Elegant Granny Style: The Granny Stripe Blanket

All too often I hear people saying "this isn't your granny's crochet" or disparagingly calling something (usually) handmade "granny" to mean that it's unstylish, ugly, dorky, silly or fussy. I personally think this is unfair to our collective Grannies, women who made so many beautiful things that still inspire us today.  I made this bed sized Granny Stripe blanket with the hope of showing that Granny Style can indeed be a thing of beauty.  I think this blanket is both modern and elegant, especially with its playful color note which for me harkens back to the fun and funky crocheted blankets made by many of our grandmothers.

The Granny Stripe is a classic crochet pattern that is made just like the iconic Granny Square, but instead of stitching around and around a center square, it is made by stitching back and forth in rows.   The beauty of the Granny Stripe pattern is how effortlessly it lends itself to graphic elements, like bright stripes or big blocks of color.

For my Granny Stripe blanket I used the incomparable Madeline Tosh, Tosh Merino Light. As I worked on the blanket I fell madly in love with this yarn, it is an amazingly strong but delicate single ply beauty.  Tosh Merino Light comes in an astonishing range of gorgeous hand dyed color, and truly any one of them (or any dozen!) would make an incredible Granny Stripe blanket. 

Above are a handful of Tosh Merino Light colors I really love and considered for the blanket. The off white is Antler, the top stripe is Edison Bulb (both used in my blanket), then Napoli, Citrus, Oceana and Denim. 

If you'd like to make your own Elegant Granny Style, Granny Stripe Blanket, please visit my project journal right here! --Joelle

Comments

[erica]

that yarn looks deliciously soft, and thank you for the inspiration! i'm definitely going to try making one over the summer!

[Tina in Boston]

I love it! I'm always looking for great crochet projects!

[Anne]

I love this! It looks modern, yet cozy and comfortable!

[angelina]

JOELLE you are so smart and so right! grannys are awesome xoxo

[Lola]

I love how this looks so modern! I love crochet blankets but even when I try to make it look contemporary, it never fits in with my white, modern furniture. Thank you so much for sharing a pattern like this which will be really beautiful in even a modern decor!

[Rie]

It looks divine!

[Linday]

I love your modern spin on the classic granny pattern. Beautiful colors, too!

[Brooke]

Sending this as inspiration to my granny, who at 92 years old, still crochets a blanket for every new baby in the family!

[jordan]

Thank you SO much for this great crochet pattern!

[kelli ann]

i'm in my twenties, yet my friends have called me a granny for years because of my knitting obsession! i love this blanket and think that i will have to borrow the idea of using a bright stripe with a neutral colour like this. i actually think it's a nice juxtaposition of modern colouring and a very traditional pattern.

[Ruth]

I just LOVE the rows of colour against the grey!

[Sharon]

Love this! Can you design something similar that is knit?

[vanessa]

A thing of beauty, your blanket. And I love how you've made it look so modern, I've never seen the like before. Thank you, it's very inspiring. Vanessa x

[Emilie]

Quel travail! C'est superbe!

[elsa]

I am in love with Madeline Tosh anything, it's the nicest yarn to knit with! love this blanket!

[Denise]

Hi Joelle-
I saw this when it was just a few rows and was already intrigued, thanks so much for the inspiration I am heading over to purl today for some MTML. Your blanket is gorgeous and Grannys rule!

[Sarah @http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/2011/03/]

This is an excellent blog entry. I love how you modernized the granny style. I would put this on my bed with pride =)

- Sarah
http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/

[Stephanie]

As soon as I saw the words elegant and granny together, my mind said, "Nope. Not possible." Boy, ways I wrong and I love granny anything, but this is just 'wow'! So chic! I may have to make a granny stripe like this. Fantastic job!

[ExecutiveKnitter]

lovely - how long did it take you?

[Purple Butterfly Crochet Collection]

Thank you a million times for writing about the "granny statements" as if their work is meaningless. I learned from my mother, my other elders helped me even the 'older librarian" who helped me to find crochet books. Everything I know now I learned at age 9 and I am now 51. If it had not been for my elder's teaching me I would not have the skill that I have today. The beauty was there and still is.

[lightbluegrey]

So aesthetic!

[Nina]

Hear, hear! The implication that all grannies have the same uncool style is very unfair. One of my grannies knits beautiful Aran sweaters; the other has handed on many a super-funky retro item, and just recently a whole bundle of exquisite old cut-work pillowcases for me to use in my crafting. They are both very elegant women. So let's stop using "granny" to mean uncool or unstylish.

