Crochet Cardigan Granny Square: Boho Breezy And Incredibly Soft

Whether you’re heading to a music festival or just out on a summer evening, this boho-inspired cardigan is the perfect piece to keep you comfortable all season long. The airy, lacy fabric will keep you cool in the spring and summer sun, while the light lining will keep you warm when the weather starts to cool down. Plus, the stylish open front makes it easy to wear over any outfit. So grab your hook and get started on this must-have cardigan today!

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Crochet Cardigan Granny Square Pattern

Skill Level: Intermediate

Materials:
US Size J 6.0 mm crochet hook (or size to obtain correct gauge)
5 (7, 11) skeins Lion Brand Yarn Truboo in Sienna (100 g/skein and 241 yds per skein) Convenient Kit Available HERE in many color options!
Pattern uses approximately 460 g (612 g, 930 g) total
Tapestry Needle
Scissors
Measuring Tape

Sizes:

XS/S, M/L, XL/XXL

Crochet Cardigan Granny Square: Boho Breezy And Incredibly Soft — Via Mama in a Stitch

You’ll be feeling so breezy in this piece! It’s the perfect choice for warm weather and it will look great with whatever you’re wearing. The fabric is soft, lightweight yet durable – just what we need when temps are rising into Double digits… But don’t forget about those boho vibes either; throw on some cut-off denim shorts or your favorite jean jacket to complete that casual vibe midi-length dress before hitting spring break later this month! You can make this cardigan as long or short as you like. Mama In A Stitch made hers using the flower granny square pattern, but feel free to get creative and use whatever squares you like best.

Click here to get the written pattern

Thanks to Jessica Reeves Potasz for the article’s inspiration and featured image.

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More Crochet Cardigans with Free Patterns You May Love:

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20 More Free Granny Square Cardigan Patterns

If you like this one, here is every granny square cardigan, jacket and shrug we have gathered, grouped by what you actually want to make, plus how to work out your size and how to join the squares.

A granny square cardigan is not knitted or crocheted in one piece. You make a set of flat motifs first, then join them into a garment. That is why it appeals to people who find a full sweater intimidating: you are never working on anything bigger than a square you can hold in one hand, and you can stop after any one of them.

There are two routes. The few-large-squares method uses two or three oversized squares, folded and seamed so the fold becomes the shoulder and the side seam forms the sleeve. It is the fastest and the most forgiving, and it is what most “beginner granny square cardigan” patterns actually mean. The many-small-squares method uses twenty or more small motifs laid out like a grid. It gives you far more control over fit and colour placement, but every extra square is another set of ends to weave in.

Most adult granny square cardigans are worked in worsted weight yarn with a 5.0mm to 5.5mm hook. Yardage depends heavily on length and ease, but a mid-hip open cardigan in a standard adult size commonly lands somewhere around 1,000 to 1,400 yards. A coat-length version needs considerably more.

The single thing that decides whether the finished cardigan looks handmade or homemade is square consistency. Check the measurement of your squares against each other as you go, not at the end.

Jump to a Pattern

Working out your size before you start
How to join the squares
Planning the colours
Classic granny square cardigans
Jackets, coats and longer layers
Quicker granny square garments
For babies and toddlers
If you want the look without the squares
The mistake that ruins most granny square cardigans

Working out your size before you start

Motif garments are sized by arithmetic, not by trying them on as you go, so this is worth five minutes at the start. Measure across your back from shoulder point to shoulder point, then decide how much ease you want. A fitted cardigan sits close to that measurement; the oversized look most granny square cardigans are going for usually adds a generous amount on top.

Now crochet one square, block it, and measure it. Your back panel is that measurement divided into your intended back width, rounded to a whole number of squares. If the arithmetic lands awkwardly between two whole squares, change the square rather than the maths: one more round makes each square bigger, one fewer makes it smaller, and either is easier than fudging the seams later.

Sleeve length is the other place these garments go wrong. Squares add length in fixed jumps, so a sleeve is almost never exactly the length you wanted. Decide in advance whether you would rather it sat above the wrist or past the knuckles, because you will be choosing between those two.

How to join the squares

Four methods, and the choice changes the look of the finished cardigan as much as the yarn does.

Whip stitch

Fast, nearly invisible, and lies flattest. The usual choice when you want the squares to read as one fabric. It is also the least forgiving of squares that are different sizes.

Slip stitch join

Leaves a small raised ridge on one side. Some people turn that to their advantage and make the ridge part of the design; if you do not want it visible, work it on the wrong side.

Single crochet join

The most visible and the sturdiest, with a definite raised seam. Good on a coat or a jacket where you want structure, heavier than you want on a drapey cardigan.

Join as you go

Each square is attached to its neighbours in its final round, so there is no separate seaming stage and no enormous pile of squares waiting to be assembled. The trade-off is that you commit to your layout early and cannot rearrange the colours at the end.

