Green Hat La Fin Assui

Technically that is the wrong way to say it in French, but hey whatever. I finished the green hat this afternoon while watching the NY Giants play horribly! The game is still going but I'm annoyed.
-- Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Blue-Green Scarf is Done

Early morning photo shoot ... well not really that early. I finished the scarf Tuesday and took photos in the morning on Wednesday before I left for work. It was cloudy outside and raining so I wasn't getting good sunny morning light. I bumped up my ISO and used my sb-400 flash, but I normally dial down my flash so it isn't UFO bright. I swear my bear is becoming a really good model. Next I'll have to put him in some GQ poses or something. I might have to use sticks to prop him up and photoshop them out ... oh ... sound like it's getting complicated ... I'll see. I also decided to photograph him in my computer chair so I have a black background instead of in the living room under my counter to use the white background. Very soon I am going to invest in different color fabrics to have different color backgrounds.

Oh yeah the scarf. It's just a double crochet scarf. And as I typed that last sentence, I just remembered I didn't finish the scarf correctly. I mean you would never notice looking at it unless you truly examined the scarf. I was running out of yarn and patience and just finished it before the yarn was done, oh well. The scarf is about 4 feet 5 inches before blocking. I haven't washed it yet so I don't know how long it will get; probably about 5 feet.

Frederickvan Scarf

I made my friend a scarf and decided to share the pattern. The colors are based on his branding logo which are red and black. It only makes sense to name the scarf and pattern after him. He’s a Photographer, Marketer, ... and a whole bunch of other stuff. If you want to learn more or see his work visit: frederickvan.com.

It took me about 5 days to finish it. I mostly worked on it when the CMS at work went down, on the bus ride to work, waiting for the train or late at night (I’m a night owl). He’s really tall so I was trying to make the scarf long. When I finished, it was about my height, but when I washed it and laid it out to dry (blocking), it stretched to be even taller than me; I think it is about his height. The pattern is loosely based on a bag I saw. I liked it so much I wanted to make it into a scarf.

I didn’t think to share the pattern until after I made the scarf. It’s a fairly easy pattern. I have in-progress photos, but not “how to” in progress photos, sorry. If you use this pattern link back to this post and let me know so I can show off your work :-).

Materials

2 skeins Cascade Yarns Soft Spun 100% Peruvian Highland wool in Black (2807)
1 skein Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes 50% royal alpaca / 50% merino in Red (2000)
1 #8/H (5.00MM) hook

The Scarf

Key:
sl: slip stitch
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet

Note:
I had to choose two different types of yarn because they didn’t have any black alpaca and I really liked the feel of alpaca and the red was the exact color I wanted. The gage for both yarns were the same, so it wasn’t much of a problem. When it comes time to change colors, it gets a little tricky because the alpaca is silky and the wool can pull apart. I was so worried about finishing the scarf and getting it shipped in time that I forgot to count how many black rows I crocheted. I have a good guesstimate because I know how many red rows I made and how long it measures. Either way, you can make the scarf to the length that is comfortable for you.

Start with red yarn
Row 1: ch 26
Row 2: 25sc starting from the second chain from the hook (ch# 25); ch3 (counts as a dc)
Row 3: 2dc in every other stitch. You should end up with 11dc pairs. In the last stitch 1dc; ch3
Row4 -14: repeat Row 3
Row 15: repeat Row 3, except do not ch3

You should now have 1ch row, 1sc row, and 13 red dc rows. You need to switch colors to the black yarn and then ch3

With black yarn
Row 16: 2dc in every other stitch. You should end up with 11dc pairs. In the last stitch 1dc; ch3
Row17 -105*: repeat row 16
Row 106: repeat row 16, except do not ch3

switch colors back to red yarn and then ch3
With red yarn
Row 107:  2dc in every other stitch. You should end up with 11dc pairs. In the last stitch 1dc; ch3
Row 108 - 119: repeat row 107
Row 120: 2dc in every other stitch. You should end up with 11dc pairs. In the last stitch 1dc; ch1
Row 121: sc in every stitch
Row 122: sc in every stitch. sl to end

* I forgot to count how many rows of black I used. I reversed engineered the amount by the length of the scarf, the measurement of the red section and rows used in red section (I <3 math). Make the scarf as long as you want.

When you are done, you can use this blocking technique from craftnectar.com that mellowbeing found and sent to me. I washed the scarf in Woolite but I’m sure you can use whatever detergent you currently have.

Enjoy :-)

Purple Scarf Update

So I finished the purple scarf last week before I started on the hat. I messed up the scarf too, lol. The problem was, I started the scarf last summer and forgot what stitch I was using. Actually forgot to use the right stitch. I was using a slip stitch instead of a single crochet stitch. When I started it, I made the scarf very very wide. I forgot how to level up and as a result the scarf kept getting smaller. I finally finished it but I am going to unravel everything and start over. This time I will probably use a double crochet stitch or make up some design that won't take so long. Practice makes perfect.