[Jannike]

Thank you for showing us that crochet can be cool! This is definitely going into my to-do file.

[Art Silk]

OMG this is sooo cool!

www.LeylaNavab.com

[Littleblackdog]

Geez, you keep this up and I'm gonna have to learn to crochet!! Very modern take on crochet. Love the yarn and the colors.

[Jo]

Gorgeous, unfussy and so beautifully done. I'm sharing on FB.

[SImone]

This is beautiful.
I just took a class in wool dying with plants (very cool), gonna see if I can combine the two.

[yvette]

wow, just gorgeous. love the super modern neon accent.

[Kristina]

I will also save this for another time. I do love the antler and denim with the darker orange. However, I am confused as to its name. I checked the Tosh link and the brighter and lighter orange they have is citrus. So I would like the darker one, which they show as Napoli. Can you reconfirm the name of the darker orange you used?

[Kristina]

I think my previous comment said nothing because I got the colors confused, but I am still confused regarding color names.
I really like the last three colors you have (lowest orange, oceana and denim).
The lowest dark orange is referred to here as Napoli. However, the dark orange on the Tosh link is named Citrus. The brighter orange here is referred to as Citrus, but on the Tosh link it is Napoli. Please help me so I can order the dark orange.

[Laura]

Yes, respect the grandmothers and their work! I've always disliked the "This is not your mother's/father's/grandmother's decor/craft/car etc." style of promotion-by-disparagement. Thanks for this lovely granny-inspired design.

[purl bee]

Hi Kristina-

Thanks for pointing out the typo, the dark orange is indeed called "Citrus" it's been changed now. Thanks!- Molly

[Stephanie Mosselman]

I have featured your blog & store on my blog.
I am visiting NYC at the end of May and will be sure to visit the store.
Thanks for all the inspiration.

[lucky14]

that is absolutely beautiful. i've been looking for a blanket/throw pattern and i've just found the perfect one. the colour combination is great too. thanks!

[Jaeleen Bennis]

Oh. My. Goodness it's FABULOUS!!!

[Angela]

stunning. as a knitter we little crochet experience, this blanket is tempting me to learn to crochet right away.

[natalli]

wow, you are very talented!
I featured your Easter bags on my blog :) sisterhoodofthecraftypants.blogspot.com

[Maaike]

it is sooo beautiful, so modern styled and the design of the colors is amazing. Pure beauty in its simpleness!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea.
Love, Maaike

[Laura]

Love this!!

[jen]

Thank you for sparking my crochet vibe! Simply stunning!

[bec]

thank you! I agree with what you say about grannys...I wish everyone would look at the good instead of expressing disapproval...

[home staging toronto]

I love crochet blankets but even when I try to make it look contemporary, it never fits in with my white, modern furniture. Thank you so much for sharing a pattern like this which will be really beautiful in even a modern decor!

[Carole]

you'r right absolutely! and your project is beautiful!
best regards from France

[diana]

I LOVE this color combo!!!

[Sanne]

AWESOME!!!! I am so jealous of you that you could find the time and inspiration to make something so totally fabulous, but I'm going surely going to borrow this idea of yours and make my own funky granny-blanket and matching pillows. Thank you for the inspiration!

[Maaike]

a while ago I posted a little comment to let you know I love this blanket, the wool and it's style. Now I have made my own version of it, of you like come and have a look at crejjtion.blogspot.com. Thank you for this beautiful idea and pattern, I now love it even more :-).

Have a wonderful day,
Maaike

[Claire]

I am from Germany and was wondering how much yarn to buy to make this beautiful blanket. It says you need 11 skeins Madeline Tosh Merino Light, which has 420 yards per skein. This would make roundabout 4 km of yarn, which seems quite a lot to me - In Germany, apparently most yarns come in balls of 85-120 m, so that I would need to buy over 30 balls of yarn? Sorry, I am fairly new to cocheting and have no idea, how much wool is roughly needed for such a project...

Thanks for your help,

Claire

[purl bee]

Hi Claire-

420 yards is about 383 meters so your calculations seem correct. This blanket does use up quite a bit of yarn for several reasons:

1- It's very thin yarn so you need more of it to get very far.
2- It's crocheted and crochet takes more yarn than knitting.
3- The blanket itself is fairly large.

So all together you will need 4,213 meters of thin sport weight yarn. If you want to use a thicker yarn you will need less but you will also have to adjust the pattern.

Thank you for your question!

Molly