Pattern Book Review: Tipped Double Scarf by Eileen Trommel

Tipped Doubles Scarf by Eileen Troemel


This is a short and sweet pattern. The result is a 3D-looking pattern that does, as stated in the description, work very nicely with a variegated yarn. I didn't have the right hook for the gauge (too small), so I added an extra 4 chain to the start to add one more pattern group to the mix. That worked out to just right, about 6 inches wide.

I would recommend this to folks who are already comfortable with how to read crochet patterns and who know basic stitches like chain, double crochet, and slip stitch. I think that even beginners, if they have the basics down, would be able to work this project.

Also, the result was so thick, even with a regular worsted weight yarn. I think it could be scaled up very nicely to a shawl or even a blanket. I made a companion hat for my scarf using the brim and bottom of my Nifty Knit Hat (in knit) and the pattern row from this book; they actually fit together pretty nicely.

Anyway, this is a neat pattern and has potential for other creative projects.

I purchased my copy of this book on Smashwords.

This is a single crochet pattern, so don't be surprised when the front matter of the ebook takes you to 50%.

Buy on Smashwords  |  Add on Goodreads

Pictures:

A few rows in with one extra pattern group added for width.

The pattern looks interesting from this angle.

Close up to show the depth.

My scarf, nearly complete.

Learning Broomstick Lace. There's even a video!

Broomstick Lace

Description
Broomstick lace is an interesting stitch that appears to defy gravity. It balances some level of sturdiness due to the single crochets against the openwork of the lace due to the twists.

I'd heard of it before, but decided to give it a go when I found a pattern for it I actually understood. It's not as daunting as it seems.

As always, when I'm trying to learn something new, I make something rectangular. In this case, a couple of baby blankets seemed perfect. Not too big, not too small.

As for gear, this stitch does require something a little more than a normal crochet project, as the name implies. They do sell broomstick lace pins, but for my exploratory foray into the stitch, I went with something a little more old school: a bamboo bo staff. As in for Taekwondo or Karate. I ended up using mine, rather than my son's because the ends of mine were cleaner and less well used. 

I found it to be a little be tough to use, ergonomically, a bit too long, but after making a second blanket using the proper pin, I brought the results to work. Folks tended to like the more open lace the bo staff generated.

Anyhow, if you want to give it a go, I'd recommend picking up a good book on it or checking for patterns online. Still, those will only give you a couple of drawings and may leave some things to be desired, like knowing what right looks like.

Luckily, I took some snapshots as I went.



Stitches used
Chain (ch)
Single Crochet (sc)
Broomstick lace, which uses single crochet and loops cast on to a stick or pin.

The broomstick lace stitch involves two passes for each row. 

First pass, cast loops on to the stick from left to right, one for each stitch below. Another way of looking at this is to draw a loop up through the stitch, but make it big and slide it up onto the stick. Be careful not to twist the loops or face them in different directions as that will affect the appearance.

Second pass, slide five loops off of the stick at a time and single crochet 5 times across the loops. This will twist the loops sideways.

I used two strategies to keep the loops steady while crocheting across them.

With the bo staff project, I had to pull the loops completely off and hold the loops with my thumb and forefinger, twisting and eventually holding the loop bundle open by sticking my thumb in there.

With the broomstick lace pin, it was easier to leave the loops on at the tapered end (because it has a tapered end lol) and use that as my "thumb" until I had enough singles on there to hold the work for me. The downside to this approach was the tendency for the stitches to lean to one side.


Scaling
With the 10 inch broomstick lace pin and the bo staff, I made two blankets, each casting on 90 stitches. That seemed to be the capacity for the pin.

If you want to scale it up or down, go by fives. Each broomstick lace stitch builds on the five stitches below it.


Ideas
Scarves/wraps
Baby blankets
Regular blankets (if you're really frisky and have a big stick)

Experimentation...Open Work in Tunisian Crochet

Since my last post, I've been experimenting with Tunisian crochet, trying to figure our how to work in a little open work. Also, working out ways to use the stitch without it curling up so much.

Here are some of my results.

Love this one. Turned into a long, wide scarf with tight work and a lovely square looking pattern. Alternates between a regular row and a row where it skips every stitch, alternating whether it starts with the third or fourth stitch being the first skip. This leaves a two stitch border on each end.

Such a clean pattern. Very soothing and regular. Would be great for a satchel, too, I think.

The back looks just like knitting.

And this one, without the stabilizing normal row, same alternating skipped stitch rows. Ended up looking like chainmail. It's a bit stretchy and seems like it could deform, but it's a nice bouncy result. I took some shots of my attempt to do it again, having forgotten to write it down the first time. 



Came out with a nice border row, didn't curl a lot, but the weight of the project (a long scarf) helped. Didn't turn out well with the springy grey yarn. Hence this is what I chose to use. 

Work as so to draw up loops over open spots.

 Where you insert the hook to draw up and from what direction you insert has vastly different effects.



Reverse pass, you create the spaces over the skipped stitches by adding an extra ch between.  Each row, you swap 3rd and 4th stitch as the first skipped stitch. Basically working up loops only from previous row's open.

And then I went fuzzy, and made two scarves using variations of these.  Here's the first, a slight variation of the grey one. Patterns aren't as noticeable with the fuzzy stuff, so I didn't alternate the start of the skipped stitches.

 

Made some nice vertical lines on this.

The second, which I'm still working on, uses dc on the open work rows to create wider open work. I draw the loops on that one by inserting the hook under the 2 ch as for normal crochet. Instead of one normalizing regular row, I did 3 between each open row. As a scarf, I thought having too much openwork might be detrimental to the point of having a scarf.

Big holes, and the Boucle yarn is so fuzzy and bouncy. Tried it with alternating opens, but it looked funky with the bigger openings. So, they are all lined up.

Well, that's what I've been up to. I've made a dent in my yarn stash, but there's plenty more. I still want to start a blanket, but it's a wee bit hot out to do that just yet.

Happy crocheting!