How do you plan a granny square blanket before starting?

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I’m planning a granny square blanket and I’m curious how other crocheters usually plan everything before starting.

Do you decide the blanket size first, then work out how many squares you’ll need? I also find it difficult to decide where each color should go because a combination can look completely different once you see it across a full blanket.

I’ve been trying to plan the layout digitally before making all the squares. A granny square planner can be useful for seeing the arrangement and color distribution beforehand, especially for larger blankets.

How do you usually plan your square count and color placement? Do you sketch the layout on paper, use a spreadsheet, or just arrange the finished squares as you go?

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I don’t crochet granny squares so I haven’t had experience of planning a blanket but it seems to me that quite often people wait until after all their squares are finished before deciding how to join them together and if you are designing a blanket this aspect might be worth a thought earlier on in the process. A joining method can be almost invisible but could equally be quite a deep strip between squares, could use a variety of stitches, and might be in a contrasting colour, creating stripes between strips of squares, there might also be a thin join in one direction but a wider band in the other, offering the opportunity for more design options.
I think I would try out some different joining methods on practise squares as the depth of joining bands might impact the size of the blanket, number of squares, or size of the squares.

It would be nice to see some of your crochet and ideas if you care to share them.

It looks like you wrote the app which you are promoting. Does it include options for borders and edgings? An option to take a photo of a swatch and have it duplicated in the app to see how it looks?

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For mine it’s been eyeballing :joy: I started by finding a type of square I like and figuring out where I wanted the color changes, and then I crocheted a few and decided I wanted it to be so many squares in length and width and it’s getting verified as I go… But also I waited to have two lengths worth of squares before I started sewing. If I had needed a different length, I would have noticed then and could have adjusted easily :person_shrugging: I plan to add a trim at the edge to make it look nice, but if you’re going for a specific length that can be a good way to adjust it more closely than with just the sqares. The test squares I did when I learned the square and when I played around with the color went into the wash then got blocked so I could check the shrinkage, and it didn’t really move before and after, so I’m not worrying about it, I’m crocheting until it looks right…

Edit: Sorry, I’m just waking up and I’m noticing you’re asking about the colors, not the size. To be honest I’ve been eyeballing that too xD

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