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Granny SquaresAnemone Flower Granny Square – Free Crochet Pattern
Crochet an anemone flower granny square with popcorn petals and bobble accents. Free 9-round pattern makes a 5-inch square in DK yarn — great for blankets
Level IntermediateTime 2-3 HoursHook 3.00 mmYarn DK
About This Pattern
This Anemone Flower Granny Square puts a genuinely three-dimensional bloom at the heart of a classic 5-inch motif. A sunny yellow center of sixteen double crochets is wrapped in a full round of plump 5-dc popcorn petals, then framed by dainty 3-dc bobble picots that echo an anemone's ruffled outer ring. It's perfect for crocheters who are bored of flat squares and want something that looks hand-sculpted — whether you're building a flower-garden blanket, a cushion front, or a single showpiece pocket for a tote
You'll work 5-dc popcorn stitches (the kind where you remove your hook, reinsert it into the top of the first stitch, and pull the last loop through), 3-dc bobbles framed by chain-3 arcs, and a clever final petal round where single crochet increases and a long anchoring double crochet encase the chains below. Because the pattern fastens off and joins new yarn between most of its nine rounds, you'll also get plenty of practice with clean joins. I'd call it a confident-beginner-to-intermediate make, and one square takes around two to three relaxed hours
Worked in four colors of DK weight yarn with a 3.00mm hook, the finished square measures roughly 5 by 5 inches, with petals that genuinely stand up off the fabric — you can run a fingertip around the popcorn ring and feel every bump. A stack of these makes a jaw-dropping throw, but even a set of four sewn into a cushion cover is gift-worthy. It's the kind of square people pick up, squish, and immediately ask you to make them one
Variations
Color is where this square really comes alive. For a true-to-nature anemone, try crisp white or blush petals around a charcoal-and-yellow center — Stylecraft Special DK in Cream, Powder Pink, and Graphite is an inexpensive, huge-palette way to do it. Flip it into a poppy by using scarlet petals with a black bobble ring, or go moody with plum petals, dusty mauve bobbles, and a mustard heart. For a spring garden blanket, make every square's popcorn round a different pastel — Paintbox Simply DK has a gorgeous run of them — and keep the yellow center and final round consistent so the set still reads as a family. Autumn version: mustard center, burnt-orange popcorns, rust bobbles, cream frame. For size, the pattern scales beautifully with yarn weight since the stitch counts never change. Worked in worsted with a 4.00mm hook, the same nine rounds come out close to 6 inches — handy if you want fewer squares per blanket. Drop to fingering weight cotton with a 2.5mm hook and you get a roughly 4-inch square that makes a fantastic coaster; a crisp cotton like Drops Safran or Paintbox Cotton DK also makes the popcorns extra defined if your acrylic versions look soft. Want a bigger blanket square without changing yarn? Add one or two classic granny rounds — 3-dc clusters with chain-1 gaps, chain-2 corners — around the finished square in your background color, and the flower becomes a framed centerpiece at 6 to 7 inches. And if popcorns intimidate you, substitute 4-dc bobbles in the petal round: slightly flatter, same charm, no hook gymnastics
I'll be honest: I'm a sucker for any pattern that lets me pop a popcorn stitch, and this one gives you a whole round of them. There is something so satisfying about working those five double crochets, slipping your hook out, and pulling that last loop through to watch a fat little petal bloom out of nowhere — eight times around the ring. I also love how clever the construction is. The bobble picots and the shaping round build right on top of the popcorn petals, so the bloom layers like a real anemone instead of lining up in stiff spokes, and the petal-shaping round's long double crochet that dives down into the yellow stitch below — encasing the chains as it goes — cinches everything into a scalloped flower edge. Because you join fresh yarn between rounds, the color play is completely open: four colors, endless moods. And at nine rounds, each square is a complete little victory you can finish with one cup of tea
Common mistakes
- Dropping the working loop while closing
- Give the loop a gentle tug to enlarge it before you slip your hook out — a bigger loop won't slide back through. Reinsert your hook front-to-back into the top of the first dc (or the ch-3), catch the enlarged loop, and pull it through snugly. If you keep losing it, park a stitch marker in the loop while you reposition your hook
- Forgetting that the ch-3 counts as the
- The ch-3 IS stitch one, so you add only 4 dc after it for the first popcorn of the round. All the following popcorns are a straightforward 5 dc in one stitch. Count your petals before fastening off — you should have exactly 8
- Skipping the 'sk1' between popcorns
- The rhythm is: popcorn, ch 3, skip 1 stitch, popcorn. Say it out loud as you go. When you slip stitch to the first popcorn to close, verify you have 8 popcorns and 8 ch-3 arcs; anything else means a skip went wrong somewhere
- Working the 3-dc bobbles like popcorns
- the 3-dc bobble, work three double crochets to their last loop, keeping all loops on your hook, then yarn over and pull through everything at once. No removing the hook, no reinserting — that maneuver belongs only to the popcorn round
- Not encasing the two upper chains
- Insert your hook into the lower yellow stitch so that both chain strands sit on top of your hook's path, then complete the dc around them, trapping the chains inside the stitch. Done right, you'll see the chains disappear into a neat vertical spoke between petals
- Skipping blocking and wondering why the
- Wet block or steam block every square: pin it to 5 x 5 inches on a foam mat, mist or steam (hover the iron — never press the popcorns flat!), and let it dry completely. Blocked squares also join far more neatly
Intermediate
Materials
- Yarn of your choice —4 colors; the sample is made with DK Sports. The finished granny square is about 5 inches by 5 inches.
- Crochet hook- we are using a 3.00mm hook
- Darning Needle
- Scissors
Main Pattern
How the square builds: Round 1 forms the foundation loop, Round 2 the flower center, Round 3 the first layer of petals, Round 4 the second layer of petals, Round 6 adds the leaves, Round 7 turns the flower into a square, and Round 9 adds the border.
