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How to Invisibly Seam Granny Squares

April 19th, 2012 by Jess

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I love granny squares because they make it so easy to play with exciting colors. Often, my squares end up with different colored borders, so how do I choose a shade to seam them? The answer’s easy: I can use any color because I use an invisible seam! This super easy technique creates a durable seam that disappears into your crocheting. Ready to get started? Gather your granny squares and follow the steps below!

How to Invisibly Seam Granny Squares

Step 1: Gather your materials: finished granny squares, a blunt needle, and your seaming yarn (I used a contrasting yarn for demonstration, but you may want to use matching yarn). Lay your granny squares side to side with the front side facing up.

Step 2: Insert your needle into your first crochet stitch from the back to the front.

Step 3: Repeat Step 2 on the opposite side. Continue this process on each stitch, alternating between sides. It’s sort of like lacing shoes.

Step 4: Ready for that seam to disappear? Lightly pull on both ends of your seaming yarn.

Step 5: Repeat with all squares, and that’s all there is to invisible seaming! Remember to weave in your ends and enjoy your new granny square project.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 19th, 2012 at 9:00 am and is filed under Crocheting, Did You Know . . . ?, Tips & How To . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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  • http://profiles.google.com/wzrdreams Grace Jones

    Great post Jess! I appreciate the excellent quality photos and the lovely color choices.

    • Jess Hicks

       Thank you, Grace! :)

  • Kgcrosthwaite

    Great idea! Thanks for the tutorial!

  • http://www.facebook.com/tiridako Tiffany Kohnen

    I had always wondered how one went about piecing granny squares together. Thanks for this awesome blog post!

  • http://www.facebook.com/marion.brookes Marion Brookes

    thank you so much i havejuststarted another granny square blanket and this is sewing up so neat

  • Sdryden

    I just love stuff like this – Thank you

  • Wendy

    Thank you for the tutorial. I avoid granny squares because of the seaming.

  • Diane

    Now could you please do a post on how to weave the ends in on granny squares so they stay put?  That would be another great tip to share!!!  Thanks!

    • Jess Hicks

       Hi, Diane. I like to crochet over my ends as I come to them, which should just leave you with a single end to weave in. If you make that tail long enough, you can use it for your seaming. Hope that helps!

      • Karen

         I love this tutorial! I do find however, that just crocheting over the ends will not keep them firmly anchored. One wash and they are all waving hello >:-(   Any suggestions for other methods would be greatly appreciated!

    • Aussie_sheila84

      The way I do it is to make sure that as you weave in the ends you change directions with the yarn

  • Cadence

    What is the yarn used here?

    Also, would it be more “invisible” if a smaller weight yarn was used for the seam than the actual squares?

    • Jess Hicks

       Hi, Cadence. The yarn is Martha Stewart Crafts Roving Wool in Sea Glass Blue, Dolphin Gray, and Jordon Almond. You can see more about the yarn here: http://www.lionbrand.com/yarns/rovingwool.html

      As for the yarn used for the seam, it doesn’t make much of a difference in terms of visibility. The main thing you want to consider here is stability in your seam. I’d recommend against using a yarn with a very different weight (i.e., don’t use fingering weight to seam up bulky weight squares) because the seam won’t be as stable.

      • Cadence

        Thank you! Very helpful.

  • Tryglyph

    Thanks so much! I have a big pile of granny squares I have been stuck on, because I didn’t know the best way to put them together! There’s hope for this blanket yet!!

  • Elaine

    Like Wendy, I too avoid granny squares because of the seaming, but I recently started squares for a blanket for my greatgranddaughter due in about a month.  Thanks so much because I didn’t like the way it was going together and now I can get it finished in time for Ella Rae’s birth. 

  • Debquigley

    Thanks. This was helpful. Is there a way to weave in the loose ends when changing colors when making the squares themselves?

  • Debquigley

    Thanks. This was helpful. Is there a way to weave in the loose ends when changing colors when making the squares themselves?

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1624376370 Taryn Lee Williams

      i crochet over the top of the loose ends, i also rub a small amount of flexible fabric glue into loose ends before crocheting over them or weaving them in, one that doesn’t go hard when it dries, so they don’t pop back out when i wash it

      • Wendy Hampton

         Oh what a genius!  I never thought of trying something like that, Taryn! Thanks for sharing!
        Wendy H

  • Steph

    Thanks so much. I am bookmarking this for future reference;)

  • Steph

    Thanks so much. I am bookmarking this for future reference;)

  • Susan

    Is there any way we can see the back. Does the tread show up there?

    • Jess Hicks

       I didn’t take photos of the back, but it looks the same. The seam is completely reversible. :)

  • Sherrie

    thank you, this will be very helpful.

  • Mary L

    Susan asked the question I wanted to know.  Do the stitches show on the back side or are the  hidden there, too?

    • Jess Hicks

       Hi, Mary. The seam is completely invisible and reversible, so it doesn’t show on the back, either.

  • Faith

    That’s a great tip – thanks!

  • Pat Fulton

    Thank you very much for that help. I love the easy to follow instructions, and close up shots. Even I, can do it now.  Very pleased. :>))))))))))

  • NWDigitalMedia

    Still, this is why I stay away from granny squares. Love to do them and have one I completed last Fall, but not put together! I would rather find a way to do an continuious seaming.

  • Linda Kwakman

    Ik zou ze willen doen met de vasten bovenop,hoe pak ik dat aan!

  • Linda L.

