One of the things I love about March (in addition to St. Patrick’s Day, with which I have always had a love/hate relationship as the mother of an Irish dancer) is that it’s National Crochet Month.
Marie at Underground Crafter has done her usual amazing job organizing 31 CGOA member designers for the month – one for each day. I picked St. Patrick’s Day – couldn’t help myself 🙂
So here is the Aslant Cowl, a brand new free pattern! I absolutely love the stitch pattern I used here, it’s completely reversible and really easy to learn.
I used not quite two skeins of Millefiori from Berroco, in color 7859, purchased at Cheers to Ewe yarn shop in Charlotte, NC. Those of you know know me well know I don’t purchase a whole lot of yarn but I saw this on the shelf and it just leapt into my basket. The colors practically glow and I love it! It’s an Aran weight (so on the heavy side of Worsted or the lighter side of Bulky), 50% wool/50% acrylic, and has 100g/186 yds per skein. I also used a size 7/4.50mm hook from Laurel Hill, which I will talk more about later in the post!
Notes:
Ch-3 counts as 1 dc.
When working the dc in a skipped ch or st, hold the working yarn behind the work so the slant shows on both sides. Do NOT pull the stitch too tight or it will ruin the fabric!
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Cowl:
Ch 32.
Row 1: Dc in 5th ch from hook and in each of next 2 ch, dc in 4th ch from hook (see note), *dc in each of next 4 ch, sk 1 ch, dc in each of next 3 ch, dc in skipped ch. Rep from * across, dc in last ch. Ch 1, turn. 30 dc
Row 2: Sc in each dc across. Ch 3, turn. 30 sc
Row 3: *Dc in each of next 4 sc, sk 1 sc, dc in each of next 3 sc, dc in skipped sc. Rep from * to last 5 sc, dc in each of last 5 sc. Ch 1, turn.
Row 4: Rep Row 2.
Row 5: Sk next sc, dc in each of next 3 sc, dc in skipped sc, *dc in each of next 4 sc, sk 1 sc, dc in each of next 3 sc, dc in skipped dc. Rep from * across, dc in last sc. Ch 1, turn.
Rep Rows 2 – 5 until work measures approximately 35″ from start, ending with a Row 4. End off.
Finishing:
Sew two short sides together, twisting one side 180 degrees to put in a mobius twist for an infinity scarf. You can also seam it straight if you prefer but then you have to repeat the edging instructions below on each side instead of one continuous side.
Edging:
Rnd 1: Work one round of sc all the way around the mobius. Join rnd with sl st in first sc, ch 1.
Rnd 2: Crab st/rev sc all the way around the mobius. Join rnd with sl st in first st. End off.
Weave in all ends; Block.
Now let’s talk about that hook!
Laurel Hill sent me a hook specifically to use in this post and to see how I liked it. I liked it a lot!
First point – I am an open throat hook kind of girl. I can crochet with either style but given a choice, I prefer the open throat (some of us call it a Bates-style head as compared to a Boye-style or closed throat head).
I enjoyed the weight of it – it’s very light.
I have never enjoyed the hooks with the big fat handles. I know a lot of you do and more power to you but those don’t suit me, so it was great to get a wooden hook in my hand that I liked using.
I liked the feel of it – it’s beautifully polished so there were zero snags, which I might have had happen on a yarn like Millefiori because it is not tightly plied.
I liked the narrowing of the head so it’s almost pointy – I feel like that makes it easier to get the hook in the stitch where it belongs, and that narrow end is incredibly helpful for loosely spun or novelty yarns.
The only type of stitcher to whom I may not recommend this hook as a first choice is what I call a “digger” – someone who shoves their hook very deeply into the stitch. Because the width of the hook tapers from the front, where the gauge magic happens, up to the thumb rest, I think if you dig into your stitches you may push too far up the hook and have issues achieving gauge. Of course if you ARE a digger and love these hooks as much as I did – get several so you can experiment with which hook size gets you the gauge you like!
Thanks for stopping by – and be sure to check out the rest of the patterns and enter for the prizes on the International Crochet Month Designer Showcase!
