Want to reduce your yarn stash while creating something beautiful and cozy? The Granny Square Scrap-ghan is perfect for granny square lovers everywhere!

The Granny Square Scrap-ghan

Wrap yourself in the warmth of mindful making with the Granny Square Scrap-ghan — a joyful, stash-busting project that transforms your leftover yarn into something truly special. 

Made with timeless granny squares, this cozy blanket invites you to slow down, savor each stitch, and create a colorful patchwork full of memories and meaning.

Whether you’re curled up on the couch or enjoying a peaceful weekend with your hook in hand, the granny square afghan is the perfect way to turn scraps into stitches — and stitches into something beautiful.

The Granny Square Scrap-ghan is a crochet pattern originally published in 2016. I have updated the written instructions to a more detailed version and added new photos and graphics. Enjoy!

Design + Construction

If you work with yarn as much as I do, you most likely have a significant stash left over from other projects.  My favorite yarns to work with are DK and worsted weights so I have a pretty big collection of those two weights.

The most important reason I designed this granny square blanket was to give makers like me, with that large and in charge worsted weight stash, a way to use it up, or at least make a dent in it.  

So, at the very heart of this stash buster blanket are the 4-round traditional granny squares. Granny squares were made for using up bits and leftovers, making it the perfect solution.

I made each of my granny squares in one color. But, if you fancy something a bit more whimsical, make yours in any color combination your yarn stash inspires.

Those 4-round granny squares are turned into 5-round grannies as the squares are joined together. Instead of whip stitching the grannies together, I used the Join-As-You-Go (JAYGO) slip stitch method. If you’ve never tried JAYGO, this granny square blanket is the perfect project to try it out!

Once all the squares are joined together, a simple single crochet and shell border is added to complete the look and pull everything together.

How big is the granny square blanket?

The finished size of my granny square blanket is 49″ by 54″ including the border. That’s if you decide to make the blanket with 72 squares like I did.

Depending upon how much yarn you have or the room where your blanket will hang out, you can adjust the number of squares to create the look and size you want.

Join-As-You-Go (JAYGO) slip stitch method

I truly wanted this granny square blanket to be as effortless as possible. When I put together a blanket with this many squares with any other method, like whip stitch or slip stitch seam, it can be wonky to work with.

The JAYGO slip stitch method connects one square at a time with no gaping holes you have to come back and close later. 

In the slip stitch method, chain spaces are replaced with slip stitches that join the square you’re working on with the rest of the blanket.

I wrote out the instructions in the premium PDF, making it easy to follow where the slip stitches are worked. Plus, I’ve added graphics that show how to connect the squares in a logical way. Easy peasy, right?!

Want to know more? Check out this blog post where I talk about JAYGO slip stitch method.

Skill Level

The Granny Square Scrap-ghan is an Advanced Beginner/Intermediate project. The granny squares and the border really are beginner level.

However, if you’ve never done join-as-you-go, it can be a bit tricky at first. But, it’s one of those techniques that is pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it.

The Great Stashdown Blog Hop

I’m thrilled to be a featured designer in the Great Stashdown Blog Hop hosted by Itchin’ for some Stitchin’.

Through the month of August, the blog hop offers a daily free download from some fabulous crochet designers. Every pattern in the collection is meant to give you ideas for working down your stash and creating beautiful crochet.

On Tuesday, August 19, the Granny Square Scrap-ghan is the featured design. That means you can grab a free copy of the premium PDF during my feature day.

To get your free PDF download, simply click on the button below, enter your name and email address, and you’ll be taken directly to the PDF where you can download and save it.

Note: The free download has now expired.

Be sure to check out all 30 of the featured designs by visiting the event post.

The Great Stashdown pattern bundle includes the PDFs for all 30 designs featured in the blog hop. The discounted $11.99 price tag is a staggering 90% off the retail value. BUT, you’ll need to grab your copy before the price goes up at the end of the blog hop.

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The Yarn

I made this granny square blanket with a combination of worsted weight leftovers from my stash collection and yarn I purchased. I wanted my finished blanket to have a more cohesive color palette.

However, you can configure your choices any way you like. Add the 5th round in the JAYGO step with different colors for a truly unique look.

The beauty of this granny square afghan is that you don’t necessarily need to have all your yarn gathered when you start. You can simply grab yarn as you go.

If you want the more coordinated look of my blanket, you’ll need:

• For the squares: approx. 1300-1500 yds
• For the main color: approx. 1000 yds

Some of my favorite worsted weight yarns for blankets are:

Lion Brand “Heartland” 100% premium acrylic worsted weight (5oz/251yd; 142g/230m)

Lion Brand “Pound of Love” 100% premium acrylic worsted weight (16oz/1020yd; 454g/932m)

Paintbox “Simply Aran” 100% acrylic worsted weight (3.53oz/201yds; 100g/184m)