Favorite afghan square

I'm making afghan squares right now, and I want to share my favorite because it is easily adaptable to group projects. I'm digitally handicapped, so you'll have to use your imagination to picture this, but its pretty easy. This is good way to use up all those little balls of yarn, and still have a coherant whole blanket, and it works well for groups where not everyone is exactly on the same page with gauge.

For the current size requirements, you'll need about 500 grams of worsted weight yarn in a main color, and a basket full of odds and ends. I use up the little odd balls of sock yarn by doubling them, paying no attention to how I match them up...for this part, variety is a good thing. Size 7 or 8 needles.

Cast on 30-4o stitches with your "odd ball yarn", and knit in garter stitch until the number of garter ridges equals the number of cast on stitches; this will produce a square. (As one ball of yarn is exhausted, add in another) Break the yarn and change to your main color yarn, continuing on in garter stitch until the strip is the length you would like your square to be. Bind off, and without breaking the yarn, pick up stitches along the long side of the strip. If you pick up one stitch in each "garter ditch", the number of picked up stitches on the needle should equal the total number of ridges in the part just worked. Knit in garter stitch until the number of main color ridges along the long side of the strip is equal to the number of main color ridges along the top. Bind off.

This works well for a group project because the initial squares can vary in size and color, but the main color pulls them together. I love projects that will use all those little walnut sized ball of sock yarn. When I'm all done, I usually use more sock yarn to knit or crochet a one or two row border along the edges.

This is my first post to this blog, but I've been at this project for 5 years and I'm happy to be a part of the blog!