After learning the basic stitches of crochet I jumped into crochet graphgan projects. Sometimes creating a personalized gift requires a graphgan. I have made several graphgans as gifts that were very special. Above are some of my fave projects I’ve made. My dad’s side of the family are huge Chicago fans so naturally I had to make a Blackhawks graphgan. My grandparents lived in Wisconsin throughout their lives. They always had a license plate that said HY THER. So, when my dad moved to Wisconsin I had to make him a graphgan of the license plate as a new home gift. My SIL is a huge Detroit fan so she got a Detroit Tigers graphgan!
There are a few things that I love about making a graphgan. First, it allows me to make a super personalized gift that no one else will have. Second, you don’t have to have some fancy, expensive software, you can use Microsoft Excel. Third, I always choose to carry my yarn so that I don’t have to tie in a bunch of loose ends.
Graphgan Stitches
I always use single crochet stitches when making a graphgan. First, I always suggest making a swatch so hat you have an accurate gauges. Once you know your gauge you can create a template in Excel based on how large you want your project. When using Excel as your graph, one cell equals one single crochet. I always work back and forth in rows, turning my work at he end of each row. Always chain 1 at the end of each row.
When making a graphgan I choose to carry my yarn so that I do not have to tie in all the loose ends. Since I choose to do this I attach a soft backing to my graphgan blankets to hide all the yarn that was carried.
Working graphgans can require a lot of color changes. When working the right side of your project, come to your last single crochet of a color, work it as you would a normal single crochet but do not finish when you have your two final loops on your hook. At that point you will pick up a loop of your next color and pull through the two loops on your hook.
Graphgan Graph
To create your graph, open Excel, highlight the whole worksheet, click format, then choose column width. Type in .02″. Then, insert the photo you will use for your crochet graphgan. Once inserted, highlight the photo and change the transparency of it so you can see the graph lines. This helps you determine what stitches require which color. Drag it to size based on the final size of your blanket. Once you know the final size of your blanket I like to number my Excel document as shown in below photo.
Once I am finished with my crochet graphgan I typically do a border. Usually I try to stick with a simple border, as the graphgan has a lot of detail. In order to cover all my carried yarn on the back of the graphgan I attach fabric to the back. Depending on the warmth I want from the blanket I will generally use a nice flannel fabric. I cut to size and then sew to the border of the graphgan.
Crochet graphgans are usually projects that take time and attention to detail, but the end result is always a big show stopper. Every graphgan that I have gifted is something that was so appreciated and continues to be used in their homes, which makes me love making them for my loved ones.