Lacy Infinity Scarf Tutorial

The Lacy Infinity Scarf pattern is the most popular post on my blog, and I get tons of compliments as well as questions about it both in the comments and in e-mails.

I decided to make a tutorial for those of you who need extra help with this project. I hope it will be helpful.

For the demonstrative purposes I use red yarn. I think the pictures are pretty much self-explanatory, but I will make some comments about the ends of rows (that’s the trickiest part). 

The free pattern for the scarf is available here.

Row 1

Row 2

When you get to the end of row 2, the pattern reads: dc in last dc.

Note that in reality it's not a dc at all, it's actually a turning chain (but as some of you might know, turning chains oftentimes "act" as double crochets). 

Row 3

When you have made the last shell of row 3, you have a turning ch-6 left.

Here make a dc into 2nd ch (counting from bottom) of the turning ch-6.

Then you simply repeat rows 2 and 3.

When you get to the end of row 2, once again you are not making a dc into an actual dc, but into a turning ch-3. 

In order to keep your edges straight, make that last dc not into 3rd, but into 2nd ch of turning ch-3 (this is a little trick that I came up on my own).

In the picture below I show you what a difference it can make for your edge:

Another question that I get quite often is how to make the twist.

Here is how:

Lay your scarf on a flat surface.

Flip one end to the other side to form a twist. Maintaining that twist, stitch the ends together. 

My other scarf and cowl patterns:

 

Crochet Blocks Toddler Beanie, Free Pattern

The little fellow in the pictures is my younger son Niko, and he is wearing a beanie hat that I made for him. What’s cool about this hat is that it’s entirely recycled!

Over a year ago I bought a skein of Country yarn by Naturally Caron (75% acrylic, 25% merino wool), and I used it to make my son a Bear Beanie shown below. But my son grew out of it, so I unraveled it and made a new hat.

Here in California winters are warm (especially this year), so the open block stitch worked well for this project. If you use a girly color yarn and add a flower (see free flower patterns here), you’ll have a cute beanie hat for a toddler girl.

 

Country yarn by NaturallyCaron.com; color Deep Taupe (#15), 1 skein (185 yards)

Crochet hook US size G (4.25 mm)

Ch 6, join in ring.

Round 1: ch 3, 15 dc in ring; join with sl st into 3^rd ch of beginning ch-3.

Round 2: ch 1, sc in same space, ch 3, *skip next dc, sc in next dc, ch 3* around; join with sl st to beginning sc.

Round 3: sl st in next ch-3 space, ch 3, (dc, ch 1, 2 dc) all in same space, ch 1, *(2dc, ch 1, 2 dc) all in next ch-3 space, ch 1* around; join with sl st into 3^rd ch of beginning ch-3.

Round 4: sl st to next ch-1 space, ch 1, sc in same space, ch 3, *sc in next ch-1 space, ch 3* around; join with sl st to beginning sc.

Round 5: sl st in next ch-3 space, ch 3, 2 dc in same space, ch 1, *3 dc in next ch-3 space, ch 1* around; join with sl st into 3^rd ch of beginning ch-3.

Round 6: sl st to next ch-1 space, ch 1, sc in same space, ch 3, *sc in next ch-1 space, ch 3* around; around; join with sl st to beginning sc.

Round 7: sl st in next ch-3 space, ch 3, 3 dc in same space, ch 1, *4 dc in next ch-3 space, ch 1* around; join with sl st into 3^rd ch of beginning ch-3.

Round 8: sl st to next ch-1 space, ch 1, sc in same space, ch 4, *sc in next ch-1 space, ch 4* around; around; join with sl st to beginning sc.

Round 9: sl st in next ch-4 space, ch 3, 4 dc in same space, ch 1, *5 dc in next ch-4 space, ch 1* around; join with sl st into 3^rd ch of beginning ch-3.

Repeat Rounds 8-9.

Fasten off. 

Crochet Baby Booties, Size 0-6 Months, Free Pattern

Before my holiday break, I promised my readers a pattern for baby booties. It was fun to work on these cutties (working on baby items is always fun for me), and surprisingly I didn’t do much unraveling and the design/pattern came out quite easely.

For the buttom part of the booties, I used single and double crochets. But for the upper part I wanted something fancier, so I used shells (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) all in same space. The same shells were used in Angels Wings Pinafore Newborn Dress, and I also used those same shells in my Newborn Hat to Match the Dress. So now I have an entire matching gift set of a dress, a hat, and a pair of booties.

You might remember me mentioning that a friend of mine was expecting a baby, and I hoped to give her this baby set. Well, my friend safely delivered her beautiful baby BOY! That’s wonderful news, but now I need to figure out something cute and useful to crochet for him.

  

Please, DO NOT repost this or any other of my patterns on other websites or blogs (however, you can use ONE picture with a LINK to the pattern on my blog). Please respect the work and time I put into creating/writing my patterns. Thank you.

Materials:

Light Worsted 100% acrylic yarn

Crochet hook US size D (note this is not the recommended size for the yarn, but usually I prefer smaller size hooks, so that my stitches come out tighter)

Two pieces of ribbon, about 20 inches each

Safety pin

Special stitches:

Shell: (2dc, ch 2, 2 dc) all in same space

dc8tog: make 8 unfinished dc, then finish them all together

Round 1: ch 17, 4 dc in 3^rd ch form hook, 13 dc across, 5 dc in last ch, 13 dc across working in original chain. Join with sl st.

Round 2: ch 3, dc in same space, 2 dc in each of next 4 dc, 13 dc, 2 dc in each of next 5 dc, 13 dc. Join with sl st.

Round 3: ch 1, sc in same st, sc in each st around. Join with sl st.

Round 4: ch 3, dc in back loop only in each sc around. Join with sl st.

Round 5: ch 3, dc in next 22 dc, {dc2tog over next 2 dc} 5 times, dc in next 13 dc. Join with sl st. Fasten off, wave in end.

Front of the bootie:

Half-round 6: On the front of the bootie locate the central stitch (it’s the 3^rd dc2tog), count 8 stitches to the right, attach yarn in 8^th st; ch 2, dc in next st, {dc2tog over next 2 st} 8 times. Turn.

Half-round 7: dc8tog over next 8 st. Turn.

Round 8: ch 3, (dc, ch 2, 2dc) all in same space, skip next half-round, shell in end of next half-round, *skip next 3 dc, shell in next dc* 6 times, shell in end of next half-round. Join with sl st to beginning shell.

Rounds 9-11: sl st to next ch-2, ch 3, (dc, ch 2, 2dc) all in same space, shell over next shell around. Join with sl st to beginning shell.

Fasten off.

Pin the safety pin into one end of the ribbon. Pass it through the open spaces in the first round of shells. Tie a bow. Trim the ribbon ends if needed.

More baby patterns from my shop:

Taking a Holiday Break

Dear Readers and fellow Bloggers,

I have to take a break from blogging till next year.

I am forced to because my computer broke down. My husband ordered the necessary parts to fix it, but unfortunately they won't arrive until January. It is a bit upsetting, but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. Perhaps staying offline during the Holiday Season will do me some good.

I won't be able to answer comments during this time, but if you have an urgent question about any of the patterns, you can send me an e-mail (I can check it and reply from my iphone).

I wish you all a heartwarming Holiday Season with your families. And may we all have lots of crochet inspiration and projects to keep our hands busy in New Year 2014!

Love and peace on earth,

Olga