There are so. many. ways. to join crochet squares and afghan blocks! And I know that lots of you have been eagerly awaiting this list – the Moogly Afghan CAL for this year is winding down, and it’s time to start thinking about how we’re going to attach all of these blocks together to make one big blankie. So let’s get started! I’ve linked to photo and/or video tutorials for each of 12 14 methods for joining afghan squares (I’ve added new ones!)!
12 14 Ways to Join Crochet Squares
Click on the names of the methods you like to go to their pattern pages!
- Whip Stitch Seaming by Tamara Kelly, on Moogly: This sewn seam is fast fast fast!
- Single Crochet Seaming by Tamara Kelly, on Moogly: You can also see this in action on Repeat Crafter Me! It creates a big ridge between squares, and definite grid look!
- Slip Stitch Seaming by Tamara Kelly, on Moogly: The least amount of yarn used, without actually putting down the hook!
- Mattress Stitch Seaming by Tamara Kelly, on Moogly: Sewn rather than crocheted, this stitch can be completely invisible!
- Flat Braid Join by Carolyn Christmas, on Gourmet Crochet: One of my all time favorites – very forgiving when working with lots of squares with different stitch counts!
- Celtic Lace Join by Rachele, on Baby Love Brand: Very elaborate, and lovely! The newest one on the list I think!
- Join As You Go by Kara Gunza, on Petals to Picots: This has a great look – and love JAYG!
- Scallop Join by Carolyn Christmas, on Gourmet Crochet: Another lovely lacey look!
- Simulated Braid Join by Carolyn Christmas, on Gourmet Crochet: So many pretty joins, it’s hard to choose!
- Dudessembly by The Crochet Dude: See the video in the free Amazing Crochet Textures Class on Craftsy!
- Flat Zipper Method by Dedri Uys, on Look at What I Made: This creates such a great looking line, very clean.
- Rag Quilt/Fringe Join by Amy Solovay, on About.com: The opposite of the “clean” look, this one is full of texture.
- Tight Braid Join on Moogly – I used this to finish the Moogly Afghan CAL for 2014 (and 2015, and 2016)! And of course shared the pattern!
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Continuous Join CLUSTER Style Tutorial by Margaret MacInnis, on Ravelry – haven’t tried it, just spotted it, but love the look!
Each of these methods has their own style and look, and not all of them will work for everybody. When joining a variety of squares in a sampler afghan, you might need to fudge a bit on the number of stitches you work (or skip!) on any given square, to make them all work. But that’s all part of the challenge! One tip, the more “open” the join, the more room there is to play. I hope you’ve found a style here that appeals to you. If there’s a method I missed, be sure to link it in the comments!
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Zarnaz says
Can we know what method you will be using? 😀
Tamara Kelly says
I’m still deciding! French braid is an old fave, but it’s tempting to try something new too! 😀 I’ll definitely share when I decide though!
Zarnaz says
I like the flat braid method, easy enough to do and looks very sophisticated… But I’m confused about how I’d join the squares when there are four of them? I mean the part in the middle where each square’s one corner will be connected with the other three’s corners… :/ I know it sounds confusing… But it would be great if you can help with that!
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Zarnaz! It does get a little tricky there! There are a series of videos on youtube that will help: http://youtu.be/2qfBKZwqBgE 🙂
joyce says
Thank you very much for sharing these methods. Even an experienced crocheter can always learn new styles.
My favourites are the joining methods of Carolyn Christmas!
Tamara Kelly says
She’s fantastic, isn’t she! Thanks Joyce!
Marrie says
OMG! Thank you, Thankyou very much.. I was really searching for this!
Tamara Kelly says
😀
Kitty says
Thanks for sharing. Will you also be posting different boarder options? That would be awesome. I always like to put a border around my finished blankets and would love other options. Thanks
Tamara Kelly says
I hadn’t thought of it, but I like that idea! 😀 I’ll add that to the todo list! 😀 Thanks Kitty!
Kitty says
Awesome thanks!
Eileen K says
I haven’t done this CAL because I had already started a big project with squares. I just started joining them (6 rows, 7 squares each), and I’m using whip stitch seaming, but back loops only. It creates a nice frame around each square. I saw it on Bunny Mummy — http://bunnymummy-jacquie.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/sewing-granny-squares-together.html –and it’s working perfectly for my project. She includes step-by-step photos. Some of the options you’ve shown look beautiful, and I’m marking this for my next project. I’ve also been bookmarking the squares you’ve shown. I’d love to try it with a variety of colors. But it might be a while before I do a squares project again! Thank you for all the posts and directions.
