It took me a year, but I finally tore apart the closet to find my, untouched, beginner's crochet book and set of hooks, both gifts from last year's Christmas (compliments of my new Rans family).
What spurred on this new decision, you might ask. Well, you see, I've been wanting an infinity scarf for a while now, but buying one for $20 never felt worth it, as it rarely gets cold here on the central coast of California. I figured if I got past the discomfort of learning something new, I could have that scarf for under $5 if I just bit the bullet and learned to crochet.
After scouring Pinterest for an easy, and free, pattern, I ended up on ravelry.com (my mother-in-law's go-to crochet site) with a pattern titled the "Easiest Ever Infinity Scarf" – how could I pass that up?
Unfortunately, I found two problems right off the bat. I had never followed a crochet pattern before and I didn't have a 19 mm hook. Would that stop Natalie? No way! On the upside, I did have the correct yarn, in a lovely mustard shade, and that seemed most important to me.
I grabbed the largest hook I had (11.5 mm) and pretended I knew what all the terms meant. I was relieved to discover that the pattern was pretty darn easy. I went on crocheting until the yarn found it's end. I stretched the length of scarf out in front of me. It looked kind of short. I placed the ends together. Now it looked really short. I shrugged my shoulders and figured it was probably due to having the wrong hook size. It didn't look too bad though, so I continued on.
I wasn't quite sure how to connect the ends – what in the heck is a slip stitch!? Good ol' YouTube came in handy there. I winged it and except for the loose ends, which needed to be weaved in with a crochet needle, (which I didn't have), I felt fairly good about the end result – but I mean, how could I have gone too wrong with that lovely mustard color wrapped around my neck.
Funny thing is, I realized a few days later that I had no idea what the difference between a single crochet and double crochet was and had double crocheted instead of single crocheted the whole way round. Somehow, it turned out fine. I'll definitely laugh about it one day when I'm a pro, crocheting blankets and sweaters and what not.
Oh, yes, and I forgot to say, that I found out later on that this one-looped scarf is usually referred to as a cowl. The infinity scarf is longer and can be doubled or tripled around your neck. Therefore, I made a cowl.
(If you'd like to read more on that matter, go here.)
And keep scrolling to find this pattern.
Also, I cut my hair!
Here's the pattern!
Easiest Ever Infinity Scarf
Pattern is for for an open weave lightweight infinity scarf which takes about an hour to make. It is made with bulky (weight category 5) yarn, but could be made with worsted weight yarn as well. It is so easy the instructions are included below.
Abbreviations:
ch - Chain
sc - Single Crochet
ss - Slip Stitch
Materials:
Yarn Weight: 3.5 oz. ( a little more than half a skein) Bulky / 12 ply (7 wpi)
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Homespun yarn
Hook Size: 19 mm (S) crochet hook
Other: Blunt Yarn Needle for weaving in ends and Scissors
Finished item measures 6” wide x 60” diameter
Gauge is not important, but try to crochet loosely. The large S hook and crocheting loosely is what gives the scarf an open weave mesh look.
Pattern:
Ch 10 (If using worsted weight yarn, ch 12 or amount needed for width desired.)
Row 1: sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across to end (9 sc), turn, (DO NOT ch 1)
Row 2: sc in first sc and in each sc across to end (9 sc), turn (DO NOT ch 1)
Repeat row 2 until scarf is 60” long, (DO NOT cut yarn)
Place ends of scarf together right sides facing each other, ch 1 and ss ends together across to end. Tie off, cut yarn leaving enough tail to weave in. Weave in ends.
Tip: You can also twist the scarf before stitching the ends together to get a different hang style. I ended up altering mine later on (after these pictures were taken) to get that particular look. -Nat
Happy Crocheting!