Estella

I feel very honoured to have been invited to be one of Simply Crochet Magazine’s Ambassadors to mark Granny Square Day 2025, and have designed this free pattern to mark the occasion. For many of us the humble Granny Square is a true rite of passage in our journey to master the craft of crochet and I can vividly remember the process of making my very first one – it defnitely wasn’t perfect and possibly contained five corners instead of four, but it felt like a really big achievement and it ignited a fire in my mind as to how I could design more. My Great Grandmother, Alice, was an avid crocheter, who produced literally hundreds, if not thousands of brightly coloured Granny Squares in her later years, donating blankets for family members and as prizes in raffles. I can’t remember seeing her without a project on the go! So many fond memories wrapped up in little handmade squares! I am never sure what the true definition of a Granny Square is, but for me the name makes me think of relatively small crochet blocks, with no more than about ten rounds, that feature groups of treble crochet stitches. For this motif, which I have named Estella as it features a star shape round the central  flower, I have used eight colours of yarn in pretty,  floral shades, but it can be made in any combination using yarns from your stash, or a specially curated one. I hope you will enjoy this pattern, and I look forward to seeing your Estella Granny Squares out in the wild soon!