 |
| Handmaiden Maiden Hair yarn shimmers on a sunny Spring day! |
One of the joys of teaching crochet workshops at local
haberdasheries is that I get to see (and play with) the latest yarns as soon as
they arrive in the shop.
When Katia came out with their Air Alpaca yarn, I wanted to
hook it up right away. So soft and fluffy!
Katia had sent small samples of the yarn worked up in
different knitted stitches – and one crochet stitch sample caught my eye. Rows of shells, stacked
row on row, with no chain row in between, which I typically see with shell stitch
patterns. The closeness of the shells made a beautiful dense fabric with a
lovely texture.
But no pattern for this little sample could be found. Not on
the sample's label, not on the Katia web site, and the yarn rep didn’t have any answers,
either. But I was determined to make a scarf with this stitch, so I took the
sample home and to figure it out myself!
The great thing with crochet is that, with some scrutiny and
patience, you can ‘read’ many crocheted items. This shell stitch fabric was
pretty easy, once I figured out the number of chains in the foundation row.
I’ve made a few scarves already; the original Katia Air Alpaca scarf
was given to Bunny’s harp teacher for Christmas, and I’ve made another with the
luxurious Handmaiden Maiden Hair delicate yarn, pictured above.
Shell Stitch Scarf
Materials
I used:
2-1/2 skeins of Katia Air Alpaca (25g/115m/126yd per skein) and a 4mm
hook
or 1 skein of Handmaiden Maiden Hair (100g/300m/328yd) and a 5.5mm hook
and I’m currently making one with chunky yarn and a 6mm
hook, so feel free to experiment!
Finished size: My
latest version, with the Maiden Hair yarn, is 150cm/59in long, 15cm/6in wide
after blocking.
Pattern:
UK terms
US terms
beneath
Ch 34
Row 1: 1 dc in 2nd
ch from hook; *skip 3 ch; [3tr, ch 1, 3tr] in next st; skip 3 ch; 1 dc in next
st; * repeat from * to * to end of row. (4 shells)
US: 1 sc in
2nd ch from hook; *skip 3 ch; [3dc, ch 1, 3dc] in next st; skip 3
ch; 1 sc in next st; * repeat from * to * to end of row. (4 shells)
Row 2: turn, ch
3, 2tr at the base of ch3; *dc in ch space of previous row’s shell; [3tr, ch 1,
3tr] in previous row’s dc;* repeat from * to * two more times, ending the row
with 3tr above the previous row’s dc stitch. (3 shells, 2 half shells on either
end of row)
US: turn, ch 3, 2dc at the base of ch3;
*sc in ch space of previous row’s shell; [3dc, ch 1, 3dc] in previous row’s sc;*
repeat from * to * two more times, ending the row with 3dc above the previous
row’s sc stitch. (3 shells, 2 half shells on either end of row)
Row 3: turn, ch1;
*[3tr, ch 1, 3tr] in previous row’s dc; dc in ch space of previous row’s
shell;* repeat from * to * three more times, with the last dc at the top of the
ch 3 of the previous row. (4 shells)
US: turn, ch1; *[3dc, ch 1, 3dc] in
previous row’s sc; sc in ch space of previous row’s shell;* repeat from * to *
three more times, with the last sc at the top of the ch 3 of the previous row.
(4 shells)
Repeat rows 2-3 until your scarf reaches the desired length,
finishing with a Row 2. Fasten off
and weave in ends.
Finishing off: I
experimented with hooking this pattern halfway, then working an identical piece
the same length and stitching the foundation rows together – this would give
two halves with the same pretty scalloped edging on the ends. However, I wasn’t
happy with the join in the middle, regardless of whip stitch, double crochet
join, etc. It just looked too obvious. So I’ve made a shell edging row to
crochet onto the starting edge of the scarf:
 |
| Shell stitch edging worked in chunky yarn |
Edging: Right
side facing, attach yarn to the first chain of the row, ch 3, 2tr at the base
of ch3; *1dc in the base of the shell of the first row; [3tr, ch 1, 3tr] in the
base of the dc of the first row;* repeat from * to * two more times, ending the
row with 3tr above the first row’s dc stitch. (3 shells, 2 half shells on
either end of row)
US: Right side facing, attach yarn to
the first chain of the row, ch 3, 2dc at the base of ch3; *1sc in the base of
the shell of the first row; [3dc, ch 1, 3dc] in the base of the sc of the first
row;* repeat from * to * two more times, ending the row with 3dc above the
first row’s sc stitch. (3 shells, 2 half shells on either end of row)
Happy crafting!
Chrissie
