Granny square ponchos can be made from a fixed pattern, adjusted around your own measurements, or built from a small number of large motifs. These eight original designer patterns show those different approaches before you choose yarn and layout.
Motif based ponchos go together fastest with a tapestry needle on hand for joining as you finish each piece.
Granny square poncho patterns to explore
1. Red Heart Granny Poncho
Red Heart’s Granny Poncho is listed by Yarnspirations as a free intermediate crochet cape/poncho pattern for women, and the description says the traditional granny square is updated. It is a single size pattern, and you download the pattern from the page, so use the download to check the yarn amounts, gauge and finishing before you buy. It is the only entry here that comes from a yarn company rather than an independent designer.
2. Granny Square Poncho
Cookie’s poncho is made to measure rather than to a fixed gauge, and she says any yarn from light (3) to super bulky (6) will work. The thinner the yarn, the more accurate the sizing of the finished garment will be. She also gives hook advice: for a summer garment, size your hook up so the granny squares are loose and drape flatteringly instead of stiff. For fall or winter she recommends wool, a wool blend or acrylic. Each stitch links to an instructional YouTube video.
3. Crocheted Simple Granny Square Poncho
Pink Plumeria Maui’s poncho was made for beginners and is built from just 4 simple granny squares. The designer only had 2 skeins of Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn in Royal, so she designed a simple pattern that stretches the yarn, and any worsted weight yarn will work. It calls for about 14 ounces of worsted yarn and an H hook. It’s from 2018, so the page is older, but the construction is timeless.
Pink Plumeria Maui’s simple poncho is assembled from four granny squares and calls for 14 ounces of worsted weight yarn on an H hook. The small motif count keeps the layout easy to visualize, while the source supplies square instructions and the joining sequence for a wearable layer.
4. Granny Square Poncho with Optional Sleeves
Hannah Cross’s poncho can be made with or without sleeves: with sleeves and an optional collar it becomes what she calls a “swoncho” (sweater plus poncho), and without them it is a traditional poncho. Sizes run from XS to 5XL in three groups (XS to M, L to 2XL and 3XL to 5XL), worked in worsted weight yarn on a 4.5 mm hook, with plenty of room for adjustment. It is a modern take on the retro granny square.
5. Granny Square Poncho, Size 12 to 18 Months
Oui Crochet’s poncho is a 12 to 18 month size made from four granny squares that you sew together. The designer originally made a rainbow granny square for her Classic Granny Square Stitch Tutorial and then made a few more, and she paired the poncho with a modified preemie headband. She used an I hook instead of an F to make it larger, and points to her hat and headband size chart for reference.
6. 70s Style Granny Poncho
Elisalex de Castro Peake’s poncho is worked top down from the neckline in treble clusters that form a granny eye pattern, finished with a fringed hem. It uses super chunky yarn on a 9 mm hook. The designer says it is a yarn guzzler but a worthy investment: her sample used 5 balls of Seagull (off-white, the contrast and fringe color) plus other shades. The starting chain must be a multiple of 2 and 3, and long enough to go over your head.
7. Crochet Granny Square Poncho
Rhelena’s granny stitch poncho is essentially a big granny square blanket with an opening for your head. The open granny stitch and cotton give warmth with a breeze, so you can wear it in spring and fall over a shirt or light jacket. It is worked neckline down in DK cotton on a 4 mm hook, and the pattern is mindless once you get past the first few rounds. You can fasten off or carry your yarn up at each round.
8. Sedona Granny Stitch Poncho
Michele’s Sedona poncho was part of the Great Granny Blog Hop of 2017. It is made of two identical granny stitch panels in Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton (DK weight) on a J-10 (6 mm) hook, with several color-change rounds on each, joined with a mattress stitch, leaving a measured opening for the neck. She says you can adjust it to any size, and a few buttons turn it into more than a poncho. An ad-free printable is sold separately.
