Happy Third Day of Christmas!
After I finished the Retro Ornament throw (see previous post), I started playing around with the Christmas Light Granny Squares again, and ended up coming up with a new design of the square that is less rectangular, more symmetrical, and looks a little more like a Christmas light. Check out the comparison below.
I crocheted the original square with a 5mm hook and Bernat Premium yarn, and it came out smaller than the dimensions provided, as it seems I am quite a tight crocheter. My variation, on the right, was crocheted with the same yarn and a 6mm hook, which increases its size while giving it a slightly better drape.
The original pattern can be found here, and here you’ll find the pattern for the wonderful Christmas Lights blanket.
I’m planning to complete the same blanket, including that pretty candy cane border, with my version of the Christmas Lights Granny Square, with 7 squares across and 9 squares down (you’ll find the pattern for my squares at the end of this post).
So far I’ve crocheted the first 7 squares across, and tested the Christmas Light layout (keeping in mind that I will be surface stitching a “cord” connecting the lights, as per the blanket pattern) using Stitch Fiddle‘s cross stitch chart maker.
For the chart on the left, I arranged the lights so that the colour pattern (R, O, Y, G, B, P) repeats, going left to right in the top row, then down and right to left in the second row, then down and right to left in the third row, and so on. For the chart on the right, the difference is the colour pattern; it begins the same way, but then goes in reverse order (P, B, G, Y, O, R), and then in forward order, and so on. Note that red and purple are anchor colours, and so don’t repeat as often as on the chart on the left.
I prefer the chart on the left, and will be following that one when constructing my Christmas Lights blanket. Below you’ll find the pattern for my version of the Christmas Lights Granny Square.
Christmas Lights Granny Square (Re-Design)
Materials
Worsted-weight yarn in six lightbulb colours of choice, as well as white, light grey, and black
6.0mm (J) crochet hook
Darning needle (for weaving in ends)
Abbreviations
SC – Single Crochet
st – stitch(es)
ch – Chain(s)
HDC – Half Double Crochet
DC – Double Crochet
TrC – Treble Crochet
sp. – space
Pattern Notes
– Beginning chain 1s (in lightbulb) do not count as the first stitch in each round. The first stitch is crocheted into the same stitch as the chain.
– Numbers before stitches indicate how many of those stitches go into the next stitch. Numbers after the ‘x’ indicate how many stitches to repeat. (Example: For 2SC x 3, crochet 2 SC stitches in each of the next 3 stitches.)
– Stitches between brackets are crocheted into the same stitch.
Instructions
Begin with one lightbulb colour of choice.
Round 1 – 8 SC in magic ring, join, ch1. (8 st)
Round 2 – 2SC x 3, (HDC, DC), (DC, HDC), 2SC x 3, join, ch1. (16 st)
Round 3 – 2SC x 2, SC x 4, (SC, HDC), (HDC, DC), (DC, HDC), (HDC, SC), SC x 4, 2SC x 2, join, ch1. (24 st)
Round 4 – 2SC x 3, SC x 8, (HDC, DC), (DC, HDC), SC x 8, 2SC x 3, join, fasten off. (32 st)
Round 5 – Join white yarn to 5th stitch from join, (DC, ch1, 2DC), HDC x 6, DC x 2, (2TrC, ch1, DC), (DC, HDC), 2SC x 2, (HDC, DC), (DC, ch1, 2TrC), DC x 2, HDC x 6, (2DC, ch1, DC), DC, join black and carry white, DC x 6, switch back to white, DC, join, ch3 (counts as first DC in next round). (44 st + 4 ch)
Round 6 – (DC, ch2, DC) in ch1 sp., DC x 12, (DC, ch2, DC) in ch1 sp., DC x 10, (DC, ch2, DC) in ch1 sp., DC x 12, (DC, ch2, DC) in ch1 sp., DC x 2, HDC x 6, DC, join, ch3. (52 st + 8 ch)
Round 7 – DC, (DC, ch2, DC) in ch2 sp., DC x 14, (DC, ch2, DC) in ch2 sp, DC x 12, (DC, ch. 2, DC) in ch2 sp, DC x 14, (DC, ch2, DC) in ch2 sp, DC x 10, join, fasten off. (60 st + 8 ch)
Round 9 – Join light grey in top left corner, (SC, ch2, SC) in ch2 sp, SC x 16, (SC, ch2, SC) in ch2 sp, SC x 14, (SC, ch2, SC) in ch2 sp, SC x 16, (SC, ch2, SC) in ch2 sp, SC x 14, join, fasten off. (68 st + 8 ch) Weave in ends.
I’ll post my version of the Christmas Lights Granny Square blanket once I’ve completed it.
In the meantime, best wishes for the holidays!
Love,
Nicole
