Sunflower Granny Square – Free Crochet Pattern
The sunflower appliqué was always going to be the centrepiece for this sunflower granny square design. I knew this before I had even crocheted a stitch. The challenge for me was always going to be the actual sunflower design. It just had to look perfect (or as near as I could get).
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Inspiration behind the design
E’Claire Makery and Madame Stitch got in touch with me. The asked me to contribute a square to their Granny Square Blanket collaboration they were planning. The specific requirements were that it had to be 8″ square and contain some element of the granny stitch in there somewhere.
The design idea for this one struck me almost at once. Within a day or so I had the design prototyped and out to testers. And I LOVE how my sunflower turned out! It only has one round of petals, but with an 8″ square you don’t want anything too complicated that is going to take over the design.
Construction of the design
The Sunflower Granny Square is worked in 2 parts – the gorgeously textured square itself and then the sunflower appliqué which is sewn onto the square afterwards.
The two rows of granny stitch that frame both the top and bottom of this square just set it off perfectly. Not to mention that scrumptious solid stitch on which the sunflower sits!
When you look at all of the parts there really is a lot going on in this design, but golly! All of the elements work so well together. No one part overwhelms any of the other parts.
I am really thrilled with how it turned out.
The Yarn
For my prototype I used Paintbox Simply Aran in champagne white, coffee bean and buttercup yellow.
This yarn is 100% acrylic and each skein contains 201 yards which is really good for a 100g skein. It is a #4 weight yarn (aran) and I think is on the heavier side of #4 weight yarns but it is lovely and soft and so nice to work with. The colour choices in this yarn are also great with 63 different colours to choose from.
Being a thicker #4 weight yarn this one does not have a lot of drape (at least not when you use it with a 5-6mm hook) which makes it perfect for warmer afghan projects and winter accessories and sweaters.
I used this yarn in my version of the Flower Garden blanket, the Friendship Blanket CAL and lots of my cowls and ear warmers such as the Kristine Set.
Get the PDF pattern!
You can find the ad-free PDF Pattern for this one in all of my shops:
**Please note, if you are here for the Friends with Granny Event you CANNOT use these buttons – you must use the special event button further down the page! The free PDF Pattern is NOT available via my shops!**
The pattern specifics:
Skill level:
This pattern would be classed as an intermediate pattern because of the sunflower appliqué in the centre which uses the bean stitch is worked in rounds with increases and has picots. However, a confident beginner could absolutely give they one a go!
Materials:
| – 5mm hook – #4 weight yarn of your choosing – you will need approx. 100 yards in main colour for the square, 20 yards in brown and 20 yards in yellow – Stitch markers (optional) – Scissors – Tapestry needle |
Gauge:
| 10 sts and 8 rows of *DC in first st, sc in next st* across in 2” |
Sizing:
Your square will be just under 8” once completed, it will measure 8” once blocked
Abbreviations used:
| · Ch(s)–chain(s) · St(s)–stitch(es) · rep–repeat · sk—skip · FSC – foundation single crochet · SC – single crochet · HDC – Half double crochet · DC – Double crochet · BS – Bean Stitch · SS – slip stitch · YO—yarn over · FO—fasten off |
Other notes:
| – Written in US terms. · Ch1 stitches at the beginning do not count as a st unless otherwise stated. · The stitch count is in parenthesis at the end of each row. |
The Pattern:
** This is a free pattern on the blog. Please do not copy and paste any part of it or print this pattern out. Please bookmark this page and use the website to work up your pattern. This helps my small business greatly as it provides a little bit of ad revenue which will in turn will allow me to continue to create free content for you!**
For the Square:
Row 1: FSC 32. OR
CH 33 , SC in second CH from hook and each CH across (32)
Row 2: Turn, CH3 (counts as a st), sk1 st, 3DC in next st *sk2 sts, 3DC in next st Rep from * until you have 2 sts left, sk 1 st, DC in last st. (10 sets of 3 DC, 2 invididual DC)
Row 3: Turn CH3 (counts as a st) 2DC between the last 2 sts on the previous row, *sk the next 3 DC, 3dc between the last DC and the next DC. Rep from * across until you have 3 DC and turning CH left, 2dc between last DC and turning CH, DC in top of turning CH (11 sets of 3 DC)
Note: due to the nature of working granny stitch in rows you do get an extra st on this row. We will reduce by 1 st in the next row.
Row 4: Turn, CH1 (doesn’t count), SC in first st and next 14 sts, SC2tog, SC in next 16 sts. (32)
Row 5: Turn, CH2 (counts as a DC), SC in next st, *DC in next st, SC in next st. Rep from * across. (32)
Rows 6 – 24: repeat row 5
Row 25: Turn, CH1 (doesn’t count), SC in each st across. (32)
Row 26: Rep row 2
Row 27: Rep row 3
Row 28: Rep row 4
FO and sew in ends.
For the Sunflower appliqué:
Round 1: In brown, work a MR, CH1 (doesn’t count) work 8 SC
OR
CH3, SS to first CH, CH1 (doesn’t count) work 8 SC
SS to join (8)
Round 2: CH1 (doesn’t count) [HDC, BS] in each st around. SS to join (8 HDC, 8BS)
Round 3: CH1 (doesn’t count) [HDC, BS] in first st, HDC in next st, * [HDC, BS] in next st, HDC in next st. Rep from * 6 more times. SS to join (8 BS, 16 HDC)
Round 4: In yellow, [SC, HDC, DC, TC, Picot] in first st, [TC, DC, HDC, SC] in next st, SS into next st * [SC, HDC, DC, TC, Picot] in next st, [TC, DC, HDC, SC] in next st, SS into next st. Rep from * 6 more times. SS to first SC to join. (8 petals created)
FO and weave in ends.
Stitch sunflower appliqué to the middle of your square.
And there you have it – your Sunflower Granny Square is completed.
I hope you have enjoyed crocheting up your own Sunflower Granny Square as much as I enjoyed designing it!
Happy crocheting!
Friends with Granny Crochet Along (CAL)
On 10th August 2022 you cab get the pdf version of this pattern as a free download as part of the Granny Square Blanket CAL hosted by Madame Stitch and E’Claire Makery.
What is this event?
Every day from 8th – 24th August 2022 a new 8″ square design will be released by a different designer. Each square will be available as a FREE PDF Pattern for 24 hours. And each square will have the granny stitch in it somewhere. Make them all to create this gorgeous afghan!
How do you join in?
There are two ways fo joining in this event:
- Collect each square as it becomes available. Some of the squares will be Ravelry downloads, some direct downloads from the designer’s website. You need to click the special event button to be sure to go to the correct place for your download!
- Purchase the 75 page e-book with all 16 gorgeous squares and the border included for one amazing price of $10! (That makes each square less than $0.63 each and the border free!) Then get started making all of your favourite squares now without worrying you may miss it! Just click the button below to grab your copy of the e-book:
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