Warm and Stripey Scarf

I'm still working on posting all the Christmas gifts I made this year, so next up is the scarf I made for my other favorite brother-in-law.

I made this scarf using Lion Brand Jiffy Solids in Wine and Black and a K (6.5 mm) hook. I just wanted a straight forward striped scarf, so rather than use a pattern, I decided to improvise my own.

Ch 191 in first color.
Row 1: Dc in fourth ch from hook, dc across, turn.
Row 2: Add second color, ch 2, sc across, turn.
Row 3: Carrying first color up the side of the scarf, switch to first color. Ch 3, dc across.
Row 4: Carrying second color up the side of the scarf, switch to second color. Ch 2, sc across.
Repeat rows three and four until the scarf is as wide as desired.
To finish, work two rows of single crochet into the sides the stitches on each end of the scarf.

The thing is, once I got started, I realized I don't really know the right way to switch colors like this. So I just kind of made stuff up. Then, I worked two rows of single crochet in black into the side of the stitches on each end to cover up whatever I did. The end result looks nice, I think. Still, I'd rather do what I'm doing intentionally, not to cover a lack of knowledge. So, I've made a New Year's resolution to learn how to (correctly) change colors.

Curly Scarf Part Two

My friend Sonya is one of the biggest fans of my crafts. When I showed her my first crocheted scarf, she said, "Cool! When are you going to make me one?" So, I made this one for her. (That's basically how she's ended up with several things I've made in the past as well.)

Like the one I made for myself, the pattern is the pattern is the Ruffled Skinny Scarf by Kim Biddix from the book I Taught Myself Crochet. I used Red Heart Shimmer in Hot Pink for the yarn. You can't see the shimmer very well in the picture above, but it's just the right amount to add a little sparkle without being too flashy.

You can see just a touch of it here.

Curly Crochet Scarf

Since my newly learned crochet skills are a large part of what's made me decide to start this blog, I thought it would be appropriate to make my first regular post about my first crochet project. I made this back in December, after getting some basic crochet supplies and books from my grandmother for Christmas.

The pattern is the Ruffled Skinny Scarf by Kim Biddix from the book I Taught Myself Crochet. I used Caron Simply Soft Solids in Pistachio. I made my scarf a little longer than described in the pattern by adding an extra 10 chain stitches to the base chain.

This was a great pattern to get me started. It's pretty easy, creating the ruffle just by increasing in each row. It worked up quickly, so I got to finish my first project in a few days and start showing off right away. I was so excited, I did my nails to match (you can also see more pictures of that on my nail blog Digit Decor).