This post has a friend! If you already know how to make crocheted mitered squares in single crochet, welcome! If you don’t, head on over to Moogly Blog to see two variations on how I do them!
In this post, we are going to take a look at joining these little beauties as you go so you have no pesky sewing up to do at the end.
I am going to use Variation 1 because that’s my go-to, but this technique works in either style. If you aren’t already working in the back/bump of the chain of your foundation row, this project is a great time to start! The nice, smooth finish that that technique provides makes joining all subsequent squares super simple.
The first thing I am going to do is crochet one square that stands alone, hereafter known as First Square for obvious reasons 🙂 Please make note of the number of chains in your personal starting chain – in the examples we are using I started with chain 22.
If I am going to build out my piece in width, I am going to chain out from the bottom right-hand corner of First Square (for right-handed stitchers, bottom left for left-handed). I don’t knot or tie, I simple insert my hook up through the bottom of the foundation chain as shown in the photo below.
Draw up a loop and chain out half your starting chain plus 1. In my case I had chained 22 for the first square so I am now chaining 12. (22 / 2 =11 + 1= 12)
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across until 2 ch remain, sc3tog over 2 remaining ch and side of first row of First Square, sc evenly up side of First Square until there are as many sc after the central decrease as there are before.
My example – a little more detailed.
Row 1: Ch 12, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 8 ch, sc3tog over remaining 2 ch and side of first row of First Square, work 9 sc evenly spaced along side of First Square. 18 sc, + central decrease
Now continue on finishing the square as you normally would.
When you need to add height, you will work the same process, only you’ll join at the upper left corner (for right-handed stitchers, upper right for left-handed stitchers) and do the same math as above. The chain will be vertical up the left (right) side of the work and you will be working in the sides of the rows on top of the First Square. I know that sentence reads oddly but because of the way the stitches line up whether you are building out horizontally or up vertically you’re technically working in the sides of the rows.
The one thing you may notice (if you are super into fabric creation in crochet) is that on those vertical blocks, the RS/WS of the sc has flipped. So on the column of blocks where you are adding if you STARE you may notice they’re different than their siblings. When the whole piece is done I have never noticed the difference but if you are going along and are suddenly worried you’re headed in the wrong direction, you aren’t. Why don’t I start by stitching on the top of First Square and then chain out? Because when you get to the end of the chain and turn and come back to do Row 1, you have 1 row of sc on the chain side and 2 on top of the square and that doesn’t make things even.
If you were super duper insanely annoyed by those sc flipping, you COULD crochet a completely separate chain, hold it adjacent to the work, begin your stitching on the top of First Square and then work in the chains. You could. I wouldn’t 🙂
What’s left to do? Fill in the blank of course! Your final square in this example will be worked along the side of the first horizontal build out square, have that central decrease neatly tucked in the corner, and then worked up the side of the first vertical build out square.
One more super de duper technical note THAT YOU CAN SERIOUSLY SKIP IF YOU DON”T CARE is that one some projects (like the Mosaic Tile Shawl shown below) with a kazillion blocks, I have on occasion added a row to these fill in blocks to keep everything square. The reason is because both sides of the new square are worked on top of existing squares so they tend to sink into the existing work just a tiny bit – there’s no chain to add height. If you are doing a baby blanket or embellishing something with crocheted mitered squares I wouldn’t bother changing up the insert blocks. But Mosaic Tile has dozens of blocks and that small amount of shrinkage really added up so I did.
Well I may have gotten a little carried away here on crocheted mitered squares but I do love them! Don’t forget to check out Moogly Blog for the basic how-tos and feel free to ask questions in the comments!