Sherika says
I’ll be using the Single Crochet seam. I used it on a purse once & it seems easiest to me. I also like the raised look.
Robyn says
Thank you for this …for all your great ideas…so very helpful
Angela Armstrong says
I’ll be using the “Invisible Zipped Ladder Stitch (Tutorial)” by Linda Davie. It’s free on ravelry.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/zipped-ladder-stitch-tutorial—invisible-join-technique
xoxo
Patricia Seaton says
Thank you for posting all of these great looking joining choices, Tamara. It’ll be hard to decide.
Cathy kenny says
Thanks so much for posting these! I had originally planned to try the Celtic Lace,, but might want something less airy for this afghan. Decisions, decisions… 🙂
Smita says
I do like the Celtic one, but this blankie is going to be so big anyway so I think I will stick with the single crochet raised one. May use the Celtic one on a smaller project x
Julie Schneider says
Great post! Thanks for sharing these techniques. I’m going to use them immediately! :>)
Tamara Kelly says
😀 Thank you Julie!
Ashley says
i really love that Simulated Braid Join! i hope i can figure that one out for the afghan…. the only joining method i have ever used is the slip stitch and i am not very fond of it but have never been able to find a good joining post like the list you just made, Thanks!
Sande says
Tamara, My very favorite method of joining any squares with a chain edge (crochet or knit) is the weaving method. This is illustrated by Kathleen Sams in a Red Heart Video on You Tube. The “meat” of the lesson starts at about 2:10 in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYMzeOUCskk&index=9&list=PLmHg1kKGgmoxkSYvzCTLuwfT2eNzfSVUp
I’ve used this on many afghans and the results are spectacular!
Tamara Kelly says
Ah, slip stitch through the FLO and BLO from behind! Another great option, thank you Sande!
Sande says
Excuse me, Tamara, that’s not a slip stitch at all. It’s woven with a yarn needle. No ridges and very invisible from either side. Here’s a photo of the front side of an afghan: http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/sandeleh/116562853/good_cause_7_medium2.JPG and here is a photo of the back side: http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/sandeleh/116563607/good_cause_wrong_side_medium2.JPG You can see the seams on the back in this photo, but after my friend washed it, she says the seams have disappeared!
Tamara Kelly says
How strange, in the video I watched she was using a hook. Oh well, very nice either way!
sandeleh francis says
I think you may not have gotten far enough into the clip to see the method I like. it’s at 2 mins, 10 secs in. She’s weaving with a tapestry needle.
Ana says
Thank you for posting these! I’ve always been afraid of joining and have always just sewn my squares together which always takes forever. The last afghan I made was explained as a join as you go project and it was SSSOOO much easier! Tell me . . what is the difference between the flat braid join and the join as you go? They look the same to me.
Ana
Margaret Loignon says
I’m just finishing up CAL 2014 and used the Flat Braid Join for joining the squares. It was good since all of the squares were not the same stitch count. I used Aran for the color. Using this color for the braid separated each square so they weren’t running into each other. It was one of the four colors in the afghan, too. I used a simple border around the finished afghan.
Thanks for your great patterns and helpful hints.
Tamara Kelly says
Sounds lovely Margaret! Thank you for participating in the CAL! 😀
shazia says
Very nice
Tamara Kelly says
Thank you! 🙂
Beth Graham says
Thanks so much for — heh! — assembling this list!
Tamara Kelly says
Heheh! 😀 Thank you!
Mary Christensen says
Is there an easy way to calculate the amount of yarn you will need for a join? I am working on a baby blanket and am trying to come up with a math kind of equation to estimate the amount of yarn needed.
Tamara Kelly says
There are so very many variables, the best way is to work a foot or two of the join, then measure how much yarn that used. Then you’d need to figure out how many feet of join you’ll need to make for your blanket, and do the math! 🙂
valerie says
Is there anyplace on the web that shows you how to join different size squares? I mean DIFFERENT sizes. I have been making squares from different artists patterns that I have fallen in love with. Some are 9 inch, some are 12 inch and a lot are 6 inch. I love them all and I want to put them into one large afghan. Help would be highly appreciated.
