Kate's V Stitch Scarf

Kate’s V Stitch Scarf
c2007 Kate Smith

For personal or charity use only. Do not repost or sell pattern.

Materials: 7 ozs. Vanna's Choice linen yarn (MC), 1 oz. Vanna's Choice taupe (CC), I hook

Multiple:  3 + 1

Size: 7" x 62"

Pattern abbreviations:
ch  =  chain       
dc  =  double crochet
ea  =  each
tch = turning chain
hk  =  hook
rem - remaining
rep  =  repeat
sc = single crochet
sk  =  skip
st = stitch

Special Stitches:
V stitch - (dc, ch 1, dc) in same stitch

Instructions:

With linen, ch 31
Row 1: (dc, ch 1, dc) in 5th ch from hk, * sk 2 chs, (dc, ch 1, dc) in next st, repeat from * across to last 2 sts, dc in last ch (9 V's)

Row 2: ch 3, turn, * (dc, ch 1, dc) in ch-1 sp of V stitch, rep from * to last st, dc in top ch of turning ch

Row 3-end: Repeat row 2 for pattern, following color sequence below

Rows 1-4 MC
Row 5: CC
Rows 6-7: MC
Rows 8-9: CC
Rows 10-11: MC
Row 12: CC
Rows 13-106: MC (or until scarf is about 56” in length or length you want minus about 6”)

Then work color sequence in reverse
Row 107: CC
Rows 108-9: MC
Rows 110-11: CC
Rows 112-13: MC
Row 114: CC
Rows 115-118: MC

Border: ch 1 and work sc around entire piece (as below), adding stitches in the corner using one of the options below.

Corner Options:
A - 3 sc in each corner
B - (sc, ch 1, sc)
C - (sc, ch 2, sc) 
D - (2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc)
E - (2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc)
F - (sc, hdc, sc)
G - (sc, ch 1, sc, ch 1, sc)
On right side of work, on last row worked, ch 1 and work sc in ea dc and ea ch-1 sp along row, work corner, 2 sc in ea row along sides, work corner, along bottom (first row of scarf) work 2 sc in ea sk 2 sp and 2 in ea ch where you worked a V, work corner, work last side as before, work corner, join with sl st to beginning sc.



Variation solid center smaller scarf for Special Olympics: 
6” x 58”

Using H hook, with MC, ch 19
Follow pattern for 102 rows—This will give you about a 4” center strip. (5 V’s)

Border:
Rnd 1: at end of Row 102, change to CC, work same as Rnd 1 of larger scarf, using option E in corners

Rnd 2: (V stitch, sk 2) around, working (dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1, dc), in corners

Rnd 3: rep Rnd 1, working sc in ea dc and ea ch-1 sp around.

patterns

I am going through the Crafty Corral blog to delete older pages. Most of the links are no longer good. In doing this, I'm running across some patterns that were only available on the blog. I am going to be reposting those here over the next few days or until I get bored going through the posts. LOL These will be individual posts for those who want to make them a pdf file for storage.

I'll try to get one up later today. I have to actually read the pattern and, in some cases, remake the item, to be sure the pattern is accurate.

Happy crocheting!

ripple hat

In a previous post, I showed you a photo of two little green hats made of soy yarn. I did not give the pattern as these were hats I'd found which I had worked on a while back and put aside so the pattern was not handy. However, someone asked me about it and I found the ripple hat pattern so I wanted to give the link.

On my printed copy I had notations where I made a couple of minor changes. If you look at the comments section, a lady named Maureen also suggests a few changes in the instructions. She and I found basically the same things.

Before I saw the comments, I had rewritten Rounds 2 and 3 for myself as follows:

Rnd 2:  ch 3, sk 1 dc, *in next dc work  DC-Ch 2-DC (V-stitch made), sk 1 dc* six times; DC in base of starting Ch 3, Ch 2, join. (7 V-stitches)

Rnd 3: sl st in dc and in first V-stitch space chain 3, DC-Ch2-2DC in same space. *2DC-Ch2-2DC in next V-stitch space* six times; join.

In the succeeding rounds, there is a missing (sl st in next dc) right at the beginning of each round. The rest of the pattern looks fine. Note that in Rnd 6 you start working single V stitches - IOW (dc, ch 2, dc) rather than (2dc, ch 2, 2 dc). That's important because that is how you stop increasing.

If you want to make a larger hat, you can do so by changing hook size. If you want a BABY hat, then you must use the lighter weight yarn and small hook as this hat gets larger fast. When I tested this again to be sure my notes were correct, I grabbed the nearest yarn, which was worsted weight, and my trusty H hook. Needless to say, it is way too large for an infant. LOL

If you have additional questions, you can always check the original pattern for the round ripple afghan from which she says the hat pattern is adapted.