Planning the colours

Two approaches work reliably. Either keep one colour constant in every square, usually the outer round, which ties the whole garment together no matter how random the centres are; or work in a limited palette of three or four colours and repeat them in a set order. Fully random scrap colour placement can look wonderful, but it needs the squares laid out on the floor and shuffled before you commit.

Classic granny square cardigans

These match what most people picture: an open-front cardigan with visible square motifs.

Boho Granny Square Cardigan (the pattern above)

A relaxed, open-front boho shape. The best first granny square cardigan because the squares are large, so there are fewer of them and less seaming.

Modern Granny Square Cardigan

A cleaner, less “retro” take on the motif. Good if you like the construction but not the traditional multi-colour granny look.

Beautiful Granny Squares Cardigan

A classic multi-square assembly with a defined body and sleeves. Best once you have made a few squares and can keep them a consistent size.

Simple Granny Square Sweater

A closed pullover rather than an open cardigan, built from the same squares. Pick this if you want a jumper you can pull on.

Jackets, coats and longer layers

Same construction, more of it. Budget extra yarn and extra time for these.

Granny Square Jacket (Video Tutorial)

Worked through on video, which helps enormously if joining and seaming is the part that usually defeats you.

Granny Square Hooded Jacket

Adds a hood to the standard assembly. Warmer and more casual; the hood is worked separately and attached at the end.

Boho Granny Square Coat

Longer, heavier and coat-length. Expect noticeably more yarn and more squares than a standard cardigan.

Quicker granny square garments

If a full cardigan is more than you want to commit to right now, these use the same skills on a smaller scale.

Granny Square Shrug

The shortest route to the look: one large square folded and seamed. A genuine beginner project and a good rehearsal for a full cardigan.

Granny Square Crop Top

Cropped and summery, using only a handful of squares. Fast, and a low-risk way to test your gauge before committing to a cardigan.

Square Poncho

No sleeves to set in and no shaping. Worth considering if seaming is what puts you off granny square garments.

Hexagon Cardigan

Hexagons instead of squares, assembled the same way. The folded-hexagon method is one of the fastest garment constructions there is.

For babies and toddlers

*This Baby Pullover Is The Prettiest Granny Square Baby Sweater Ever!*

Granny Square Baby Pullover

The same construction scaled down. Squares this small work up quickly, which makes it a good practice piece.

If you want the look without the squares

*How To Crochet A Cardigan -Free Pattern For Beginners*

Joining motifs is the part people abandon. These give you a similar finished shape worked in rows or in the round instead.

How To Crochet A Cardigan (Beginner Free Pattern)

A plain, row-worked cardigan. Useful as a comparison: it shows what the granny square method saves you and what it costs you.

7 Free Top-Down Raglan Crochet Cardigan Patterns

Seamless top-down cardigans. The obvious alternative if joining squares is the part you dislike.

16 Free Oversized Crochet Cardigan Patterns

A wider round-up of oversized shapes if you want the slouchy fit without motif construction.

Chunky Yarn Cardigan

Worked in chunky yarn, so it grows fast. A sensible pick if the granny square yardage looks daunting.

Long Crochet Cardigan With Hood

Duster length with a hood, worked in rows rather than motifs.

Easy Mosaic Crochet Cardigan

Mosaic colourwork instead of squares. Similar graphic effect, very different technique.

Crochet Cropped Cardigan

A cropped row-worked cardigan, for the same short length as the granny crop top without the motifs.

Cascading Kimono Cardigan

An open kimono shape with no button band and minimal shaping.

The mistake that ruins most granny square cardigans

Squares that drift in size. Crocheting gets looser as you relax into a repetitive motif, so square number twenty is often measurably bigger than square number one. You do not notice until you lay them out to join, and by then the garment will not sit straight.

Measure every square against the first one as you finish it, and block them all before joining. Blocking will not rescue a square that is a full centimetre out, but it will even out small differences and make the seams behave.

Common questions

How many granny squares do I need for a cardigan?

It depends entirely on how big your squares are. Two oversized squares can make a shrug-style cardigan; small motifs can need twenty-five or more for the same garment. Work one square first, measure it, and divide your intended body width by that measurement rather than trusting a square count from a different pattern.

What yarn is best for a granny square cardigan?

Worsted weight is the usual choice because it holds the motif shape without being stiff. A yarn with some drape keeps a long cardigan from standing away from the body; a very splitty yarn makes weaving in the ends miserable, and a motif garment has a lot of ends.

Is a granny square cardigan a good beginner project?

The squares themselves are, yes. The joining and the seaming are the harder half, and they are where most first attempts go wrong. Starting with a shrug or a crop top gives you the same construction on a smaller, cheaper scale.

Can I make one without seaming?

Partly. Join-as-you-go methods attach each new square to its neighbours as you crochet it, which removes the separate seaming stage. You still have shoulder and side joins to close.

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