Eight petals: Flower Granny Square Generator

This study turns an eight-petal center into a square without hiding extra increases inside the petals. The design goal is a small modular block for a cushion front: four pronounced corners, an open flower center and edges that can be counted before joining. It is an algorithm-checked design, not a claim that a physical sample has been crocheted.

Set up the design

Open the Flower Granny Square Generator. Set square border rounds to 2, use US terminology, and record yellow #F6CF42, coral #FF6848 and blue #243BCE. Add a fourth color slot and set it to blue #243BCE again. Here the round assignment is yellow for the center, coral for the petal ring and blue for both square rounds. The two border rounds follow the two center rounds, so the result contains four rounds altogether. Other generic dimensions do not determine this motif's stitch counts.

Yarn, hook and preparation

Choose three colors of the same smooth yarn with similar thickness and washing instructions. Start with the hook size suggested on that yarn's label; adjust after a separate swatch if the fabric is rigid or unusually loose. Keep a tapestry needle, scissors and four removable corner markers nearby. No finished centimeter size or yarn quantity is promised: both require measurements in your own materials. Leave sewing tails long enough to weave through several neighboring stitches.

Work the four rounds

1. Magic ring: ch 1 (does not count), 8 sc in ring. Sl st to first sc; tighten ring. Count: 8.
2. Join petal color. In each sc work a 3-dc cluster, ch 2. Cluster: repeat [yarn over, insert in same stitch, pull up loop, yarn over, pull through 2] three times, yarn over and pull through all 4 loops. Sl st to first cluster. 8 clusters and 8 ch-2 spaces. Count: 8.
3. Join square color in a ch-2 space. Repeat four times: (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next space for corner; 3 dc in next space for side. Sl st to first dc. Begin each round with ch 2 plus first dc; ch 2 does not count. Count: 36.
4. Sl st to corner space. In each corner work (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc). Between corners work 3 dc in each of the 2 gaps between groups. Join to first dc. Ch 2 to begin, not counted. Count: 48.

Read the actual generated chart

The diagram is generated from the same input record. The first ring has eight single crochets; each supports one completed cluster in the next round. A cluster is one completed stitch even though three partial double crochets contribute to it. Do not count those partial posts as three independent petals.

Verify before continuing

Round three uses all eight petal spaces once: alternate a six-post corner fan and a three-post side fan four times. That gives four times nine, or 36 posts, plus eight corner chains. Round four works into the four corner spaces and eight gaps between groups, producing 48 posts. Exclude corner chains and joining slip stitches from these post totals. Place markers in the four corner spaces, rather than in nearby double crochets.

Diagnose a distorted block

If one side has an extra group, check whether you accidentally worked into the joining slip stitch instead of a gap. If the center puckers, first recount eight clusters and eight petal spaces before changing hook size. If every count agrees but the edges curl, wash and dry a sample according to the yarn label and reassess tension; blocking cannot repair a missing group.

Use and save the block

For a cushion, make a second matching block before committing to a large panel. Compare corresponding edge groups and corner spaces, then consult joining granny squares. Save JSON with the color assignment in your project notes and export SVG for a printable construction reference.

FAQ

Can I make five petals by changing the palette? No; color does not alter the eight-part center. Do turning chains count? In these instructions they do not. Why does the chart use more than one symbol per group? Several completed posts share one insertion space, while the connecting line identifies that shared source.