Rainbow Crocheted Granny Square Afghan

This Rainbow Afghan has been in the works for months now.  In crocheting an afghan, I’ve learned several things:

1.  PLAN AHEAD.  Make sure you know how many squares you need before you start going crazy with granny squares.
2. LAY OUT YOUR PIECE BEFOREHAND.  I cannot tell you how many times I had to unstitch and resew this blasted afghan together…even though I laid out all the pieces before I started assembling!
3. HAVE FUN!  After all those mishaps, I will say that it is really satisfying to see your completed afghan.  Yes they are a lot of work, but they’re great for decorating and cuddling…my two favorite things!

As for this pattern, it’s super easy to make.  I ended up with 176 pieces, enough to make a 16×11 blanket (that’s 16 squares, not inches).  I used Red Heart Yarn, but you can use whatever you’d like…just make sure you have a lot of it!

Rainbow Afghan

Materials:

• 1-2 balls of Red Heart Super Saver Yarn in the following colors:
•    Red
•    Purple
•    Green
•    Blue
•    Brown
•    White
•    Orange
•    Yellow
• Crochet hook (any size will do)
• Tapestry Needle
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Chain 4.  Join with a slip stitch to make a loop.
   
2. Chain 3 (counts as first double crochet).  Do 11 double crochets into the loop and join with a slip stitch to top of chain 3.
3. With new color, chain 3.  Between the two double crochets where your hook is (I’m pointing to it with my needle in the photo), do 2 more double crochets.
   
4. Continue making 3 double crochets between all the double crochets from row 1.  You should have 12 clusters (1 cluster being a group of 3 double crochets).  Join with a slip stitch to top of chain 3.
   
5. With new color, chain 3.  Between the two clusters where your hook is, do 2 more double crochets.
   
6. Continue making 3 double crochets between all the clusters from row 2.  You should have 12 clusters in this round.  Join with a slip stitch to top of chain 3.
   
7. With new color, chain 3.  Between the two clusters where your hook is, do 2 more double crochets.
   
8. Between the next 2 clusters, do 3 double crochets.  Chain 2.  Do 3 more double crochets.  This creates a corner.
   
9. Between the next clusters, do 3 double crochets.  Then create another corner between the next two clusters.  Continue this pattern all the way around your hexagon.
   
10. Join with a slip stitch and weave in ends.

When it comes to joining all your hexagons, you can use whatever method you’d like.  This is a great pattern for someone who’s just learning to crochet, since you really only need to know how to create a chain and double crochet.  You’ll be “hooked” on this in no time!  🙂

Celebrate creativity every Wednesday with a “Creativi-bee” post, where I share easy craft tutorials, project ideas, and craft collections.