- Round 1with yellow yarn: knot, ch4, slst to the first ch to form a loop.
- Round 2yellow yarn: ch3(count as dc), 15dc, slst to the top of the first ch3, fasten off.
- Round 3Join new yarn to any st, ch3 (count as dc)+ 4dc , remove the hook from last dc, insert it into the top of the first ch3, grab the last dc and pull up to complete a 5-dc-pc. ch3 . sk1 , (5-dc-pc)+ch3rep 7 times. slst to the first pc, fasten off.
- Round 4Join new yarn to any pc, ch3+(3-dc-bo)+ch3+slst, ch2, slst to next pc. ch3+(3-dc-bo)+ch3+slst in this pc, ch2, slst to next pc rep 7 times.
- Round 5slst to the ch-sp right of the bo, sc-inc . sc-inc in the bo, sc-inc in the ch after the bo, sc-inc in ch-sp left of the bo. 1dc in the lower yellow st and encase the upper two chains. slst to the ch-sp before next bo, sc-inc . sc-inc in the bo, sc-inc in the ch after the bo, sc-inc in next ch-sp. 1dc in the lower yellow st and encase upper two chains rep 7 times, slst to the first sc, fasten off.
- Round 6TLO. Join new yarn to any dc: ch3+3×[(2-tr-bo)+ch1]+(2-tr-bo)+ch3+slst . ch2 , slst to next bo, ch2 , sc to the upper ch-sp enclosed by next dc, ch2 , slst to next bo, ch2 , slst to the next dc. ch3+3×[(2-tr-bo)+ch1]+(2-tr-bo)+ch3+slst . ch2 , slst to next bo, ch2 , sc to the upper ch-sp between two petals, ch2 , slst to next bo, ch2 , slst to the next dc rep 3 times, fasten off.
- Round 7Work in ch-sp only . Join new yarn to the middle ch-sp of a leaf, ch3(count as dc)+2dc, (3hdc), sk1, 3×[(2-tr-bo)+ch1], 2-tr-bo, sk1, (3hdc), (3dc+ch2). 3dc in this ch-sp, (3hdc), sk1, 3×[(2-tr-bo)+ch1], 2-tr-bo, sk1, (3hdc), (3dc+ch2)rep 3 times, slst to the top of the first ch3.
- Round 8ch1, 1sc in each st and ch-sp, 3sc in each corner, slst to the first sc, fasten off.
- Round 9Join new yarn to any st, ch1 to start, sc-inc in 4 corner sts, sc in remaining sts, slst to the first sc, fasten off.
Important notes
💡 The sample uses a 3.00mm hook with DK weight yarn — deliberately snug so the popcorns hold their shape. If your petals look loose or gappy, go down to a 2.75mm rather than tightening your tension by hand
💡 Do what the designer does: before you remove your hook to close each popcorn, mark the top of the first ch-3 with your darning needle or a stitch marker. Hunting for that ch-3 top after the fact is the number-one popcorn frustration
💡 This pattern fastens off and joins new yarn between most of its nine rounds, so you'll have a fair few tails. Leave 6-inch ends, and weave them in after every couple of rounds — the popcorn and bobble texture hides them brilliantly, but only if you do it before the square is buried in a blanket
💡 As you pull each popcorn closed, give it a nudge from the wrong side so it pops toward the front of the work. Popcorns are happy to bulge backward if you let them, and it's much easier to fix at the moment you close the stitch
💡 When you join new yarn for a petal or bobble round, start in a stitch on the opposite side from your last join. Spreading the joins around the square keeps any slight bulk from stacking up along one edge
💡 Count as you close each round: 16 dc in the yellow center round, then 8 popcorns in the petal round, and 8 bobble picots in the frame round. Catching a miscount before you fasten off saves you from re-joining yarn to fix it later
💡 The designer's colorway mirrors a real anemone: a golden yellow center just like the flower's stamens, a second layer of plump white petals like the flower's inner corona, a three-layered arrangement of large petals, and four olive green leaves. Keep those roles in mind when choosing your own four colors
More photos
FAQ
Can I use worsted weight yarn instead of DK for this anemone square?
Absolutely — the stitch counts stay exactly the same. With worsted and a 4.00mm hook your square will come out closer to 6 inches instead of 5, so just recalculate how many squares your blanket needs. Keep all four colors in the same weight so the rounds stay proportional
What's the difference between the 5-dc popcorn and the 3-dc bobble in this pattern?
The popcorn is five complete double crochets in one stitch, closed by removing your hook and pulling the last loop through the top of the first stitch — it makes the big rounded petals. The bobble is three double crochets worked to their last loop and closed with one pull-through, no hook removal, and it forms the smaller picot frames around the flower
Do I really have to fasten off and rejoin yarn on almost every round?
It's how the pattern achieves its clean four-color look, since each round starts fresh with no color-change bleed. If you'd rather minimize ends, you can repeat a color on neighboring rounds and carry the yarn up instead of cutting it. The joins hide neatly behind the textured stitches either way
How many of these squares do I need for a blanket?
5 inches per blocked square, a 6 by 8 layout gives you a 30 x 40 inch baby blanket from 48 squares, and 10 by 12 makes a generous 50 x 60 inch throw from 120. Joining with a contrasting border color adds roughly an inch per seam allowance choice, so lay out a test row before committing
Why does the final petal round work a double crochet into the yellow stitch below?
That long dc anchors the outer round down into the flower's center rounds while encasing the two chains above it. It's what cinches the petals into their layered, dimensional shape — skip it or work it too loosely and the petals lose their sculpted look and sit flat
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