The second hat shown above is not a pattern as far as I can remember. In looking at the larger photo I think this is what I did:

Rnd 1 - 6: 12, 24, 36, 48, 48. 48,
Rnd 7: ch 4, sk 1, dc, (ch 1, sk 1, dc) around
Rnd 8: dc around
Rnd 9: rep rnd 7
Rnd 10: rep rnd 8


Happy crocheting!

Special Olympic Louisiana Scarves

I finished the Pergola scarf from Knit Picks. Here is the first picture, before fringing. (The pattern does not call for fringe.)

Here's the story on this scarf. I saw this pattern at Knit Picks and it is a beautiful scarf!  It was only 1.99 download so I purchased it, thinking it would look great with the Turqua on top and the blue underneath. After I purchased it, I thought about it and decided that would be too warm a scarf for Louisiana, so I would make just the top section.

As I began I found the pattern to be lovely, but the abbreviations were not known to me and I needed to look up the instructions each time I ran across them. The pattern was a pdf file so I couldn't make changes to it.

After working the Rows 1-9, which was the repeat, I determined I would go crazy if I continued, but I wanted to make this scarf. LOL

So I bit the bullet and typed in the pattern, using my own crazy shorthand. The first row is simple

1) dc (23)

I won't put the whole pattern here, of course. You can download it yourself at the above link. But just to show you what I did, here is my Row 3:

3) ch3, cluster over 2, dc in ea ch, 3dc shell, dc in ea ch,
          cluster over 3, dc in ea ch, 3dc shell, dc in ea ch
          cluster over 2, dc in last sc

Each instruction is necessary because each row is different. In my abbreviated instructions I changed DTC to DTR which was more intuitive to me as Double Triple Crochet. DDC and TDC became cluster over 2 or cluster over 3. For me, that was clearer. DDI and TDI became 3dc shell or 2 dc shell.

To show you what I mean, see Row 6.

6) ch5, DTR, ch4, sk3, 3sc, ch4, sk3, DTR,
                  ch4, sk3, 3sc, ch4, sk3, DTR in last 2

You'll notice that I placed my instructions such that the repeated portion is underneath itself. In Row 6, you would think that the DTR should be under the DTR, but in making it I found that I needed to know immediately what came after the chain and skip so I wanted that DTR right there in eyesight. It sounds complex, but it worked for me.

Once I did this, I sped through the rest of the scarf quickly. Yay!

If I did it again, and I might, I would make one other change. I found the double trebles poked out. They were too tall for me. If you crochet tightly they would probably be perfect for you. I would use triple crochets when working this a second time, instead of double triples. If you tend to ch-2 as your turning chain for double crochet, you probably should use the triple instead of dtr.

I did 6 pattern repeats, but I did not work Row 9 or I guess you could say Row 1 at the end of the repeats. The reason was because the repeat at that point was for me 9" and I thought that would make it the perfect size as it had to be between 54 and 60". Another 9" would have been too long. If I were making this for another effort, I would do the entire 1-9 so there would be an ending dc row in one color and a beginning dc row in the second color. Of course if you are working it in one color, that's not a consideration.

Anyway, when I measured the completed scarf with a sc edging (as show at the beginning of the post) it was 53". Oh no! An inch short. What to do. I considered sending it as it was, but I appreciate when others follow my rules so I thought I should fix this somehow. What to do? I decided to add a fringe, but what fringe would look good with this pretty pattern? Something different. I remembered the fringe I used on one of the other scarves, the ch 20, sl st in next sc. That's the one I decided to use. What do you think? I hope the recipient will think it looks nice.

The finished size, including the fringe, is 6" x 57". Yes, it is a little cheatsy to include fringe in the size, but because the fringe is fairly thick, it is almost an extension of the scarf, don't you think? *smile*

As an added bit of trivia the designer's brief bio is here. It lists her Ravelry and at Ravelry she lists her Flickr which has more photos of her Pergola. Beautiful, beautiful! I love the way this scarf looks and one day I hope to make one with the cream and multi behind it! Her Twitter is also listed and she comments on how well the Pergola is selling. I'm glad because it truly is a beautiful pattern and it is probably just my brain which won't get the abbreviations settled into it.

Moving on, yesterday I had brunch and crochet time at the library with a friend - much fun! I began a simple V stitch scarf so I could chat and not have to pay too much attention to what I was doing. I wanted to make a thin strip and add a different sort of border since I'd already sent in a V stitch scarf. Here is what I came up with. I finished this in one day, though not at the library.

The middle section is a bit over 4". If memory serves I chained 19 to start and I did 96 rows of V stitches. If you don't need a particular size you can work as many rows as you like. 100 is a nice round number, for example, and you could mark every 25 stitches for counting. Of course, you can make it wider if you want as well. The multiple is 3 + 1.

The end of each row is a single dc. After I finished the middle section, I worked sc all around, then worked a round of (V stitch, skip 2) followed by another round of sc. The finished width was 6" and the length 55". Perfect!

