Looks Like Rain

When I made my Marguerite blanket, it was part of a CAL (crochet-a-long). Joining a group on social media was a great way to help each other out with tips and advice and to see how yarn choices and design tweaks progressed into beautiful individual blankets. This was one of my favourites. I loved Tina’s granny style joining method, the cheerful colours and how the combinations of solid and variegated yarn changed the look of the motifs completely.

I began following Tina’s Allsorts on Instagram and when she posted that she wanted crochet pattern testers for her latest scarf design, I was between projects and put my hand up. Pattern testing benefits both parties. In return for receiving a free pattern, you make up the item (obviously in a timely fashion), taking notes as you go. The designer collates feedback from testers and makes any final adjustments to the pattern before publishing in confidence.

‘Looks Like Rain’ is the name of the scarf and last week, it sure did. It rained and rained and rained! Coincidentally the yarn I used is a shade of Skies by Scheepjes, the lighter weight version of the indigo-dyed cotton yarn I used on the Marguerite blanket. I needed two 100g hanks of this shade no.3 (Cumulus) with a 3.75mm hook.

The pattern is suitable for an ambitious beginner, depending on the border chosen. It’s easy to follow and works up quickly. It’s made of three sections starting with a long piece in an eyelet pattern.

Next you add rows on the shaped edge. You don’t ever have to break off your yarn so no pesky ends to sew in (big cheers!).

Finally you add your choice of border. There’s instructions for two different ones included and I opted for the pom-pom as I’d never tried this stitch before. They are cuuute! You’ll need to go down a hook size or two for this. I used a 3.25mm.

After a wash, it was time to block. So tedious but so worth it to open out the stitches and keep the border looking uniform.

About a billion pins later….

I like a generous scarf so mine is about 2m long. Pretty hard to get into a photo though!

This is such a versatile pattern. You can get so many looks by changing the yarn, length, border and styling. Take a look at some of the variations so far here on Instagram . There’s an option for a shorter scarf that you could make from just one 100g skein, perhaps a lovely luxury drapey soft merino?  I particularly like the beaded picot border and the one with the fringes.

My cotton yarn gave a little more structure so was great for styling various ways.

It finally stopped raining for my photos – note the cumulus clouds! I think I might have to treat myself to a nice shawl pin, although I found the and pom-poms and eyelets acted like button and button-holes to keep it in place!

This below might be my favourite styling. It looks kind of Edwardian.

Tina’s pattern is for sale here on Ravelry. Until the end of June 2019 there’s a 40% discount offer – so be quick!