    I just tried this and the seam really does seem to disappear both front and back! I can’t thank you enough – now I can get started on the hexagon afghan I’ve been wanting to make. :)

  • Jenie48

    It makes me want to try one! Thanks for the tip.

  • Miniechat

    Bravo, I have avoided Granny Squares because of the ugly joining.  This is lovely.  

  • Katia Angelotti

    Perfeito, adorei!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/littlefishtale Stephanie Krebs

    I needed to see this post yesterday morning before I put together a granny square blanket.  The blanket is still cute but this would have made me so much happier.

  • Kd7qyy

    Thanks for the instructions.  I have a Granny Square afghan that my mother made.  She could never join the squares to her satisfaction because she didn’t like the seams showing.  Now I can put this together and enjoy her fine stitching.
    Thanks again!!!

  • Cdecina

    Thanks!!! this is a big help. 

  • Christine Long Derks

    That is GORGEOUS!  Thanks for sharing!  I’ve used mattress stitch in knitting and never thought of using it for joining granny squares!!

  • Wpike

    I have never like to sew pieces together, so I always tried to make something that didn’t need sewing.

  • http://twitter.com/crochetbyk Krista Ruskin

    Is there any tricks to joining the corners neatly? That’s where I struggle.

    • Jess Hicks

       I mostly join mine in long rows. I recommend pinning together the corners of your squares (use a safety pin, stitch marker, bobby pin — whatever’s handy!) so that they match up perfectly for seaming.

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  • http://profile.yahoo.com/B4SAGHSAJTPV6NZNFLPPRQL4KM Anna Gabriella

    Thank you for the tutorial, a mystery is solved now. 
    Köszönöm a leírást, egy rejtélyt oldottatok meg. 
    Greetings from Hungary, Europe

  • Jrzehr

    After you sew all the squares together how do you get the blanket to stay together? If you are just weaving ends in, wouldn’t they just come back out? My first blanket was a granny square and I crocheted the squares together, while they stayed together a few of the individual squares came apart. Help?

    • Jess Hicks

       I make sure to leave a long tail to weave in. The edges do occasionally pop out, but I just tuck them back in or snip a little bit. Because the ends are so long, a tiny snip every now and then is okay.

  • Merewing

    Never realized until now why I have so many granny squares and no blankets. I never liked the way my first granny project looked when it was complete. Nice to hear I wasn’t alone! This will finish lots of projects for all of the new babies due in this year. Instructions are easy and perfect. You did a great job.

  • Peki

    Thanks for this cool tip. I can not wait to try it on my next project

  • Patricia

    Thanks for doing this tutorial. I have always done my seams this way as I don’t like that ridge effect that the other types of seams create. Glad to see it finally on the web. I have only found this technique in very old books, the latest books don’t appear to include it for some reason.

  • Lrhoades54

    Yea now I can finish my grandson’s afgan that I started 8 yrs ago.  Just because I didn’t know how to put it together it is still sitting in the closet.

  • Janet

    Gorgeous! About many skeins of each color of this Martha Stewart Roving Wool would I need for an average sized afghan? Thanks for posting this. It’s just what I’ve been looking for!
    Janet

    • Jess Hicks

       Hi, Janet. I’ll use this afghan, originally crocheted in Tweed Stripes, as an example: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L0228AD.html?noImages=0 For each shade, you’ll need about 7 skeins.

      • Janet

        Thanks, Jess!

      • Janet

        Wow. It really helps to see the photos in this post. I would’ve never put those three colors together by looking at the color samples on the website. But they look great together. Maybe your next post could be on color combinations. :-)  

  • Dianne

    Fantastic idea thankyou for sharing it with us!

  • Bobbyejo

    GREAT! And Thank You Taryn for the tip on the fabric glue ~ I have never heard of this and can’t wait to find some nonhardening fabric glue for all those snippets ~ thanks again to both of you

  • Hissweetie1986

    what is the brand of glue you use for the snippets? I have 3 afghans to finish (I have triplets) and have been dragging along not wanting to piece them together.  This glue would be fantastic!

  • http://twitter.com/ClawRavenscroft Jazzy Raven

    Geat Tutorial! Thanks a lot for this. :)

  • Learn2Crochet

    Thank you for this tutorial!

  • Sandy

    Thanks for this great demonstration!  I will be trying it!

  • MarciaEK

    Great suggestions!   Hmm, after you have several rows of granny squares, do you have an suggestions for sewing the rows together? I usually have problems with the chain at the corners of each square.  Thanks!

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  • Shirley Muswema

    This is a great tutorial, thanks so much. Do you perhaps have any tutorials on seaming hexagons?

    • http://www.lionbrand.com/ Zontee

       Hi Shirley, you can use the same seaming technique as with the granny squares just by lining up the hexagons with each other on each of their 6 sides. Alternately, you can try some of the seaming techniques mentioned by other commenters above. In one of our previous blog posts, we show some of those other techniques in action on hexagons: http://blog.lionbrand.com/2009/10/15/motif-afghan-crochet-along-the-finish-line/

  • Susanwstn

    since i am a novice can u post the instructions for these square?  

    • http://www.lionbrand.com/ Zontee

       Hi Susan, you can go to LionBrand.com and just type “granny square” into the search box to pull up lots of different patterns with directions on making them. Here’s a simple pattern to help you get started: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/clw-grannyScarf.html

      There are also lots of tutorials online for granny squares, so you can also type “crochet granny square” into your favorite search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc) or YouTube for more help.

      • Susanwstn

        Thank u!! I will get started.

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