This evergreen sprig granny square combines an ivory crochet base with olive embroidered leaves and a small red berry center. Four branches travel diagonally toward the corners, giving an ordinary openwork square a botanical Christmas finish.
The instructions are an original interpretation inspired by the reference photograph. They are not the exact photographed recipe, and the design has not been physically crocheted or tested. The crochet counts below have been checked; the embroidery placement is a flexible layout to fit your own square.
Crochet and finish the cream base first, then let it settle flat before stitching the greenery. Keeping those stages separate makes it easier to place the leaves over firm stitches and to notice if the embroidery starts drawing the fabric inward.
Materials for an evergreen sprig granny square
- Smooth DK cotton in ivory for the square, olive for the sprigs and red for the berries.
- A 3 mm hook as a starting point, adjusted for an even fabric with your yarn.
- A blunt yarn needle with an eye wide enough for the embroidery yarn, scissors and four removable markers.
- A flat drying surface and rustproof pins if the yarn can be damp blocked.
No measured gauge, finished size or yarn consumption is available for this untested version. Make one square before planning a cushion, blanket panel or set of decorations. The embroidery sits above the surface, so this motif is better treated as a decorative panel than as a level area beneath a cup.
Use a slightly finer olive yarn if the leaves overwhelm the ivory groups. Keep the cream base firm enough to support the stitches, while leaving its chain spaces open. A thick needle forced through a tight stitch can split the yarn; choose a needle that passes comfortably through the fabric.
US abbreviations and working notes
ch = chain; sl st = slip stitch; sc = single crochet; dc = double crochet; st/sts = stitch/stitches; sp = space; MR = magic ring. A group means three separate dc, not a cluster closed together. The Craft Yarn Council crochet abbreviations guide explains the standard US names.
Work all crochet rounds in ivory, without turning. The beginning ch 3 counts as one dc; the beginning ch 1 before the border does not count. Joining slip stitches are excluded from every round total. Work into the indicated chain space around the chain arch rather than into individual chain tops.
A granny corner is (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in one corner space. Side spaces use ch 1, while the four corners retain ch 2. That difference keeps the working locations clear when counting the groups.
Evergreen sprig granny square: crochet the base
Round 1: four ivory groups
Make a MR. Ch 3, then work 2 dc into the ring. Ch 2. Repeat three more times. Pull the ring closed gently and join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch 3. Count: 12 dc and 4 ch-2 corner spaces. Fasten off.
There are four groups, not eight. Each three-dc group forms one side of this small starting square; each ch-2 space is the corner between neighboring groups.
Round 2: establish the granny corners
Join ivory with a sl st in any ch-2 space. Ch 3, work 2 dc, ch 2 and 3 dc into that same space. Ch 1. In each remaining corner space, work (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc), then ch 1. Join to the top of the beginning ch 3 and fasten off.
Count: 24 dc in eight groups, 4 ch-2 corner spaces and 4 ch-1 side spaces. The final ch 1 is the fourth side space. Do not omit it or add another corner after the join.
Round 3: add one group on each side
Join ivory in any ch-2 corner. Ch 3, 2 dc, ch 2 and 3 dc in that same corner. Ch 1, work 3 dc into the following ch-1 side space, then ch 1. Repeat [(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in the next corner, ch 1, 3 dc in the next side space, ch 1] three more times. Join to the top of the beginning ch 3. Keep ivory attached.
Count: 36 dc in twelve groups, 4 ch-2 corners and 8 ch-1 side spaces. Each side now has three groups between successive corner spaces. Mark the four corners if their chain lengths are difficult to distinguish.
Round 4: the single-crochet border
Ch 1 and sc in the same dc beneath the chain. Continue around, working 1 sc into every dc, 1 sc into each ch-1 side space and 3 sc into every ch-2 corner space. Stop after the last unworked stitch or space, immediately before the first sc. Join to that first sc and fasten off.
Count: 56 sc. This is 36 sc over the dc, 8 sc in the side spaces and 12 sc across the four corners. The middle sc of each corner group marks the actual turn of the border.
