Hairpin lace crochet scarf with pockets

 I'm pleased to have a pattern inside the latest issue of Crochet Now-

In among some lovely ideas is my Hairpin Lace Crochet Scarf with pockets, pictured below.

Photo courtesy of Crochet Now Magazine.

Here's the free pattern:

Hairpin Cable Stole with patch pockets

Hairpin cable crochet grows quickly and makes an interesting, textured, slightly stretchy fabric, a cross between crochet and weaving. The right side is the one with raised, plaited cables showing. Start with short strips for the pockets, to get a feel for the technique, then make the longer strips for the stole. Make all the strips you need for each part before joining; owing to random colour changes in the yarn, you may want to experiment with the most pleasing arrangement of the strips. Borders in MC are added later, using the larger hook and one row of dc and two rows of htr stitches.

Yarn

King Cole Subtle (MC) 3 x 100g balls Chunky; 135m per 100g ball;Acrylic 69% , Cotton 25%,Wool 6%

King Cole Drifter (CC) 3 x100g balls Chunky;135m per 100g ball; Acrylic 69% , Cotton 25% Cotton,Wool 6% MC- Rose 4672 CC- Rome 2167

Or use any chunky yarn which works up to the same tension. Leave long ends to make tassels if desired.

Tension

13 loops and 4 pattern strips(measured from crochet centre part to crochet centre part)across 10cm.

Hook-

 5mm, 6mm

Other supplies-

Hairpin loom adjustable to 6cm

Tapestry needle

Stitch Markers

Sizing

One size

Abbreviations (UK)

 MC- Main Colour

CC- Contrast Colour

 St- stitch

ss- slip stitch

ch- chain

dc- double crochet

 htr- half treble

Pattern

Pockets (make 2)

Place stitch markers at beginning of each strip. With MC, make 3 strips of 30 loops each side. Break off yarn and pull through last st to close. With CC make 3 strips of 30 loops each side. Cut off yarn, leaving long end for sewing in and pull through last st. It helps when joining to have all the strips lined up horizontally with the stitch markers to the right. Weave strips together from end with stitch markers, using a 6mm hook.

 Alternate MC and CC strips, as follows:

MC, CC, MC, CC, MC, CC

Starting from the upper loop edge of the bottom, CC strip, insert 6mm hook into first 2 loops of 1st strip, then into first 2 loops of second strip. This will be the MC strip directly above or beside it. Pull second 2 loops through first 2 loops. * Insert hook into next loop of 1st strip and pull through the remaining 2 loops on hook. Alternating strips, rep. from * to end. Secure the loops at the end by pulling the tail at the end of the strip through the last 2 loops, and making a ss.

 Continue in this way until all the strips are joined. In weaving the loops together, aim to be consistent. For example, if CC is first to be used at top loop edge of strip it should be first to be used at the bottom row of loops as well. The short edges of the strips may look uneven, but this can be corrected.

Side edges

There will still be loose loops at the top and bottom of the pocket. Neaten these by putting 6mm hook through one loop, picking up next loop and drawing through first loop, repeating to the end and drawing through a yarn end and making a ss to close.

 Pocket Top Border

 With right side facing, join MC to top right of pocket, to the CC strip. With MC and 6mm hook, work 1dc into each stitch of long edge of strip.

Row1: Ch2 (counts as first htr), then htr all along top pocket edge, turn.

Row 2: Repeat Row 1.

With right side facing, neaten remaining 3 edges of pocket using CC, making 4 dcs at each short end of strips, and working a dc into every st along the long edge of pocket strip. Leave a long end for sewing pocket onto stole. Sew in all loose ends from strips on wrong side of pockets, neatening as you go, if there are any holes or discrepancies.

Stole

With 5mm hook and hairpin loom with prongs 6cm apart, and a stitch marker to indicate start of each strip, make long strips using same method as that employed for pockets, as follows:

MC-5 x strips of 218 loops, top and bottom CC-6 x strips of 218 loops, top and bottom Arrange strips horizontally or vertically as you prefer, as you did for pockets. Strips are joined, with a 6mm hook, using hairpin cable technique (see instruction for pocket and illustration box) in the following order, CC, MC, CC, MC, CC, MC, CC, MC, CC, MC, CC

Side Edges

. Neaten loose loops at long edges of stole in the same way as for pocket instructions, using 6mm hook, one loop at a time.

 Long edge Borders

With MC and 6mm hook, dc along long edges of stole. Turn.

Row 1:2ch, then htr into each dc to end.

Row 2: Repeat Row 1.

Short edge Borders

With 6mm hook, neaten short edges of stole with a row of dcs, 3dcs into short edge of long edge border,44dcs along short edge of stole, 3dc across short edge of other border. (50sts)Turn.

 Row 1: 2ch, htr into each st to end,turn.

Row 2: repeat 1 st row.

Finishing

 Press according to ball band instructions, approx.. measurements, pockets 22cm x 22cm.Stole,165cm x 42cm.. Sew in all ends for about 5cm. Sew pockets in place using backstitch through the edge stitches , along a row of crochet stitches between loops on the stole. Position pockets centrally at each short end, matching lower edge of pocket to top edge of border.

 

Hints and tips.

 Completed stole will vary from one pictured owing to random self-striping effect of yarn used. Always leave a long end for sewing in. Weave the yarn in and out of the work, not too tightly, for about 5cm, then cut away what’s left. Turning the loom in order to make the stitches results in the work becoming twisted, but when you slip the work off the lower prongs, leaving 4 loops either side, they soon unwind. Allowing strips to unwind is a part of the process! If you come to the end of a long strip and realise that on the wrong side you missed the odd loop, darn it in using matching yarn. Pin pockets in place and check fit before sewing; you may want to position pockets higher or lower than suggested.