Thursday, June 30, 2011

A splash of red

I got a tad creative after reading Linda's recent crochet post, about a Queen Anne's Lace scarf. Winter here in Australia, is the perfect weather for scarfs and I'm wearing mine as I type this entry! It's a beautiful, vivid red scarf and has been created with wool. I quite like it. What do you think?


I'm not a fashion model, but the scarf looks good!


It's very warm and very light - a little scratchy, being wool and all, but nothing too annoying. I love wearing it. Sarah wanted the scarf as I was making it, but upon trying it on, declared it too scratchy for her. I don't mind, all the better to keep my neck warm.

Linda supplied me with a link to the pattern, and after several attempts, I finally got it right! I suppose the trick is to pick the right hook size for the ply of wool/cotton, because my initial attempts came out rather bumpy.


The altered pattern is on the left, the bumpy original on the right


I altered the pattern a little to fix it. Feel free to use the original pattern, here, or follow my humble attempt at alterations below:

In Australia, we do our patterns in rounds, and basically the scarf is made up with attached rounds (or motifs). It's not as difficult as I'm making it all sound, the stitches themselves are basic ones. I'll throw in a few pictures along the way, to make it a little easier to follow.


To start:

Chain 6 and join with a slip-stitch, to make a ring.


Round 1:

Chain 3, work 13 double crochets into ring. (Do not join at this stage) Chain 1, turn work. Single crochet into next 2 double crochets. *Chain 4, single crochet in next 2 double crochets*. Repeat (**) five times to make 6 loops in total. Chain 6, turn work.


It should look like this after completing round one ~
notice how it's not joined with a slip stitch


Round 2:

Slip stitch into first free 4-Chain loop. Chain 3, turn work. 13 double crochets into the 6-Chain loop. Slip stitch into the first single crochet of the first motif. Chain 1, turn work. Single crochet in next 2 double crochet, *Chain 4, single crochet in next 2 double crochets*. Repeat (**) five times to make 6 loops in total. Chain 6, turn work.


After round two


Round 3:


Slip stitch into first free 4-Chain loop of adjoining motif. Chain 3, turn work. 13 double crochets into the 6-Chain loop. Slip stitch into next free 4-Chain loop of adjoining motif. Chain 1, turn work. Single crochet in next 2 double crochet, *Chain 4, single crochet in next 2 double crochets*. Repeat (**) five times to make 6 loops in total. Slip stitch into next free 4-Chain loop of adjoining motif. Chain 6, turn work.


After round three and it's starting to make sense


Round 4:

~This is where I've altered the pattern a little - see where I've bolded ~

Slip stitch into first free 4-Chain loop of adjoining motif. Chain 3, turn work. 13 double crochets into the 6-Chain loop. Slip stitch into next free 4-Chain loop of adjoining motif. Chain 1, turn work. Single crochet in first double crochet, *Chain 4, single crochet in next 2 double crochets*. Repeat (*) five times to make 6 loops in total. Slip stitch into next free 4-Chain loop of adjoining motif. Chain 6, turn work.

Repeat Round 4 until desired length is achieved. Try it on a couple of times as you go. I didn't want a heavy scarf, so stopped when I felt it long enough to work. Once you've ended off your work, weave in the long strands and enjoy your scarf!


After round four and on and on it goes...


Basically the little alteration I made, flattened the centre of the scarf, making the ends slightly frilly. This may just be specific to the wool and hook combination I've used however. Speaking of which, I used an 8 ply wool (2 x 50g) with a 3.50 hook. If you want to follow the original pattern however (without my alteration) feel free to omit Round 4, and repeat Round 3 until desired length is reached

My scarf totaled 1.2m in length with 64 motifs.

I'm going to experiment with more yarns and additions because it's quite a simple (and enjoyable) pattern to follow. Thank you Linda for the wonderful idea which is keeping me warm and a tad bit more sophisticated this winter.

6 comments:

  1. Thats so pretty Chris, well done! You really suit the bright red too.
    One day I might get round to doing one like that, for now I'm still doing straight scarves or granny squares! I don't mind though, more practice for me to build my confidence up, and I'll know when I need to try something more fancy when I get bored :-)

    Thanks for the tutorial too (are you using US or UK stitch terminology for 'dc'? that always confuses me that its not universal)

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  2. Hi MW

    You asked the two-million dollar question - I believe it's the UK stitch terminology. Although as far as I'm concerned, it should be the Aussie double crochet.

    I learned it from an Australian who taught me in Australia...patriotic much, LOL. ;)

    I do believe it would have more in common with the UK version though: Wrap thread around hook, insert into loop, grab thread again and pull through (total of three loops on hook). Crochet two stitches together, then crochet last two.

    Hope that clears it up, LOL. Probably not, the world of crochet is a mysterious thing. I was just so lucky my mum knew enough to teach me the basics. :)

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  3. Very beautiful and the red is perfect for you. You did the right thing by changing the hook size.
    Your adjustments are more inline with the first link to the pattern I posted too. I didn't realize that the second one eliminated the single crochet steps. The original pattern called for two single crochets to start that row.
    Anyhow, it looks great! I'm working on one with wool as well, what we call sports weight here and its much larger than the thread one I made!

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  4. Thanks Nicole, red is so nice in winter. Brightens things up a lot!

    Hi Linda, what you said about the two single crochets (instead of the two double) would work so much better! I dropped on dc to help stop the bludging, but two singles would drop even more bulk from the 6ch loop.

    Thanks for that tip, I'll tuck it away for my next one. :)

    I hope you're settling in well at your new home - I know you are; how exciting!

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  5. PS, I also forgot to say to mountainwildlife, I hope you're settling in well at your new house too.

    HAPPY DANCE, HAPPY DANCE, for the two new home owners living only one hemisphere apart. ;)

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