Lion Brand Notebook ®
With the return of the hit TV show ‘Roseanne’, we’re also feeling a surge of nostalgia for her very 90s living room décor. In the spirit of this beloved sitcom family, ABC turned a New York subway car into their family room! Our favorite detail? The ‘afghan’ strewn across the back of the subway bench seats. For pattern recommendations to crochet some granny squares for an iconic afghan of your own, read on.
Photo: Jason Lynch
High-fashion runways have been featuring granny squares for almost a year; you could say they’re making a comeback, too! But there’s something special about granny squares around the house. They evoke a homey feeling from a decade or two ago, and handmade comfort crafted by a loving family member. To cozy up with an iconic afghan of your own, check out the following patterns.
Great Lengths Afghan (Crochet)
The Great Lengths Afghan (Crochet) can be found on our website! It’s an intermediate pattern, with a cheery color palette. You’ll be working in Lion Brand Homespun Yarn, which is super-soft and perfect for a cozy blanket. While these colors aren’t as wild as Roseanne’s iconic afghan, you could certainly substitute others, or stay with this adorable palette to add a couple pops of color to your living room.
The Granny Sampler Blanket (Crochet) is worked in Vanna’s Choice, in Solids and Heathers & Twists, in 15 colors! The image on the left is ours, of the 15-color Vanna’s variety. On the right, a different take from Ravelry user @NatureH. What we love about her adaptation, is that it is a perfect look-alike for Roseanne’s! She’s substituted her yarns to achieve that black background, which you can see gives the colors an extra burst.
8-Color Afghan (Crochet)
This 8-Color Afghan (Crochet) is another Vanna’s Choice project, in slightly mellower tones. Of course, you can make it all your own, by substituting any of the wide variety of Vanna’s colors! With 30 squares, there are plenty of opportunities to make it all your own. As a Level 2 – Easy (Beginner +) pattern, it’s a great project for even those newer to crochet.
Showpiece Afghan (Crochet)
The Showpiece Afghan (Crochet) also has that dark background that’s so fetching in Roseanne’s throw. While the pattern calls for a discontinued yarn of ours, we’d recommend several Bulky weight substitutions! You could chain in Lion’s Pride Woolspun Yarn (many fun color options!), Wool-Ease Chunky Yarn (fewer options with this one), or, for something completely different, try Baby Soft Boucle. These easy-to-crochet circles will work up quickly, and make for a totally unique finished product.
Whether or not you’ll be tuning in to the reboot of this classic show, you might want to crochet a classic afghan and hop on the granny square train. Add a little vintage whimsy to any room with a well-curated bouquet of colors, in the coziest way. Let us know if you’ll be trying one of the patterns above, or if you have another plan to bring this trend to life!
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Rita Reyes
Could you please tell me which Afghan is the Roseanne one love it
jojo
T his granny afghan was one my grandmother taught me back in the late 1940’s, and was old in he 1990’s.
Nancy Pawlowski
I have started checking out the afghans and throws in both TV shows and commercials. There was one in a commercial that looked like sampler squares. I tried pausing the TV to figure it out, but not enough was showing to get a good idea of what they did.
A lot of times there are “ugly” colors of afghans on couches, and it makes me wonder who thought that color combination was something that a person would make for their family? With so many “good” colors and combinations (like Roseanne’s afghan) there is no need for 1970s avocado and dull harvest gold colors. Come on set designers! find people who do great afghans that would be wonderful on a TV show in the background, or a TV commercial. I have ideas and designs that would look much better than some of those “bad” colors.
Carol Soaper
While I’m a crocheted, knitter, spinner, and weaver, I always feel sad when I see these tokens of someone’s love resting forgotten in thrift shops, flea markets, and antique shops. My husband and I buy them, wash them and sell or give away to someone who wants them. We love “rehoming†them!
Bev Fisher
I still have the afgan my mother made me in the late ‘70’sthat is sampler squares. Some winters I pull it out of storage and through it over the back of the couch and smile as I remember my mom.
Cat Williams
I always wondered where they get the afghans that are on these shows, like Amy Farrah Fowler’s on The Big Bang Theory. I always thought that I’d LOVE a job creating crocheted clothing and set decorations! I imagine that a lot of them come from thrift stores. I have made so many granny square afghans that I have lost count. I have three my self and everyone in my family has their own, in their favorite colors.
Kim silhan
Granny icon very beautiful
Yvonne Patalano
I’m making one right now that consists of multicolored middle or centered rounds, then a round of soft white, then maybe a round of black to make the colors show better. If anyone thinks it should be a different color, please let me know, ASAP.
Abbey Hamilton
Rita asked which pattern was the Roseanne afghan – it’s the most basic/classic pattern Rita, and this is all you need to know:
1. probably worsted weight, H or I hook.
2. four rows of 3-dc groups,, each row one color, generally you alternate lights/darks. plus a finishing single crochet row in black.
3. chain 4, 5 0r 6 depending how tight you want center, I use 4, join in loop, chain 2, 2dc, *ch1, 3dc* 3x,, ch1 join at top of first ch2. should have 4 spaces from the chains, with 4 groups of 3 dc between. that’s the little flower-like center thing. cut yarn.
***the following row is the same for all three next rows but each row uses a different color; I crochet over the yarn ends.***
rows 2,3,4: join next color in any space, not in a stitch, ch2, 2dc, ch1, 3dc all in what will now be corner space. for the other three corners work 3dc, ch1, 3dc in each. some folks add a chain inbetween each group BUT i don’t like the extra spaces, so only chain on the corners, notbetween groups. join last dc to top of first ch2, cut yarn.
Repeat this process working each row corners as above AND work 3dc in each space on the upcoming sides, each row should give you one more group on each side.
this is the basic generic granny square design. I always finish off after the fourth color/row by using black or another dark color thus: slip stitch in top one stitch (i use the first corner’s dc top), ch1, work sc in each dc, plus one or two chains between the corner groups so edge lies flat. leave enough black yarn to sew TWO edges in future (approx 6 side lengths total), cut yarn.
i prefer to sew squares as i go, otherwise it gets too boring!
hope i’ve helped a bit, altho don’t have time to re-check this so hope is OK!
Kerin S.
In response to NP – Yes, many of these older afghans have ugly color combinations because that was the point! They were the equivalent of the old scrap crazy quilts – using up ends & bits of yarn left over from other projects. Every color represented someone or a specific project – baby booties for a grandchild, a winter hat for a spouse, a wedding shawl for a sister, a Halloween costume for a child….
And, while many of the colors from the 70’s you find ugly today – boy were they on trend at the time! Avocado green, harvest gold, rust, chocolate, sunflower & caramel were all trendy colors that people were wearing & using to decorate their homes. These natural earth tones & autumn colors were a contrary reaction to the psychedelic colors of the 60’s. When set designers use them now, it is for retro’s or nostalgia’s sake, reminding us of a different time & place, and perhaps a loved one no longer with us.
Wilma
I’ve always like the afghan on the show Life of an American Teenager. The afghan in Ricky’s apartment.