Free Access to 179 Tested, Reliable Granny Square Patterns
No AI guesswork — these come from Simply Crochet's annual Granny Square Day supplement, and I've made a handful of these squares myself.
It's Granny Square Day
Every August 15th, crocheters share their granny squares online, turning the day into one big, informal patchwork celebration. It's a small tradition, but Simply Crochet magazine has leaned into it for years, releasing a dedicated granny square supplement with its August issue almost every summer since.
Where to Find It
Because Simply Crochet runs on a 13-issue annual cycle, the Granny Square Day supplement lands almost exactly 13 issues apart each year — and it's always a completely new set of designs, never a rerun. Here's the running index of every year's supplement, and where to find each one.
| Year | Issue | Supplement | Designs | Where to Find It |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 178 | 35 Fabulous Granny Squares | 35 | Libby — free with library card |
| 2025 | 165 | A Year of Granny Squares | 52 | Libby — free with library card |
| 2024 | 152 | 40 Fabulous Granny Squares | 40 | Libby — free with library card |
| 2023 | 139 | A Year of Granny Squares | 52 | Libby — free with library card |
| 2022 | 126 | 52 Granny Squares & Motifs | 52 | Pocketmags · Ravelry |
| 2021 | 113 | 50 Granny Squares & Motifs | 50 | Pocketmags · Ravelry |
| 2020 | 100 | 100 Granny Squares & Motifs (Milestone 100th Issue) | 100 | Pocketmags · Ravelry |
The only place to get these for free is through your local library: pull up the Libby app with your own library card and search for Simply Crochet. Many library systems carry current and back issues through Libby at no cost — what's available depends on your specific library's subscriptions and rotates over time, so it's worth checking even if you've looked before.
One thing I've noticed: Libby's back catalog for this title only tends to go back 2–3 years, but Simply Crochet has published a granny square supplement every year since 2020, when Issue 100 marked the magazine's 100th-issue milestone. So if a specific back issue isn't available through your library, the Pocketmags digital archive keeps full back issues available to purchase as a backup option.
If you're only after a single pattern from one of the older (2020–2022) issues rather than the whole supplement, each one also has a Ravelry source page — look for the "Ravelry" link above. How many squares show up there depends on the Ravelry community, not the supplement itself; some issues only have a couple of patterns linked, not the full set. But whatever is listed links out to finished projects other crocheters have made, and from there you can often find your way to the designer's own blog or site, which sometimes hosts the pattern separately.
Building a Multi-Year Sampler Blanket
Because every year's supplement is a completely different set of designs, that means you can mix and match squares from multiple years into one sampler blanket. Motifs across the different supplements are all sized to the same modular scale (roughly 5–6 inches, DK weight yarn, 4.0mm hook), so nothing you pick up from a different year will clash in size.
Not sure how to actually plan and assemble a multi-year sampler? Our Granny Square Sampler Blanket sizing guide walks through exactly that.
Why We Love This for Mindful Crocheting
A single granny square is one of the most forgiving projects you can pick up: a few rounds, a clear stopping point, no need to hold a whole pattern in your head. That makes the annual supplement a nice low-pressure entry point if you're using crochet as a wind-down practice rather than a race to finish a blanket. Pick one motif, make one square, set it down. Come back whenever you're ready — the next day, the next week, whenever — and pick another: the next square in the same issue, or one from a different year's supplement entirely, whatever sounds good.