Beginner Crochet Pattern Uses One Skein Per Color for Pastel Granny Square Blanket

If your yarn stash is full of single skeins in soft, pretty colors you've been saving for the right project, this is the pattern that finally justifies all of them. Kylee at OkieGirlBling'n'Things published a free Pastel Granny Square Blanket pattern that is rated Beginner/Easy, works up to approximately 38" x 50", and uses exactly one skein of each color. No partial skeins sitting in a bin. No awkward yardage calculations. Just grab your pastels and go.

What You Get With This Free Pattern

The pattern lives on the OkieGirlBling'n'Things blog and includes written instructions alongside links to two video tutorials: one that walks through making the pastel granny squares themselves, and a separate tutorial covering the Join-As-You-Go method for assembling them. If you prefer to watch rather than read, Kylee covers the visual learner angle explicitly, with the note "Here is the video tutorial for the pastel granny squares if you would rather watch" included right in the post. The specific color names Kylee used are promised in the linked video's description box, so check there once you pull it up.

All crochet terms throughout the pattern are US terms, which matters if you're switching between UK and US resources and want to avoid the dc/tr confusion that trips up so many granny square projects.

Yarn and Materials

Kylee's yarn of choice for this blanket is I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby, and she is not shy about the enthusiasm: "For this blanket, I used one of my favorite yarns, I Love This yarn from Hobby Lobby." In the linked video, the creator describes it as "a number four 100% acrylic yarn," which tracks with I Love This Yarn's worsted-weight specs. It's a practical, widely available choice that washes well and comes in a broad color range, all of which matter when you're building a pastel palette from scratch or raiding your stash.

The one-skein-per-color approach is the headline detail here. As Kylee puts it directly: "And do you want to know what the best thing about this blanket is? I only used 1 skein of each color!" For anyone who has been hoarding half a dozen soft aquas, blush pinks, and buttery yellows in a drawer, this pattern is designed precisely for that scenario. The full materials list, including hook size and specific notions, is available in the blog post's "Things you will need" section, so visit the OkieGirlBling'n'Things post for those exact details before you start.

Making the Granny Squares

The squares themselves are structured around a classic granny square construction with color changes built in at each round. The pattern's stitch key directs you to "change color of yarn and slip stitch into any ch 2 corner" when transitioning between rounds, which keeps the color-change method consistent across the entire blanket.

Round 3 is where the expandable granny structure really establishes itself. The written instruction reads: "ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in ch 2 corner, ch 1, [ \ 3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1\ repeat \ to \ until you reach ch 2 sp, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in ch 2 sp, ch 1 ] repeat [ to ] 2 more times, \ 3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1\ repeat \ to \ until you reach the beginning of round, sl st into top of chain 3." This notation uses backslash markers to define repeat sections, so read through it once before you start hooking so the bracketed structure is clear in your head.

Rounds 4 through 6 follow the same logic: "repeat round 3 changing colors accordingly." The color sequencing is where the pastel palette does its work, rotating through your chosen colors as you add each round. Once a square is complete, the pattern instructs you to "weave in all ends and repeat for the other squares." If you're making multiple squares over several sessions, staying on top of those ends as you go rather than saving them all for the end will save you significant time at the finishing stage.

Joining the Squares

Assembly uses the Join-As-You-Go method, which Kylee links out to as a separate video tutorial titled "How to Join the Granny Squares." JAYG is worth learning if you haven't tackled it before: it eliminates the separate seaming step by joining each square to its neighbor as you complete it, keeping the work flat and reducing the pile of finished squares waiting to be sewn together. The dedicated video makes this method accessible even if it's new to you.

Building the Border

The border is where this blanket gets its finished, polished look, and the approach is deliberately restrained. In the linked video, the creator walks through it step by step: "For the border, I kept things pretty simple. I just added a single crochet around the entire perimeter of the blanket before starting the border. And then I added a color of half double crochet. And then I just added a double crochet round in the off-white. And I just alternated the two for I think three times. So, a total of six rounds and I think it looks really beautiful."

The sequence breaks down to:

One honest note from the process: "I love a pom pom border and I actually tried doing that with this one and it just it wasn't working and it felt like the right thing was just to keep it simple." If you've been tempted to add pom poms to a granny square blanket, that firsthand trial-and-error is useful information. The clean, striped border suits the pastel palette better than a textured edge would.

Other Granny Square Patterns Worth Your Attention

The video tutorial doesn't stop at the Pastel Granny Square Blanket. It covers two other projects that are worth noting if you find yourself deep in a granny-square phase.

The first is the larksoot granny square blanket from Burgundy and Blush. The creator's take: "I've never heard of a granny square being made with the larksoot stitch before, but it creates such a unique square... I watched the video tutorial for how to make this square and I was pleasantly surprised that this is a very easy square to make and I love projects like that that look challenging but are in fact easy to make." The designer works in Paint Box Simply DK and notes that any number three DK weight yarn works, making it another strong stash-buster candidate. The color combination described, "that warm antique pink with the mustard and the off-white background," sounds subdued, but the surprise detail is the Kelly green accent: "I am very surprised that that pop of Kelly green looks so amazing. This is a color combination that I would have never thought of."

The second is Painted Roses by Sandra from Cherry Heart, described as "an absolute showstopper." Two DK weight yarns are highlighted as pairings: Stylecraft Special DK, which "comes in so many gorgeous colors," and Shapias Stonewash, called "a deliciously soft yarn that comes in these stonewash colors." If you have Stylecraft stashed, this one is worth pulling up.

Getting the Full Pattern

Everything you need to start is on the OkieGirlBling'n'Things blog: the written pattern, skill-level designation, finished measurements, and links to both video tutorials. Pull up the linked video for the promised color list in the description. For a blanket that finishes at 38" x 50" and only asks for one skein per color, the Pastel Granny Square Blanket is a genuinely low-commitment way to clear out a pastel stash while ending up with something worth keeping.