35-Square Blanket – Nuts about Squares CAL [Free Crochet Pattern]

There is something deeply satisfying about a blanket made from individual squares. Each one is its own little accomplishment, a burst of color and texture that joins with dozens of others to create something warm, beautiful, and entirely handmade. The 35-Square Blanket inspired by the beloved Nuts about Squares Crochet Along is exactly that kind of project — joyful, manageable, and endlessly customizable. Whether you are brand new to crochet or a seasoned maker looking for a meaningful long-term project, this blanket offers the perfect balance of structure and creative freedom.

This post walks you through everything you need to know to crochet your own 35-square blanket, from materials and yarn choices to step-by-step guidance on the squares themselves, joining methods, border options, and tips that will make your finished piece something you are genuinely proud to gift or keep.

What Is the Nuts about Squares CAL?

The Nuts about Squares Crochet Along, originally designed by Dedri Uys, became one of the most celebrated free crochet-along events in the online crafting community. It introduced crocheters around the world to a series of uniquely textured and beautifully patterned squares, each one different, each one building on fundamental skills while gently introducing new techniques. The CAL (crochet along) format meant that makers worked through the squares week by week, sharing their progress in communities online and encouraging one another along the way.

The 35-Square Blanket takes that same spirit and packages it into a complete, standalone project. You crochet 35 individual squares — or a selection of your favorites — and join them together into a finished blanket that showcases your skills, your color choices, and your personality as a maker. The beauty of this format is that there is no pressure to complete it all at once. You can work through five squares on a rainy weekend and set it aside until the mood strikes again.

Materials You Will Need

Before you cast on your first stitch, gather everything you need so the process flows smoothly from start to finish.

Yarn: The original Nuts about Squares CAL was designed with DK weight yarn, and that remains the best choice for a blanket with good drape and clear stitch definition. You will need roughly 1,200 to 1,600 meters of yarn in total for a 35-square blanket, depending on the size of your squares and the thickness of your border. Choose a palette of colors that makes you happy — whether that is a bold, rainbow mix, a neutral coastal palette, or warm autumnal tones. Using scraps from your stash is an excellent option and gives the finished blanket a wonderfully eclectic, curated look.

Hook: A 4mm crochet hook works beautifully with most DK weight yarns. If your tension runs tight, move up to a 4.5mm. If it runs loose, drop down to a 3.5mm. Your goal is a firm but not stiff square that holds its shape and blocks well.

Tapestry needle: You will need a blunt-tipped tapestry needle for weaving in ends and for the join-as-you-go method if you choose it.

Scissors: A small, sharp pair that you can keep in your project bag.

Stitch markers: Optional but helpful, especially when you are working rounds with multiple corners or increase points.

Blocking mats and pins: Highly recommended. Blocking transforms your finished squares and your completed blanket, evening out the tension and giving every stitch a chance to open up and breathe.

Choosing Your Colors

Color selection is genuinely one of the most exciting parts of planning a 35-square blanket. There are a few different approaches depending on the aesthetic you want.

If you want a cohesive, planned look, choose a main background color — often a neutral like cream, soft grey, or warm white — and then pull in four to six accent colors that all sit comfortably within the same palette. This gives your blanket a sense of unity even when the square patterns themselves vary wildly.

If you want a bold, maximalist look reminiscent of vintage granny blankets, embrace contrast. Pair bright coral with deep teal, mustard with cobalt, or forest green with dusty pink. There are no wrong combinations as long as you love them.

If you are working from a yarn stash, lay out all your options on a flat surface and take a photo. Step back from the photo or convert it to black and white to check whether your lights and darks are balanced. This simple trick helps you spot whether one color is dominating or whether your darks are all clustered in one corner.

The Square Patterns: An Overview

The 35 squares in this blanket are designed to build progressively in complexity. The early squares tend to focus on foundational techniques: working in the round, making clean chain-3 corners, and creating solid or basic textured surfaces. As you move through the collection, you encounter more intricate patterns involving bobbles, clusters, popcorn stitches, shells, and even some surface embellishment.

