10/23/2008

Sad news, but hey, you get a free pattern out of it!

So I recently found out that Artfibers is due to close its doors some time in January and I'm so sad! But I guess that means they won't be making a kit out of my pattern for the Manly Skull Scarf, so I decided to post it here for free, just in time for Halloween! It's a really simple scarf, worked entirely in half-double crochet (HDC).
To start, you'll need 1 skein each of white and black bernat super soft yarn and a size K crochet hook. There's some great tutorials out there for how to change colors of yarn as you work, my favorite is here. It also explains a bit about crocheting over the unused yarn. Oh, and you'll need this handy-dandy sketch I did:
Row 1: With black, chain (ch) 28.
Row 2: Skip the first 2 chains from the hook, HCD in 3rd ch from hook, HDC in each remaining ch.
Rows 3-5: Ch 2, turn. HDC in each remaining HDC.
Row 6: Ch 2, turn. HDC in next 8 sts, switch to white yarn at end of 8th st, and HDC with white in the next 10 sts, making sure to encase the black yarn so it stays with you as you work. Switch back to black and HDC in the last 8 sts.
Rows 7-22: Follow the gridded skull above, changing yarn colors accordingly. Be sure to encase the unused yarn and chain 2 before turning every row!
Rows 23-100: Ch 2, turn. HDC in black in each st.
Rows 101-117: Ch 2, turn. Work the same skull grid from the top of the skull down.
Rows 118-121: Ch 2, turn. HDC in black in each remaining st.
Bind off and enjoy!





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29 comments:

  1. This is filet crochet, right? I've never tried it before... but I would love to try this! My husband grimaces every time I mention crocheting him something, so I'd better make it something cool when I do. ;-) Thanks for posting this!

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  2. Actually this is regular crochet with 2 colors of yarn; black and white. Filet crochet is when you leave spaces to give a lace-like pattern to your crochet. Deffinately give it a try, I don't know a guy who wouldn't like to have one of these!

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  3. Anonymous12:04 PM

    Actually, this chart is identical to the skull chart in Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker book.

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  4. Actually it's 2 rows less wide and 1 row shorter. Since half double crochet is such a big stitch compared to single crochet I had to reduce the pattern, but you're right that the overall shape is the same, because I used the potholders as a base. I figured why not, since I'm not selling the pattern or anything. Hope that helps.

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  5. Anonymous11:27 PM

    Thanks for this pattern! I made one for my 24 y/o son for Christmas and he loves it, he shows it to everyone. I put black "pockets" on the back of the skulls and he likes that, too.

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  6. Awesome! I'm so glad you liked the pattern, I'd love to see a picture of your scarf!

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  7. Anonymous10:49 PM

    Love manly skull scarf. Grid is very hard to read comes out very light . I put in brand new cartridges. I do not think it not my printer. Any suggestions

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  8. Hmm... I didn't think to try to print it. Maybe if you have a freebie photo-editor like Picassa you can just stick it in there and amp up the shadows and contrast, that should to it. In the mean time, I'll do the same and reload a better photo for y'all. Thanks for letting me know!

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  9. Anonymous7:19 PM

    I'm happy to see another Cali girl who enjoys her crafts and at the same time disappointed about the store going out of business. It's the story of California these days, eh? My favorite burger place is on that list. Thank you for this wonderful pattern. I plan to use it for myself... heh I got a dark side.

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  10. Brianne12:45 PM

    I am in love with your site! I'm a crafty girl also, I sew, crochet, scrapbook, and make little decorations for around the house. I'm 21 and my boyfriend always teases me about how "Grandma" I am for working so much on these crafts. I showed him your site to prove that there's alot of people, all ages, that do cute crafty stuff! I'm so excited to have stumbled across your site! Thank you for the free patterns! I think I'm gonna make this scarf for myself ;)

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  11. I love the skull scarf....I am making my brother one - he lives in B.C. Canada
    One change I have made ::: I did the skull in that glow in the dark yarn !!
    At this point I get carried away and made a bag also....again I used the glow in the dark yarn!!
    fabulous!

    thank you so much.
    June

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  12. This will be my first time carrying a color through a pattern so I have a question. When I ch 2 at the end of the row, I will still have the white with me...I'm a little confused on how to carry an unused color to the next row. Will the white show on the sides? Does this make sense, lol? I'm afraid that the white will show on the sides where it's black and it will look "messy".

