Crochet Me Crazy

This is a king sized afghan that I made and I am making panels for my living room using the same method. I have had people ask me the pattern or how to make this afghan so here is my instructions. I do use patterns from books and the web to make the individual squares. This is my method.

I use 6" inch squares. You make any square of your choosing as long as it measures 6" when you are done. Hook size to make the squares depends on what your pattern calls for. I sometimes use patterns for 7" or 8" squares and just use a smaller hook size, leave off a round, or maybe do hdc in stead of dc on the final round....there is no right or wrong way...just keep a tape measure handy to measure it as you go along. You get really good at figuring out what stitch to do your last round in to get a 6" measurement. Once you have your 6" square, then I use Simply Soft Bone colored yarn and sc around each square. I want all my squares to have 24 sc on each side. I use a G Hook on my trim. You can come up with your own number...I just take a few of my completed 6 inch squares and count how many stitches are on each side of them. Pick a number that is close to or an average of what you already have. Then, I stick to this number for all my squares for the entire project. As I add my first row of trim, I will either increase or decrease to get, in my case, 24 sc on each side (3 sc in each corner). Once you have your row of sc around the entire square, you can quit counting. The 2nd row of trim, I hdc in each sc around the entire square...3 hdc in each corner stitch. Leave a 12" tail on last stitch to use for attaching squares together. I try to make a point to not have squares with the same colors in them beside each other. You can either sew them together as you get enough squares to make a row or do it all last. How many squares per row just depends on what you making....I just laid mine on my bed after I got a bunch of finished squares made to decide how many squares I needed per row. This project is so fun because you can pick out any color you like for your squares and use lots of different colors and yarns and patterns...it doesn't matter. Your tan trim ties it all together and makes it look sorta "quilty"! I make all my new squares at home but I keep a stack of un-trimmed squares for an easy on-the-go project to grab. I put several squares in a gallon zip lock back along with my tan yarn, a crochet hook and some small scissors. Now I'm ready, if when I'm out and waiting in a doctor's office or whatever...I have something to do!
Hope this made some kind of sense!!

This afghan is made using the same method except I used pink yarn for my trim. I prefer the tan, myself but I made this one for my girl.