Granny square blanket looks baggy and limply when hooked together

[notasausage]

I am a total novice. This is my first blanket. The squares looked the same size before I joined them up. I've also done an edge of one row uk trc and 2 rows dc which is really wavy and not sitting at all flat or square. The individual squares look lumpy and baggy and again not sitting flat. What have I done wrong? The wool is James C Brett supreme. I wondered if I washed it, shaped it and dried it flat if it would sort it out?

Even when you have made squares the same number of stitches each side, the tension at which you crocheted them can differ, which leads to them being actually slightly different sizes. This can happen especially when you are a beginner, as you haven't quite got your regular "swing". Experienced crocheters (I have read about, I am amateur myself!) only block to avoid curling corners because their tension is so even they don't have a problem with sizing.

A lot of crocheters "block" do squares before joining however, to eradicate the curly corners and/or ensure every square is equal sized. This involves misting the squares with water in a spray bottle, before being pinned out (some people use a blanket or just the duvet on a spare bed for example, or you could use a pin board) to exactly the same size (using a ruler). The squares are then left to dry naturally for quite a while (I believe 48 hours at least) and when they are unpinned they are miraculously straight and even

I would still try to block your blanket even though you've joined it. It's worth a try! What I would do is once it's been thoroughly misted, start pinning it from the centre outwards, slightly stretching it where is tighter than the baggy areas (mark the baggy areas if necessary with a bit of tape so you know). Finish up by measuring all the sides to ensure they are equal. This should mean that you are easing the tighter areas to match the baggier areas. Don't be tempted to disturb it before a good 2 days. It need to be bone dry not just dry.

Hope this helps!