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Valerie! In this case, you’ll want to play with the layout quite a bit – an example of what I mean is the Babette Blanket: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/babette-blanket After you’ve got a layout you like (filling in with more squares as needed!) I would recommend a join with a lot of flexibility, such as the flat braid join (shown above). You can “fudge” the stitches you work into as needed. 🙂 I hope that helps!
Andrea says
Tamara, My question is not about joining specifically, but about making a granny square blanket: I’ve made my blanket and joined the squares but when I use it, the yarn ends keep popping out! Some are just woven in and some are knotted but they all seem to pop out. Obviously, I don’t want to trim them too closely but what can I do to keep this from happening? I feel like I’m missing something as I’ve never noticed anyone mentioning this issue but I can’t be the only one to have this problem. Please help, you’re my crochet guru 😉 Thank you
Tamara Kelly says
Hello Andrea! Thank you! ♥ Well, weaving them in is important for sure, but how you weave them in can make a big difference. I have a video tutorial for how I do it (click here), but I think the real key takeaway is to make sure that you go in several directions, using several inches of yarn, and that you try to “split” the yarn as you go, going “through” the tail itself as you weave it in. Then cut it close to the finished project, and it should be “locked in.” I hope this helps!
Andrea says
Oh, thanks so much, I haven’t been using the tapestry needle either, just the crochet hook. Your way looks so much more secure.
Thanks again!
TigerKIm says
Awesome collection of joins! Thanks for sharing > PINNED!
Tamara Kelly says
Thank you! 😀
Pam Hemenway says
This is just perfect timing i have a few more pieces to do for my graphghan. I’m not sure which one i will use. OH BTW did you realize #2 + #3 are the same thing not complaining just letting you know.
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Pam! Thank you, I’m so glad to hear it! They do link to the same tutorial, but that tutorial demonstrates both of the methods, which are different. 🙂
Renee says
Using the lattice join technique with granny squares. At corners …. what do I do next ?
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Renee! I don’t see that one here and I’m not sure which technique you are referring to?
Cheryl says
Thank you for sharing these techniques! Now I can’t decide which one, but at least I have some options! 🙂
Melissa Preble says
Hello there, I have two questions. First, do you block your squares? If yes, have you ever worked a big project without blocking? Secondly, will these methods work on round motifs? Thank you in advance for any help ☺️
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Melissa!
I do block my squares. I use a blocking board by Chetnanigans – click here for more info on that – though you can substitute a foam board and pins as seen here: click here.
I have made large projects without blocking, it certainly optional. However, some projects just look better blocked, and since a pattern’s success starts with the photos, I always try to make them look their best!
You can block round motifs for sure! I recommend using a ruler to make sure it’s the same diameter all around before it dries for a perfect finish. 🙂
Gloria says
My first granny square project! I have made granny squares with a skirt in mind. I am at the point of putting them together. I keep going back to the drawing board. What method would you recommend that wouldn’t be too stiff, allowing for softness and closer to flat then raised? Thanks, Gloria
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Gloria! For a skirt, I might try sewing them together (Mattress Stitch) through the BLO of each square, or the Flat Zipper method shown above at #11! 🙂
Laurie McKee says
Hi, one of my favorite joins is just to slip stitch on one piece, then slip stitch in corresponding stitch on the other piece, and continue alternating. It is like the flat braid, but less. It leaves a zigzag line of the chain stitches. If you do only back loop on one piece and front loop on the other, you also get the line of strand loops on each side of the zigzag. A very nice and easy join.
Tamara Kelly says
Nice, thank you for sharing Laurie! ♥
Lynn says
I am joining 2” granny squares for a baby blanket (280 of them!) Since since they form a picture when joined, the pattern calls for whip stitching. The corners are a chain-3, and I am having a terrible time starting in the correct loops! I think I’m in the center of the chain-3, but when I finish, the squares are not correctly aligned. I try to hold the dc stitches together and count from there, but I still am having trouble. I try looking at the right side and marking the center chain before putting right sides together— still get it wrong frequently! Is there a secret to finding the center chain?
Tamara Kelly says
Hi Lynn! Sounds super frustrating! ♥ I would recommend trying to use stitch markers to match up the corners, and then every few stitches in between. Otherwise, a little “fudging” here or there can usually be hidden too! 😉