Giant Granny Square | Purl Soho

This beautiful blanket sat unfinished and crumpled in a forgotten corner of Joelle’s craftroom for at least two years. One day it somehow got unearthed, poking itself out from under a pile of fabrics. Page, Molly and I were simultaneously riveted by the vision of this amazing blanket that we’d never seen. Molly demanded to know, “Where has this been?!” I reprimanded, “Why haven’t you finished it?!” Page yelled, “Can I have it?!” Why didn’t I think of that?

Joelle was less impressed with herself than we were with her. She just kind of shrugged and said that she’d gotten too busy to finish it (true, she is busy). So I offered/got enlisted to crochet the last round and to sew in the ends.

Giant Granny Square | Purl Soho

It was a pleasure to spend time in the mind of Joelle’s color sense. To me it’s a marvel how she dreamed up these colors. Soft grays and creams blur behind sharp bursts of vivid pinks and rich browns, all mingling together in beautiful rainbow magic.

It’s a simple notion – a granny square that goes on and on and on – but because the pattern is so pleasantly meditative, the mind is free to just wander from one color to the next, creating beautifully symphonic color music. There’s no better instrument for such composing than Koigu’s KPM. The hand-dyed colors strike every note perfectly!

Giant Granny Square | Purl Soho

Materials

This blanket is 30 x 30-inches and takes at least seven skeins to make. Joelle used more skeins in order to use more colors. Here’s what they are:

Giant Granny Square | Purl Soho

For this warm toned version (from top to bottom):

Koigu’s Koigu Premium Merino (KPM) in colors #2389, #1303, #2360, #1111, #2231, #1411, #1135, #1110, #1209, #2180, and #1201

Giant Granny Square | Purl Soho

Here’s another color idea if you want to explore cooler tones (from top to bottom):

Koigu’s Koigu Premium Merino (KPM) in colors #2411, #2171, #2409, #2405, #2416, #2403, #2360, #0000, #1201, #2100, #2180, #1230

Remember that tracking down exact matches of Koigu colors can be a little tricky at best, and impossible at worst. Luckily, Koigu makes so many gorgeous colors that substituting one of these colors with your own choice is bound to bring its own rewards.

This blanket has been on quite a journey. I think Joelle’s love for it has been rekindled, and Page may have to make her own! If you’d like to make your own and want to learn how to make a granny square, please visit our Granny Square Tutorial!  –Whitney