Crochet Granny Square Softie

This Crochet Granny Square Softie is sure to make you smile! Granny Squares are very popular right now with their nostalgic look and colorful symmetry. Granny square patterns and projects are popping up everywhere! Their design is genius and simple – the perfect project for taking on the go, working on while watching TV and using up yarn scraps from your stash. The iconic “Granny Square” is crochet ALL. THE. WAY. and at its best so I thought making a cute little crochet granny square softie that smiles back at you would be a lot of fun. Plus, this softie can sit up by herself so you can enjoy her all day.

Cozy at Home CAL

This softie project is part of the 2023 Cozy at Home CAL hosted by Marie from Underground Crafter, Pia from Stitches ’N’ Scraps, Amy from The Stitchin’ Mommy, Rhondda from Oombawka Design, and Ashley from The Loopy Lamb. Each week during April, May and June a FREE new softie project is shared by various crochet designers and bloggers. These softies would make great gifts or donations to charity. There is even a Facebook group where you can share your project photos and talk with other CAL members. Thank you to the organizers of this year’s CAL for the invitation. 🙂 Click here to see the list of all the participants and to get the links to ALL the FREE softie patterns.

Super Soft Velvet Yarn

I love to crochet with velvet yarn and making softies with velvet is so rewarding! Yes, it can be difficult to see your stitches with velvet yarn but since the granny square requires you to work into spaces, this really isn’t an issue for this project. Velvet yarn works great for softies because it is super soft. The natural texture of the velvet yarn also gives the softie a pretty look. I love how this texture can also help hide mistakes or make the stitches disappear so the character of your softie really shines.

Velvet Yarn and Its Different Thicknesses

I have a bunch of velvet yarn in my stash that I used for this project. If you have worked with velvet yarn before, then you might have noticed that it comes in all different thicknesses which can be tricky to work with. So, I highly recommend using the same thickness for all the colors you choose for this project. But if you have one color that is slightly thicker, I do recommend that for Round 1 which will be the little face with the eyes and smile – as long as it is also light enough color to let the eyes and mouth be seen well.

Skill Level: Easy

Measurements:

Granny Square = 3 1/2″ wide x 3 1/4″ tall

Back Mini-Pillow = 3 1/2″ wide x 3″ tall; 3/4 – 1″ thick

Supplies for the Crochet Granny Square Softie:

Click on the supply name to purchase

(Please note this post contains affiliate links which earns this blog a small commission at no extra cost to you – it’s a win-win! Thank you for your support so I can continue to offer free patterns like this one)

3-4 colors of velvet yarn – 1 skein each color

(Most of the velvet yarn I used was a thinner variety which helped create the smaller softie size – you can use thicker velvet yarn but then your project would turn out bigger than mine)

G/4mm and I/5.5mm crochet hooks

2 Safety eyes (8 mm)

Small amount of polyfil

1/8 cup plastic pellets in sealed plastic bag (or weight encased in fabric or plastic bag)

12″ black thread (Size 3 cotton crochet thread or embroidery floss)

Long embroidery needle

Jumbo Yarn Needle

Measuring Tape

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Special Stitches and Abbreviations:

Sl st (slip stitch) = Insert hook into stitch, YO, pull through stitch and loop on hook

Hdc (half double crochet) = YO, insert hook into stitch; YO, draw up a loop; YO, pull through all 3 loops on hook

Sc (single crochet) = Insert hook into stitch, YO, draw up a loop; YO, pull through 2 loops on hook

Sc2tog (single crochet 2 together) = Insert hook into next stitch, YO, draw up a loop; insert hook into next stitch, YO, draw up a loop; YO, pull through all 3 loops on hook

Here are the pieces that are in this project – the Granny Square piece, Feet, Rectangle A (shown here in White) and Rectangle B (shown here in green)

Notes:

First a simple granny square is crocheted

Then the eyes, mouth and feet are added

Lastly a “mini-pillow” is crocheted, sewn together and stuffed that is attached to the back of the granny square

Color A = Round 1; Color B = Rounds 2 & 5 and Rectangle B; Color C = Round 3 and Feet (White); Color D = Rectangle A (Black)

Instructions for the Crochet Granny Square Softie:

Special stitches are written in bold and italicized text and defined above

Granny Square:

With Color A & G/4mm hook ch 4; Sl st in 1st ch to form ring

Round 1:

Ch 2, 2 hdc in ring; (ch 2, 3 hdc) 3 times in ring; ch 2, join with sl st to top of starting ch-2. Fasten off.

Round 2:

Join Color B with sl st in any ch-2 sp at corner; (ch 2, 2 hdc, ch 2, 3 hdc) in same ch-2 sp; [(ch 1; (3 hdc, ch 2, 3 hdc)] in next ch-2 sp around; ch 1, sl st to top of starting ch-2. Fasten off.

Round 3:

Join Color C with sl st in any ch-2 sp at corner; (ch 2, 2 hdc, ch 2, 3 hdc) in same ch-2 sp; [ch 1, 3 hdc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, (3 hdc, ch 2, 3 hdc) in next ch-2 sp] 3 times; ch 1, 3 hdc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, sl st to top of starting ch-2. Fasten off.

Round 4:

Join Color B with sl st in middle hdc of any first 3-hdc group at a corner; (3 hdc in next ch-sp, sl st in next center hdc of next 3-hdc group) 10 times; sl st in next center hdc of next 3-hdc group. Fasten off leaving remainder of stitches in round unworked – this will be the bottom edge of the softie where the feet will be sewn on.