This progression is one of the things that makes this project so appealing to newer crocheters. You are not thrown into a complicated stitch on day one. By the time you reach the more advanced squares, your hands have already built the muscle memory for working in the round, and the new techniques slot in naturally.

Each square is worked to a finished size of approximately 15cm (6 inches) blocked, though you can adjust this by going up or down in hook size or by adding an extra round to all or some of the squares if you want a larger finished blanket.

Step-by-Step: Making the Basic Square

While each of the 35 patterns has its own unique character, they all share a common structure. Here is how to work one of the foundational squares from the collection.

Magic ring (or chain 4 and slip stitch to join): Begin your square at the center. The magic ring gives you a tighter, neater center, but a slip-stitched chain ring works just as well and some people find it easier to control.

Round 1: Work the specified number of stitches into your center ring. For a typical basic square, this might be chain 3 (counts as a double crochet), then 2 more double crochets, then chain 2 to form a corner, then repeat the group of 3 double crochets and chain-2 corner three more times. Slip stitch to the top of your starting chain 3 to close the round. You now have four corner spaces and four groups of stitches along the sides.

Round 2: Slip stitch into the corner space. Chain 3, work 2 double crochets into the same corner space, then chain 2, then 3 more double crochets into the same space. This creates your first corner. Work 3 double crochets into the space between the two groups along the side, then work another full corner into the next corner space. Continue around, joining with a slip stitch at the end.

Subsequent rounds: Continue building outward in this fashion, always working a double corner (two groups separated by a chain 2) into the corner spaces and adding straight groups along each side. As you add rounds, each side gains more groups and the square grows.

Finishing: Fasten off, leaving a tail long enough to weave in. For a very tidy finish, use a tapestry needle to thread your tail under several stitches on the wrong side, change direction, and weave through again. This locks the end in place so it will never work loose.

Blocking Your Squares

Do not skip this step. Blocking is the difference between a blanket that looks homemade in a humble way and one that looks professionally crafted. Every square, before it is joined to any other, should be blocked.

To wet block, soak your finished square in lukewarm water for about fifteen minutes. Gently squeeze out the excess — do not wring or twist. Lay the damp square on your blocking mat and use rust-proof pins to pin it into shape, making sure all four corners are exactly square and all four sides are straight and the same length. Let it dry completely before unpinning. Depending on your climate and the thickness of your yarn, this can take anywhere from a few hours to overnight.

If you are working with acrylic yarn, wet blocking alone will not hold permanently because acrylic fibers return to their original shape when dry. Instead, try steam blocking: pin the square dry, then hold a steam iron a few centimeters above the surface and let the steam penetrate the fibers without pressing down. The heat sets the acrylic and your squares will hold their shape beautifully.

Joining Your Squares

Once all 35 squares are blocked and you have admired them laid out in your preferred arrangement, it is time to join them together. There are several methods, each producing a slightly different look.

The flat slip stitch join is invisible and clean. Place two squares with right sides together, and using a matching or contrasting yarn, work a slip stitch through both outer loops along one edge. This creates a flat seam that lies neatly on the wrong side of the blanket.

The flat single crochet join works the same way but produces a slightly more structured seam. Some people prefer it because it is easier to keep an even tension than with slip stitches.

The joining ridge or raised join is created by working the join with right sides facing outward. Instead of hiding the seam on the wrong side, you embrace it as a design feature. The ridge that forms on the right side of the blanket adds a lovely geometric grid quality to the finished piece, and many makers find this their favorite method for scrappy, colorful blankets because the join itself becomes part of the design.

Join as you go (JAYG) is the most efficient method and eliminates the separate joining step entirely. As you work the final round of each new square, you join it to the already-completed squares in your layout. This requires a little more planning and attention but saves a significant amount of time at the end, and some makers find it deeply satisfying to watch the blanket grow organically as each square is completed.

