I wanted to make an ugly sweater for the holiday. This granny square vest could be made quick so I dug up some red, white and green yarns from my stash and started crocheting.

I’m not a usual crocheter. I used the diagram on Petals to Picorts to visualize the crochet pattern of the granny square. I followed Hooded Granny Square Vest pattern to arrange the granny squares. I realized my squares were much smaller than those on the pattern, so I crocheted an additional round on each square.

I joined the squares with mattress stitches. I experimented with joining the squares as you go, but I found mattress stitches were much neater.

When working on the front panels, I realized they were not wide enough, so I added 3 more rows of granny clusters on the sides.

There was also some shoulder shaping I added. I used short-row technique to add a few short rows at the top of both front and back panels.

When assembling the front and back panels, I first used stitch markers to mark where the armhole openings were (which was 9” from the shoulder). Then I joined the panels with mattress stitches, starting from the bottom and up to where the markers were.

I couldn’t find a good crochet edging for the collar band, so I picked up stitches along the front panels and back neck with a knitting needles. I did 2x2 ribbings for 2” and completed with i-cord bind-off.

I finished the armholes with single crochet around the armholes. Then I realized adding a round of knit and an i-cord bind-off would be a nicer finish.

Lastly were the pockets. I stacked a granny square with a half granny triangle. Then I sewed them up and added an i-cord bind-off at the top of the pocket.