Since we will be adding facial details to the center of the granny square piece, I closed up the center hole and added some stitches to make the center fuller – see how in the photo collage and directions below

With Right Side facing and using yarn tails from Round 1, cinch up center hole by threading yarn with needle through bottom of Round 1 stitches – pull tight and knot with other yarn tail on back (Photos 1 & 2)

With Right Side facing work 2 sets of cross stitches to fill in center more – Photo 3 – shown with contrasting white yarn so you can see stitches

Photo 4 – This is what center will look like after the cross stitches in the matching color

Weave in ends

Using photo as a guide add safety eyes and mouth to center of Round 1

*Please remember that even with safety eyes a young child should not be left alone with this project – there is still a chance that the safety eyes could pull through the crocheted fabric detaching from the project and become a choking hazard – To make them even more secure you can sew a circle of fleece fabric (with a small hole in the center) to the crocheted fabric behind the eye before putting on the plastic safety cap**

Feet – Make 2:

You will work the foot in a spiral without any joins at the ends of the rounds

With Color C and G/4mm hook ch 2

Round 1:

4 sc in 2nd ch from hk

Round 2:

(2 sc in next st, sc in next st) 2 times (6 sc)

Round 3:

(Sc2tog over next 2 sts, sc in next st) 2 times; (4 sc)

Round 4:

Sc in each of the next 2 sts, sl st in next st; Fasten off with long tail for assembly and leaving remaining sts unworked (2 sc and 1 sl st)

Using photo as a guide and with yarn tails and yarn needle, sew feet on to center bottom of Granny Square face lining up with the ch-1 sps making sure the Right Side is facing and where the feet will stick out

Here is what the softie looks like from the side – the back mini-pillow support helps it sit up 🙂

Back Mini-Pillow Support for the Crochet Granny Square Softie:

This part is made up of 2 pieces – Rectangle A (in Color D) and Rectangle B with tabs (in Color B) – these 2 pieces are sewn together and stuffed to create the support pillow; Then they are sewn to the back side of the Granny Square piece

I made Rectangle A (that will be right next to the granny square) in black to help the holes in the granny square pop – you can choose any color you like but a darker one will help the design of the granny square stitches stand out more if you used light colors for the square; If you used dark colors for the square, then you may want to have your Rectangle A be white

Rectangle A:

With Color D and I/5.5mm hk ch 10

Row 1:

Hdc in 2nd ch from hk and in each ch across. Turn. (9 hdc)

Row 2:

Ch 1, hdc in each st across. Turn. (9 hdc)

Rows 3-5:

Repeat Row 2 – Fasten off.

**Make sure to check that your Rectangle A covers Rounds 1-4 of the granny square piece – you may need to work more rows depending on the thickness of your yarn**

Rectangle B with Tabs:

With Color B and I/5.5mm hk work as for Rectangle A for Rows 1-5 – Do not fasten off.

Rows 6-7:

Repeat Row 2 – Rectangle B should be about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2″ longer than Rectangle A (see photo above)

**You may need to work more rows so that your Rectangle B is the correct size in relation to Rectangle A

Once your Rectangle B is the right size, do not fasten off and continue the directions below for adding the side tabs

Tab 1:

Lay Rectangle A on top of Rectangle B and position in the center

Mark Rectangle B with stitch markers at corners of Rectangle A – see photo above – the tabs will be created where the arrows are in the photo above

Ch 1, sl st down side of Rectangle B to 1st stitch marker;

Ch 1, hdc across side of rectangle until reach the next stitch marker; turn.

Ch 1, sc in each st across. Fasten off with long tail for assembly.

Tab 2:

Join with sl st on other side of Rectangle B at first stitch marker; ch 1, hdc across side of rectangle until reach the next stitch marker; turn.

Ch 1, sc in each st across. Fasten off with long tail for assembly.

Finishing for the Crochet Granny Square Softie:

Using yarn tails and yarn needle sew tab ends to adjacent tab end (at 1, 2, 3 and 4 in photo above) while also sewing Rectangle A to Rectangle B leaving one tab open

Add small sealed plastic bag of plastic pellets (or add a small weight) to inside of Back Support Mini Pillow

 (*Please note there is a similar concern about a choking hazard with the pellets – there is a chance some of the pellets can come out of the project. You can make them more secure by encasing the small bag of them with wide packing tape)

Add a small amount of polyfil stuffing on top of pellet bag

Sew last tab to Rectangle A

Sew Back Support Mini-Pillow to Wrong Side of Granny Square piece around all 4 sides of the mini pillow (which should be along the bottom of Round 5 of the granny square piece)

And there you have it – Your Crochet Granny Square Softie is complete! Didn’t it turn out so cute?! I hope you enjoyed making it and gifting it. Who did you make yours for? Let us know in the comments below – I would love to hear about it.

If you like this softie project, you might like these others that are FREE on this blog: The Easter Egg Softie, The Crochet Carrot Softie, The Mushroom Cuties, The Crochet Pumpkin Pie, and Mr. N. Courage Mint.

Remember, you can find all of my FREE crochet patterns here and my Celtic Knot patterns here.

Thank you for visiting – Happy crocheting!

Jennifer

Copyright – Jennifer E Ryan- www.celticknotcrochet.com- all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher but please do link to this page to share this pattern with others.

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