For my sister

This is one of my favourite items made this Christmas. It was for my sister in law and made out of cotton yarn as she cannot always wear wool next to the skin.  Using cotton gave better stitch definition which I think works well with this design.

I love the effect of little crocheted squares all sewn together but hate the effort involved! So I came up with this seamless version instead. It was a little fiddly but way less seaming and a lot less ends to sew in.

I added the scalloped edge to pretty it up a bit, but without looked good too.

Pattern

The scarf is constructed by crocheting two threads together at once. (For a demo swatch see my tutorial here.)  There are 5 balls of yarn which run lengthways along the scarf and two larger balls which run across the scarf. Each square is 5dc wide and 3 rows high.
You will need 380m of coloured yarn and 310 m white yarn, both for hook size approx. 3.5mm. I used Rowan Cotton Glace in Nightshade (every scrap of 3 balls) and Patons 100% cotton 4ply (1 ball but more if you are adding the scalloped edging).

Use a 5mm size hook (the yarns will be crocheted together. Unless you have lots of yarn available and can use separate balls, divide the yarn as follows:

• Wind the coloured yarn into 4 balls with a ratio of 2:2:2:5.
• Wind the white yarn into 3 balls with a ratio of 2:2:5.

To keep the yarn from tangling, I threaded each of the smaller balls through holes on a laundry crate I had handy. You could make holes in an old (clean) cardboard box or similar. Alternate the colours as in the photo.

Lengthways balls of yarn kept tidy in a crate

Special stitch: modified double crochet: dc’
Used to change thread colours between the different squares. You may find this video useful (but note on this scarf you only drop one of the two threads), or check out my photo tutorial here.
Yarn over hook, insert hook in next st, draw up a loop, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook (2 loops left on hook). Drop the lengthways running yarn and pick up the next thread of lengthways yarn, holding it together with the acrossways yarn. Complete the dc’: yarn over hook, draw through 2 loops, 1 loop left on hook.

Begin with the coloured yarn and hold it together with the first ball of coloured yarn so that you are crocheting a double thickness of yarn all in the same colour.

After 2 rows

Chain 25.
Row 1: ch 2 (counts as one dc), turn, dc in 3rd ch from hook, 2dc in next 2 chain, *dc’ in next chain, 4dc in next 4 ch, repeat from * 3 more times, dc (25 sts, in 5 sets of 5).
Row 2: ch 2, turn, 3dc, *dc’, 4dc, repeat from * 3 more times, dc (25 sts).
Row 3: ch 2, turn, 3dc, *dc’, 4dc, repeat from * 3 more times. For the final stitch, make a dc’ but drop the accrossways yarn out and pick up the next accrossways yarn colour (25 sts).
Row 4 and 5: repeat row 2
Row 6: repeat row 3
Continue in pattern until the scarf is the desired length finishing on a row number divisible by 3 so that the last block of squares looks complete. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Tips: I would advise weaving in ends as you go. Make sure when you turn your work that you reverse the turn made previously to avoid twisting the yarns which run longitudinally.

Front of work detail

Reverse of work showing where longitudinal threads are picked up into the next row.

Scalloped Edging

Scalloped edge detail

I used this to finish off the ends of my scarf but you could work it all the way around the edge if desired.
Using two strands of white yarn, join to the first st and ch 1 (counts as 1 sc).
Row 1: sk 1 st, 6dc in next st, sk 1 st, sc, *sc, sk 1 st, 6dc in next st, sk 1 st, sc, repeat from * to end, (40sts) ch1, turn.
Row 2: *1sc,2sc,1sc, repeat from *, sl-st, [sl-st, **1sc, 2sc, 1sc, repeat from**, sl-st] repeat [] 3 more times to end (50sts).
Fasten off and weave in ends. Block as desired.

End result