Granny does gingham

Granny squares meet this spring's trend for gingham (Woman's Hour told me this is spring's hottest new look so it must be true).

Reduced to its simplest form, gingham is just squares of colour.  Take white (or ivory for a more vintage vibe) and two shades of a colour.  For the sample in the photograph, I used cotton dk in white, palest blush and a peachier blush.

I made up tiny little one round granny squares and then sewed them together.  You could definitely go larger with the squares, but I think it's better to sew than crochet the squares together for the gingham effect.

Quick pattern:
Ch5 and working in fourth ch from hook, work 3tr, ch2, 3tr, ch2, 3tr, ch2, 2tr and ss into 3rd ch to join.  Fasten off.  (In the sample I made up I only used 1ch at each corner and the squares are a little bit curvy and round.  2ch at the corners will give a sharper corner.)  Make up as many squares as you need for your project.

Yarn details:
The white and very pale blush are Rico Essentials cotton dk and the peachy blush is Sirdar cotton dk.  I raided my stash, but recommend that you use the same yarn for all three colours for the best results.  It's not obvious in the photo, but the Rico yarn has a slight sheen and the Sirdar is very matte.

For more gingham inspiration, have a browse through what Pinterest found me for crochet gingham.