Designer’s email: hiphipcrochet@yahoo.com

Designer’s website: http://hiphipcrochet.blogspot.com/

We've all done it. Fallen prey to the siren call of an impractical yarn. Something just made it irresistible; the color, the texture, the store it was in, the week’s grocery money burning a hole in your pocketbook - it could have been anything. And next thing you know, you have a few skeins of something gorgeous with no earthly idea of what to do with it.

That was the case with this yarn. Bright green, thick and thin, a little bit shiny and completely without project designation. 5 balls of it and no ideas.

I started off making a shawl but as the stitches accumulated it began requesting to be made into a shrug instead. And who am I to argue with the yarn?

After completing the shrug, I still had 2 balls left. I was debating what to do with the remainder when my dog Lucy wandered into view and inspiration struck (Lucy prefers to think of it as “that time the boss went loco for a while”). A dog shrug, of course. No matter that we live in Arizona and it's summer and Lucy is not a dog who enjoys dressing up. We were going to match. And so we did. And the idea for a completely adjustable shrug pattern was born.

You may not have enough of that special yarn to make an entire shrug, that’s ok. Use it as an edging or stripe it with something else. Your yarn may call out for a pattern stitch instead of single crochet, go for it. Heck, you may not even have a pet or small child available to wear a matching version, perfectly ok. It’s adjustable. Listen to the yarn and don’t be afraid to experiment.

This pattern is a: Crochet Pattern

Skill Level: Easy

Credits:

Pictures 1 and 2: Eva of True Epicure
Picture 3: Author
Picture 4: Melanie of Knot on Your Life

Materials:

Yarn:

The beauty of this pattern is that it will work with any yarn. I used Kartopu Melike (Melike Snowball) (from Turkey by way of ebay). It's a thick and thin bulky weight yarn, color K408, 51% wool, 31% acrylic, 18% nylon. Each ball is 100 grams, 70 yards. The human shrug used 3 balls, the canine version used 2.

Knitting Needles and Crochet Hooks:

Hook Q (16 mm)

Notions and Accessories:

Tapestry needle

Size:

Can be adjusted for any size

Finished Product Measurements:

Varies depending on personal measurements

Gauge: Varies depending on yarn used

Design Notes:

You'll need to make some measurements.

1. Elbow to elbow across the back.
2. Elbow to slightly below wrist.
3. Circumference of upper arm at widest point.

Pattern (Generic Version):

Take your upper arm measurement; this will be the width of the shrug. Depending on the stretch in your chosen yarn or pattern stitch (and how tight you’d like it to fit your arm) you may want to add an inch or two to this width.

Take the measurement from wrist to elbow; this will be the length of the increase / decrease sections.

This is the tricky part. You need to figure out how many increases you need to end at the proper width (arm circumference) and do it in the proper length (elbow to wrist measurement). Two increases every other row should be approximately right, but you may need to tweak it.

Once you have the increase section complete, work single crochet or a pattern stitch for the number of inches in your elbow to elbow measurement (you may want to add an inch or two if your yarn or stitch isn't very stretchy to give you room to move).

For the decrease section, just reverse what you did for the increase section (for example - decrease by two stitches every other row).

Fasten off.

To finish the shrug, you need to create the arms by seaming. Fold the shrug in half lengthwise. From the end of the increase or decrease section, sew the two edges together heading towards the center. You'll probably want to sew 3 or 4 inches here, remember to allow yourself room to slip it on, unless you're double jointed.

Example Pattern (My Version):

Increase Section:
Row 1: Ch 3, Sl st to first chain to make loop
Row 2: Ch 1, 3 sc into loop, turn
Row 3: Ch 1, 2 sc in first sc, sc across, 2 sc in final sc, turn (5 stitches)
Row 4: Ch 1, sc across, turn
Rows 5 -20: Repeat rows 3 and 4 (21 stitches)

Middle Section:
Single crochet across each row for 32 inches (21 stitches)

Decrease Section:
Row 1: ch 1, dec 1, sc across, dec in final two sc, turn
Row 2: ch 1, sc across, turn
Rows 3-19: repeat rows 1 and 2
Row 20: ch1, skip first sc, dec in final two sc

Fasten off

Finishing:
Fold in half lengthwise. Sew up a 4 inch seam from the widest part of the increase/decrease section going towards the center.

Example Pattern (Canine Version):

Lucy's "forearm" was 3 inches long, her "upper arm" circumference was 3 inches and her "elbow to elbow" measurement was 32 inches (same as mine…). I added an 2 inches to width (arm circumference) to make it easier to get on.

Increase Section:
Row 1: Ch 3, Sl st to first chain to make loop
Row 2: Ch 1, 3 sc into loop, turn
Row 3: Ch 1, 2 sc in first sc, sc across, 2 sc in final sc, turn (5 stitches)
Rows 4-9: Repeat row 3. (17 stitches)

Straight Section:
Single crochet across each row for 32 inches (17 stitches)

Decrease Section:
Row 1: ch 1, dec 1, sc across, dec in final two sc, turn
Row 2-9: Repeat row 1
Row 9: ch1, skip first sc, dec in final two sc

Fasten off

Finishing:
Fold in half lengthwise. Sew up a 1.5 inch seam from the widest part of the increase/decrease section going towards the center.

 

 

Extra Ideas:

Crochet a short chain on the points to use as a finger loop.
Make the whole shrug one width (no increases or decreases) and seam from the edge to make long sleeves.
Don’t seam at all and use it as a shawl.
Make the increase and decrease section shorter for a ¾ sleeve.

 

 

Meet the Designer:

Pam lives and works in the Phoenix Arizona area. Amazingly enough she goes to school at University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania at the same time where she is halfway through a Master's degree in Library and Information Science (don't be too confused, it's an online program). Pam has been crocheting for 4 years and knitting for about 3 months. She plans on continuing to do both in equal amounts, assuming she can get away from the computer for any length of time.

Lucy has lived with Pam for the last 10 years, since she was 4 months old. She was born in Pittsburgh and is well traveled, having lived in 7 different places in that time. Lucy is currently unemployed and plans on staying that way. Hobbies include stealing food, begging for food and hiding when Pam breaks out the tape measure.

You can follow Pam and Lucy's adventures and creations at their blog Hip Hip Crochet.