This makes 18 Scarves for Special Olympics Louisiana. The goal I have in my head is 20 so I hope to make at least 2 more. The deadline for mailing is approaching at end of February. Then I will move on to other things. I do love the Turqua color and I have a good bit of it left so I can use it for hats or squares and such.

On an added note, check out the Crochet Me (Interweave) blog entries. The last one includes a free leaflet (download) with a number of interesting hat patterns. I got it. Go get yours. You do have to register with me, but it's free.
http://www.crochetme.com/ (click on blog if you don't see the blog entries right there)

That's about it for now.


Happy crocheting!

Special Olympics Louisiana and Bobble Hat

Here's another scarf for the Louisiana branch of Special Olympics. It's the Jacob's Ladder scarf shown in my video, but in this version I used an 8,8,8 pattern. 8dc, 8 chains, and 8 dc. I wanted an edging in the turqua so I wanted the main section to be less than 6". It worked out fine. The finished size is actually just shy of 6" x 56". As you may recall the SO scarves are to be between 54 and 60" long. The chain in this pattern is 26.

I also finished Bobble Beauty, a hat designed by Dot Matthews. The pattern itself was not difficult except perhaps for the bobble stitch itself if you're not familiar with it. It's a basic hat pattern to 60 stitches, then veers off to the bobbles and decreases.

Here is our lovely model showing it off for you.

I'm going to work some more on the Pergola tonight I think, while watching Chuck and Castle. We'll see how far I get on it.


Happy crocheting!

busy crocheting fingers

My fingers have been busy the past few days. Here's what has been on my hooks.

First here are two more hats I made when a friend requested a hat to keep her head warm at work. She is positioned near a door and we are having unseasonably cold weather here in Louisiana lately. Although she ended up finding a hat at a local store and didn't need these, they will still keep someone warm soon.


Here is part of the set that I talked about a few days ago, purchased from Hemstitcher. I worked a round of sc first and then did a basic (sc, ch 2, 2 dc, sk 2) pattern around. The bib had two "pointy" sections at the corners which were problematic but the rounded sections came out perfectly. There is a blanket that goes with this and I also have another set that I will be working on. These are gifts, not for charity.

Then here is a scarf I'm presently working on. It is the Pergola Scarf pattern that I purchased from Knit Picks. This is a complex pattern and one must really pay attention as you work. It's not difficult, just complicated. It's a 9 row repeat.

The complicated part comes from the abbreviations used in the pattern. They are not what I am used to and I have to keep referring to the stitch list to remember which one they mean. Instructions for each stitch are included, so that is not a problem.

I would have rewritten the pattern (for my own use) replacing those abbreviations, but it is a pdf and it is one that you can't save as text so I can't change it unless I want to retype the whole thing (have I mentioned how lazy I am?).

I did make a notation at the top of the page which is helping some. Dtc is wrap 3x/double treble. DDC and TDC are clusters - which doesn't mean anything to me because there are different types of clusters, so I noted hold back one loop. TDI is 3dc in one stitch, DDI is 2dc in one stitch. I might write that as 3dc shell or 2dc shell.

I worked the section pictured last night. Then I was thinking to myself, well, maybe I could work solid and then finish up with the pattern again. That is because I am basically a lazy crocheter. But I think I am going to try and do it following the pattern. We'll see if I persevere. :-)

Isn't it a pretty pattern? It is about 6" wide right now and about 9" long worked with the recommended G hook, so with a border around it, it will go over the 6" required size for Special Olympics. Hmm. Not sure what to do about that. I may have to send this one elsewhere.

I only have one month left in the Special Olympics scarf effort, however, so I need to get a few more out there. I have one finished and packed to go and another partially completed Jacob's Ladder. Wednesday a group of local crocheters will be meeting and we may work on SO scarves so we should get a few out in the next month I would think. I will have to choose a few quick moving patterns.

Red Heart posted on Facebook the link to this heart afghan pattern from the contest they had a while back. If I recall correctly they were asking for submissions of heart patterns. These were chosen and an afghan made with them.

Lastly, here is the hat I made while working the latest video. Thanks to my hubby, who is teaching me to use the Pinnacle Studio 12 video editing software. I've learned quite a bit as I have worked on these two videos. I find the first video a little choppy as I had to move some things around. The second one is better. Sorry about my dog ringing the bell in the middle of it.

Beth Ham also gave me a few pointers which really helped. Thanks, Beth!

In the tutorial I used the ch-1, dc beginning as opposed to the usual ch-3. I learned this method while working the Gingerbread Lady's button beret that I talked about previously. I want to thank her for that tip, which I love. I think it is my new favorite thing.

Here is part 1 of the video. You can find other videos in my channel.



Here is Part 2




Happy crocheting!