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.