Adding a Border

The border is your blanket’s frame, and it can make a dramatic difference to the finished look. A simple border of one or two rounds of single crochet in a neutral color is classic and clean. A shell or picot border adds a decorative, vintage touch. A wide border of multiple rounds in a main color gives the blanket a sense of weight and completeness.

For a 35-square blanket, a three-round border works well. Work round one in single crochet all the way around, working three single crochets into each outer corner to keep the corners lying flat. Work round two in a simple stitch like half double crochet or a row of shells. Finish with a final round of slip stitch or reverse single crochet (also called crab stitch) for a neat, firm outer edge that will hold its shape through years of washing and use.

When you reach the corners on each border round, always increase to prevent the corners from pulling inward. The general rule is to work enough extra stitches that the corner lies completely flat on a surface — if it cups upward, you need more increases; if it ruffles, you need fewer.

Caring for Your Finished Blanket

A handmade blanket deserves thoughtful care. If you used a natural fiber like cotton or wool, hand wash in cool water with a gentle detergent and lay flat to dry away from direct sunlight. If you used a superwash wool or an acrylic blend, follow the manufacturer’s care instructions — most can be machine washed on a gentle cycle and laid flat or tumble dried on low.

Avoid hanging a wet crochet blanket, as the weight of the water will stretch it out of shape. Store your finished blanket folded in a breathable cotton bag rather than a plastic one, especially if it contains wool.

Tips for Staying Motivated Through a Long Project

A 35-square blanket is not a weekend project for most people, and that is perfectly fine. Here are a few strategies that experienced makers use to stay engaged and enjoy the process.

Set small goals rather than thinking about all 35 squares at once. Commit to finishing five squares before you look at the overall count again. Celebrate each milestone — five squares completed, ten squares, halfway through.

Keep your project visible. If your bag of squares is tucked in a cupboard, it is easy to forget about it for weeks. Keep it somewhere you walk past regularly, or set it out where you do most of your sitting in the evenings.

Join an online community. The Nuts about Squares community is warm and encouraging, and seeing other makers’ progress photos is one of the best motivators there is. Sharing your own photos — even imperfect ones, even early ones — connects you to a worldwide community of people who understand exactly what you are making and why it matters.

Work on it while doing something else enjoyable. Crochet is one of the few crafts that pairs beautifully with television, podcasts, and audiobooks. A complicated square deserves your full attention, but a simple or repetitive one can be worked almost on autopilot.

Why This Blanket Makes the Perfect Gift

A 35-square blanket is substantial. It is heavy enough to provide real warmth and large enough to wrap around an adult or cover a child’s bed. It represents dozens of hours of thoughtful work, and any recipient who understands that — or learns it — will treasure it accordingly.

The variety of squares means the finished blanket is endlessly interesting to look at, full of detail that reveals itself gradually. Someone wrapped in this blanket will always be finding a new stitch pattern to notice, a new color combination to admire. That quality of continuous discovery is something that machine-made textiles simply cannot replicate.

If you are gifting this blanket, consider writing a small card that explains the project — that it is made from 35 individual squares, each crocheted by hand, that it represents a crochet along tradition beloved by makers worldwide, and that it was made specifically for them. That context transforms an already meaningful gift into something genuinely irreplaceable.

Final Thoughts

The 35-Square Blanket inspired by the Nuts about Squares CAL is more than a crochet project. It is a journey through technique and color, through patience and creativity, through the meditative rhythm of hook and yarn. Each of the 35 squares is a small story, and together they tell a larger one about the maker who created them.

Whether you follow the patterns in strict order or mix and match your favorites, whether you stick to a carefully planned palette or dive in with every color in your stash, the result will be entirely and wonderfully your own. Cast on your first square, tuck it into your project bag, and let the blanket grow square by square, stitch by stitch, into something you will be proud to use for years to come.