Tangled in Knots

In keeping with Christmas tradition, I created another animal themed gift for my family's gift exchange.  This time I created a pig scarf, hoping that my pig-loving aunt would end up with this gift.  Because everyone knew she wanted the scarf, a game of keep away started making this Christmas's gift exchange even more memorable that last year.  And luckily everyone was nice enough to let her have it in the end.

I got my inspiration from this pattern available on Etsy, but I designed the scarf on my own and I'm not sure that I could recreate one that looks just like it.  I also followed the advice from this blog post in making a curly tail.  The scarf is made completely out of half double crochet and a soft pink yarn.  The most complicated part was making the nose look realistic.  I used small black buttons for the eyes and gave the pig two 3-D ears and four legs.

This series of scarves are all of the variegated scarves that I have made for my mother throughout the years.  Some of these yarns she picked out herself and others I picked for her.  None of these patterns are unique or difficult.  The two on the right are made in all single crochet and the two on the left are made in all double crochet.

The first scarf is made out of a Red Heart variegated yarn of tans, light blues, greens, and browns.  This was the first scarf I made for my mom and it is at least 8 years old now.  This was also at the point when I put tassels on every scarf that I made.

The second scarf is made out of a I Love This Yarn! variegated yarn of dark purples, burgundies, and teal.  I chose this yarn because I loved the combined colors and again I added the tassels.

The third scarf is made out of a really old Red Heart yarn that my mom found in some old yarn a family friend had.  This yarn is called Fiesta Jewel and is made up of blues, tans, clays, reds, and purples.

The last scarf is made with Lion Brand yarn which was soft, but it was difficult to tell if I had made it to the end of a row.  It was also difficult to take the yarn out as the yarn has an invisible thread holding it together that would often get tangled in with a previous stitch.  It did make a beautiful fall scarf with greens, browns, oranges, and burgundies.

I made this scarf for my husband back in the Fall of 2008.  Making scarves for men is often difficult because so often my crochet stitches appear very lacy.  I was able to make the scarf more masculine by using a slightly smaller crochet hook so there would be smaller holes between stitches.  I also used double crochet stitches and instead of creating two chain stitches at the end of every row before the turn, I only created one chain stitch.

He's worn the scarf enough for it to show some slight wear, so it's probably time for me to make him a new one.

I made a second scarf for Becca 3-4 years ago when I was a bored graduate student and I found this beautiful pink yarn.  This scarf is made entirely out of double crochet and crocheted widthwise.

I made this scarf about 9 years ago when my new college friend Becca asked for a white scarf for Christmas so that she could wear it with her beautiful new coat and her favorite pink and blue sweaters.  This scarf was made using only single crochet stitches and was crocheted widthwise.

I made this hat, mitten, and scarf set for my friend before she left Alabama for Delaware.  This set was made out of a lime green baby yarn, and I trimmed the edges of the hat and gloves with a snow white yarn.  I've long since lost the pattern that I used for the mittens and hat, but I found a similar pattern for the hat.  I'll also provide a hat pattern that is probably my favorite hat pattern, the Divine Hat.  The scarf was made by crocheting the width of the scarf in double crochet.

I made this scarf 4-5 years ago and is one of the only scarves that I've made with wool-blend yarn.  I loved the color with the brown, pink, and green variegation and this yarn was incredibly soft.  Since it's been a long time I have to guess at the pattern, but I think this scarf is made entirely of double crochet stitches, stitched for the length of the scarf rather than the width.

Ana has received quite a few of my scarves throughout the years, and you can definitely see some improvement in the quality of my stitches.  Here is the third scarf I made for my friend.

To make this scarf, I created a row of chains the length of the scarf.  After my first double crochet in the chain row, I repeated the pattern of one chain, (skipping the next chain stitch) double crochet in the chain.  I continued the pattern until I reached the end of the chain stitch.  I repeated the same process for Row 2, making sure I had a double crochet in every double crochet on the row before.  To get the to appropriate width, I made at least 5 rows with double crochets in every double crochet and every chain stitch.  To finish the scarf, I repeated rows 1 and 2 to make the scarf symmetrical.

Similar to Ana's Scarf I, I created this scarf using single crochet, but instead of making rows of single crochet along the width of the scarf, I made rows of single crochet along the length of the scarf.  I used my M size hook to make this a more lacy looking scarf than the first Ana's scarf.

This scarf was made by single crocheting across a row of chain stitches that were set to the wanted width of the scarf.  The row of single crochet was repeated until I got to the desired length.   I used Red Heart Baby Clouds Yarn in Water Baby for this cool green color.  I found this yarn very difficult to deal with because of an invisible thread that ran through the center of the yarn.  This also made it very difficult to take out stitches to make a mistake.  Regardless, the scarf came out very soft and warm.

I made this houndstooth scarf for my mother so she could show her Crimson Tide pride at work before game day.  I adapted this houndstooth scarf from a pattern for a dog's scarf.  Basically I increased the width and length by adding more stitches and rows.  The pattern itself is very simple.  Make a chain the length that you would like your scarf to be.  In the second chain stitch from the hook single crochet.  In the next chain stitch double crochet.  Continue this pattern until you reach the end of your chain.  Tie off.  Attach your second color of choice to the same side you began your first row of alternating single and double crochets.  For the remaining rows alternate your pattern.  So in every double crochet you will make a single crochet and in every single crochet you will make a double crochet. Always start your new row from the same side of the scarf and continue alternating colors until you have achieved the width you desire.

This scarf was made with a Light Raspberry Red Heart Yarn.  It was made by creating a row of chains to the total length of the scarf.  Then a double crochet was made in every third stitch with two chains in between.

Once that row was completed, 6 rows of single crochet were created with two single crochets in each chain stitch hole that was created in the first row.  For the last row, the same pattern as the first row was followed with a double crochet in every third stitch.

This was one of the first scarves I ever created and is probably the best pattern for a beginner to practice.  It was created with a Baby White Red Heart Fiesta Yarn.

Chain across 17 stitches, then in the second stitch from the hook, single crochet all of the way to the end of the chain.  Chain one and turn.  Continue this pattern for the length desired.

To add the tassels simply cut the strings to double the desired length.  Fold in half.  Combine as many strings as you wish.  Put the needle through the end of the scarf.  Loop the tassel strings over the needle and pull through the scarf.  Pull the loose strings through the loop created to create a knot.  Repeat the tassel tying process until you have as many tassels as you like