Modified circular/solid granny squares - came about because I bought some colorful cotton yarn from a thrift store on vacation… there was a yellow dishcloth that got unravelled to become the yellow centers of all these squares. The other yarn was the Red/Green/White Christmas colors… Not to judge the essence of hand-made cotton dishcloths - but I personally HATE the funky smell they develop because they NEVER seem to get 100% clean once they’re used. Just my personal bias.

Started with 12 US dc in magic loop of yellow (treble in UK?) Round 2: modified starter dc in joining st. Then 2 dc, ch 2, 2dc, dc, 2dc, x 3 around and join with sl st. Repeat for round 3 (increasing 4 in each ch2 space) and finishing round join 1 or 2 sides by making a ‘sandwich’ of loop on hook (current square yarn), top 2 loops of adjoining round, yarn over (current yarn), and pull up a loop from the dc below of current square OR into ch2 loop of of adjacent square. proceed to complete the dc, but last step with have 4 loops (new, old, old, new) instead of 2… move on to next.

The ‘old’ square will be upside down/backwards relative to ‘new’ square… and it’s a little tricky to pick up the beginning of round pseudo-dc… Heaven forbid, there’s an extra dc in one square or another - frog or just do an improptu dctog or incr-dc as your conscience dictates. (I’m generally in the frog it back and fix it school, depending on how tired I am.)

Used a “D” hook because I like a firmer fabric in my shopping bags.

I know there’s a zillion granny bag patterns out there - even thought to post this variation to Ravelry… and lots of tutorials on how to join-as-you-go… I’m not sure where or when I got this version… but it’s definitely worth the effort to join them as they are nearly completed (including having to occasionally frog the last round when you discover an ‘oopsy’)… I like the effect of the beaded stripes between the adjacent squares.