Crochet Color Combinations Generator
Pick your yarn colors and see every unique granny square arrangement — rotations and mirrors merged, progress tracked, one click from a real chart.
Your colors
4 of 6 selected (min 2)Square size
55 unique squares (rotations & mirrors count as one)
0/55 done
Free and unlimited — everything runs in your browser and your checklist is saved on this device. 🔒
There is a particular joy in the math of a granny square: four sides, a handful of colors, and a surprisingly large number of ways to combine them. Pick 4 colors and there are 256 raw arrangements of the four sides — but only 55 are truly different once you merge the ones that are just rotations or mirror images of each other. That "which ones are actually different?" question comes up on r/crochet constantly, usually right before a blanket project, and the answer is exactly what this tool computes.
This crochet color scheme generator keeps it simple: choose 2-6 colors from the palette (or enter the hex codes from your yarn's shade card), pick a square size of 1-4 rounds, and it lays out every unique color-blocked granny square as a visual grid. Check squares off as you crochet them — progress is saved in your browser — and when a favorite emerges, send it straight to the pattern generator to turn it into a stitch-ready chart.
What you get
Every unique arrangement
All color assignments of the four sides are generated, then rotations and mirror images are merged so each truly different square appears exactly once.
Your exact yarn colors
Pick from a crochet-friendly preset palette or paste hex codes from your yarn brand's shade card — the previews use your real colors.
Progress tracker
Mark squares as crocheted and watch the counter climb. Progress is saved in your browser, per palette, so you can close the tab and come back.
1-4 round previews
See each color plan worked over one to four rounds, from a quick motif center to a full blanket square.
One click to a real chart
Every square links straight to the pattern generator, so a color combination you love is one tap away from a stitch-ready chart.
Free and private
Everything runs in your browser. No account, no upload, no daily limit.
How to plan your granny square colors
Pick 2-6 colors
Tap swatches from the preset palette or add your own hex codes to match your stash. Then choose a square size of 1-4 rounds.
Browse the unique squares
Scroll the grid of every unique arrangement — rotations and mirrors already merged — and check off each square as you crochet it.
Make it a chart
Found the one? Hit “Make it a chart” to jump to the pattern generator and turn your color plan into a stitch-ready chart.
Found a combination you love?
Turn it into a stitch-ready chart with our free crochet pattern generator — deterministic image processing, every cell one stitch, every color counted.
Frequently asked questions
How is the number of color combinations calculated?
A square has 4 sides and each side gets one of your N colors, so there are N⁴ raw assignments (4 colors → 256). But many are the same square turned or flipped. Merging the 4 rotations and 4 mirrored rotations (the dihedral group D₄) via Burnside's lemma gives (N⁴ + 2N³ + 3N² + 2N) / 8 unique squares: 6 for 2 colors, 21 for 3, 55 for 4, 120 for 5, and 231 for 6. The tool computes each arrangement's canonical form — the lexicographically smallest string among its 8 rotations and reflections — and keeps one square per canonical form.
Why do rotations and mirror images count as the same square?
Because in a finished blanket they are the same square. Granny squares get turned and flipped as you seam them together, so "rose–sage–cream–mustard" clockwise is indistinguishable from the same four colors starting on a different side or running counter-clockwise. Counting them separately would triple your list with squares you can't tell apart.
What does the 1-4 round setting change?
It changes the preview, not the math. A combination is a plan for the four sides of the square; the round setting shows that plan worked over 1 round (a motif center) up to 4 rounds (a blanket square), so you can judge how the colors balance at the size you actually intend to crochet.
Can I use the exact colors of my yarn?
Yes. Beyond the preset palette you can paste any hex code — most yarn brands publish shade cards online, so you can grab the hex of e.g. your exact Stylecraft or Paintbox shade and preview combinations in the colors sitting in your stash.
Can I use this to plan a temperature blanket color palette?
Partly. A temperature blanket usually needs 8-10 shades (one per temperature band), which is more than this tool's 6-color granny-square limit — but makers often use this generator to test how subsets of their temperature palette sit together before committing. For the blanket itself, see our temperature blanket crochet pattern guide, and use the yarn calculator to estimate yardage per shade.
Does my checklist progress get saved?
Yes — your checked squares are stored in your browser's local storage, keyed to your exact palette and round setting. Close the tab, come back tomorrow, and your progress is still there. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.