Knifty Knit Granny Squares
by Pamela Murrey
Crochet is still my favorite craft. But I'm enchanted with looming as well. I
greatly enjoy the versatility of loom work. Crochet has been around a long time
and there doesn't seem to be many new techniques to try. Looming has recently
emerged and there are lots of opportunities for creating. Recently I went to a
yard sale with piles of yarn and got carried away in my excitement. Now, with a
lot of extra yarn to practice with, I've figured out a way to make squares out
of the round loom that resemble the granny squares original to crochet work. The
possibilities with these squares seem endless. Here's what I've discovered. Feel
free to try this. You just need yarn, a loom and a large eyed needle.
I started with a blue knifty knitter loom. Cast on all the pegs and work in the round. Knit 6 rows. Bring up the bottom row of stitches onto the loom and create a brim, as you would for a hat. Knit off the stitches and continue knitting in the round for 4 rows. With a large eyed needle pick off the stitches and draw them to together tightly. This creates a flat piece which can be smoothed and shaped into a square. Weave in loose ties. To join the squares, sew 8 stitches of each square together. The brimmed edges will lay smooth and flat. They will give a neat appearance. Each square is about 4 inches.
With the red knifty knitter loom cast on all the pegs and work in the round as with the blue loom. Knit 8 stitches to create the brim, bringing the bottom row up onto the loom and knitting off row 8. Continue to knit for 5 rows. Pick off the stitches with the large eyed needle and draw the middle closed tight. Weave in loose ties. Each side is 8 stitches. Remember that the red loom is actually 31 stitches but it was not hard for me to square my loomed circle into 4 sides of 8 stitches. The red loom creates 5 ½ inch squares.
You can vary your squares - making solids or interspersing colors to create flower, sun or star effects. Remember that the inside of the square will be loomed last. Therefore, if you want a simple flowery effect on the blue loom you can knit the brim, knit 2 rows. For row 3 add in a second color alternating with the original color. In the next row knit only the second color. Then pick off the stitches and pull tight. The second color is in the middle of the square.
With these variations you can loom afghans, hats, sweaters and more. In fact, you can probably make anything you would with a granny square. Good luck to you.
I started with a blue knifty knitter loom. Cast on all the pegs and work in the round. Knit 6 rows. Bring up the bottom row of stitches onto the loom and create a brim, as you would for a hat. Knit off the stitches and continue knitting in the round for 4 rows. With a large eyed needle pick off the stitches and draw them to together tightly. This creates a flat piece which can be smoothed and shaped into a square. Weave in loose ties. To join the squares, sew 8 stitches of each square together. The brimmed edges will lay smooth and flat. They will give a neat appearance. Each square is about 4 inches.
With the red knifty knitter loom cast on all the pegs and work in the round as with the blue loom. Knit 8 stitches to create the brim, bringing the bottom row up onto the loom and knitting off row 8. Continue to knit for 5 rows. Pick off the stitches with the large eyed needle and draw the middle closed tight. Weave in loose ties. Each side is 8 stitches. Remember that the red loom is actually 31 stitches but it was not hard for me to square my loomed circle into 4 sides of 8 stitches. The red loom creates 5 ½ inch squares.
You can vary your squares - making solids or interspersing colors to create flower, sun or star effects. Remember that the inside of the square will be loomed last. Therefore, if you want a simple flowery effect on the blue loom you can knit the brim, knit 2 rows. For row 3 add in a second color alternating with the original color. In the next row knit only the second color. Then pick off the stitches and pull tight. The second color is in the middle of the square.
With these variations you can loom afghans, hats, sweaters and more. In fact, you can probably make anything you would with a granny square. Good luck to you.