch 1, GS in the next partial corner of Rnd 1, ch 1, GS around the Standing dc of Rnd 3, ch 1, (3 hdc, ch 2, 3 hdc) in the 1^st st of Rnd 4, ch 1, [GS in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1] twice, join with slip st to beg st, fasten off. < 12 hdc, 12 GS, 4 ch-2 corner sp >

Rnd 6: Attach 5^th color to any ch-2 corner sp, ch 1, 3 sc in the same ch-2 corner sp, sc in the next st and in each st and ch-1 sp across to the next ch-2 corner sp, [3 sc in the ch-2 corner sp, sc in the next st and in each st and ch-1 sp across to the next ch-2 corner sp] 3 times, join with slip st to beg st, fasten off. < 72 sc > 

Weave in ends and block if necessary