Think about the back of sit-com couches or the couch in your grandma's house. What is almost always folded neatly on the sofa back, or stacked in linen closets and hope chests? A granny square afghan.

Simply sign up to the Fashion myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox. While scrolling the internet for the perfect knit kerchief — and wincing at the £165 price tag on a small triangle of red ...