Shell Stitch Scarf

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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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