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  13. I completely understand how you feel, I asked myself the same thing when I started out. What you want to do is when you are at the edge of the skull (the white section), you leave the white yarn behind at the end of the white part. You will finish the row using only the black yarn, then do your turning chain and turn, start going back towards the skull section using only the black yarn, then pick up the white yarn once you are ready to switch back to doing the skull. Once you reach the other edge of the skull you do the same thing, leave the white behind and finish the row with just the black. Great question, I hope that helps!

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  14. Makes sense, lol. Am I supposed to see the black so much through the white part of the skull, or should I just not carry the black through? I hate to be a pain, lol.

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  15. You should definitely carry the black through otherwise you will have messy ends to weave into the finished skull inlay, but my trick for keeping the black that shows through to a minimum is this: when you reach the end of the white section and you are about to pick up and continue with the black, be sure to pull the black thread taught. If you pull it too tight it will gather the work, so what I do is pinch the far end of the row where you started the white part, pull the black string until it is taught, and then continue working, being careful not to pull too much on the black for those first few stitches. I hope that makes sense! I have a picture of the finished skull in this post: http://diyods.blogspot.com/2008/05/wip-weekend.html so you can see how much the colors show through with my version.

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  16. LOVE it!! I'll have to see if I can fit this project in SOMEWHERE! Thanks for sharing your pattern! ~tina

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  17. Anonymous8:28 PM

    Always great to find crafts and patterns for my boys. Little girls always get to show off cutesy homemade fun goodies but it's so hard to find cool stuff for the boys. THIS is perfect! Thanks for the pattern I can't wait to make these for my guys.

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  18. Polina8:15 AM

    First, I love your design and thank you so much for sharing it! Second, I am very new to following crochet patterns, so forgive me if I am missing something really simple. But I don't understand a couple of things in the instructions. It says to start out with 28 chains but then once you start on the skull design, it says to do 26 stitches (8+10+8). How does that work out? Also, if I do the chain 2 at the end of the rows before turning I end up with 29 stitches by the 5th row. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? I tried just doing 1 chain before turning and that seems like it might keep my number of stitches even at 28. But I'm still confused how I'm following the directions incorrectly.

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  19. The reason you chain 28 and only end up working 26 stitches is because you skip the first 2 chains at the beginning of the first row, which acts like a turning chain. This is the usual way to start a flat piece, so if you have trouble with any other pieces this is an important thing to remember.
    And when you work a 2-stitch turning chain at the end of every row, I know a lot of new crocheters accidentally pick up and crochet into the turning chain, which will give you extra stitches. My suggestion is to very carefully count your stitches in the finished row before you do a turning chain. I know they can be hard to see in the black yarn, but it will be worth it! I hope this helps!
    I will put this note into the pattern too.

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  20. Oh, I realized it was already kind of written there, when in row 2 it says "HDC in second chain from hook". I suppose that should actually say third from hook... fixing it!

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  21. Polina7:55 PM

    Thanks so much for your suggestions! It turns out I was stitching into the turning chains because I was trying to go for the 2nd chain. I re-started and it has been going great with the pattern.

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  22. What weight is the yarn?

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  23. Standard worsted weight shiny/soft acrylic.

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  24. Anonymous4:35 PM

    Heya! I know this is sort of off-topic but I had to ask. Does running a well-established blog such as yours require a lot of work? I am brand new to operating a blog but I do write in my journal every day. I'd like to start a blog so I will be able to share my own experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any recommendations or tips for new aspiring blog owners. Thankyou!

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  25. Hooray! I love it! I'm making one in black and white for my boyfriend, one in Steelers black and gold for my dad, one in red and black for my brother, and 2 in black and pink for me and my mom. I'm am going too be BUSY! Thank you!

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  26. I'm so glad to hear that everyone is having so much fun with this pattern! I almost feel like I should do a color carrying tutorial to help out, anyone else think this might be good?

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  27. Anonymous3:50 PM

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  28. Just found this. It's super cute and I can't wait to make it for my husband for Christmas!

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  29. What's the finished length?

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