Chrochet Braided Infinity Scarf - Free Pattern

Crochet Braided Infinity Scarf - Free Pattern Below!

I have a sick obsession with my Pinterest boards. It's like what Reddit is for my husband, but mine is actually productive (oops! did I say that?!). But I, like so many other people on Pinterest, pin amazing things that I may never do, but hope to some day. Most Saturadays or lazy mornings I can be found in bed, with a cup of coffee or tea, and my iPad open to Pinterest just pinning away - usually an episode of Pioneer Woman on TV to further my pinning. 

So one of the things I have pinned on my Pinterest crochet board (http://www.pinterest.com/allisonsavoy/) was a braided infinity scarf - supper pretty and instantly pinnable.  If you haven't seen one search for it on Pinterest. They would make a stylish gift for any lovely lady you know ... like yourself!

Seriously.

This weekend I organized and inventoried my yarn stash because JoAnn's was have a sale this weekend I couldn't miss - not that you should miss any good sale, but this was the holy grail of sales combined with coupons.  And much to my hubby's dismay I wanted to load up on yarn for the fall.  So as I was going through my yarn stash and found some Bernat yarn that I had scored on sale at JoAnn's a while back - no joke it was $0.97 per skein. Sorry, Macklemore, I did NOT need to go thrift store shopping because JoAnn's knows how to mark 'em down!

If only every trip to JoAnn's began this way...

It is Bernat Mosaic in the shade called Aura (http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/bernat-mosaic) - I thought it was really pretty (and so soft which are two criteria for any yarn unless it is for someone you don't like), but at the time I purchased it just didn't have the right project for it which is the case for most yarn we purchase.  We go "oooo pretty! I'll find a project for you ... later." Then go back to Pinterest ... I diverge....



Some goes for yarn. If you get cheap yarn then you know how I feel about you...

Well, as I was basking in the glory my reunion with the Mosaic yarn an idea took hold - this yard would be perfect for the braided scarf I want to make! Pinterest inspiration is born! Doncha love it when that happens? Some people are pinner to their boards and other create from them -- guess which we are?!


So pretty! What a lovely discovery in my yarn collection!

I did a little research (Pinterest) and settled on writing my own pattern that worked for me and what I wanted to achieve which was awesomeness. But awesomeness has to be carefully crafted by taking the best ideas you can find through your research. At least that is what grad school taught me. 

Lucky you can skip all that research and pinning -- ok just the research -- because I have written the pattern out below along with some tips and tricks because someone has to learn from my mistakes. I don't claim to know it *all* for this pattern - despite my amazing research. So please feel free to leave a comment if you have a suggestion of how to improve the pattern just make sure you use your indoor voice.

Difficulty: Easy ... and you're thinking "ok what does she REALLY mean?" It is easy if you have done a few pieces and feel comfortable with crochet. Not a beginners piece, but if you're good at this you'll get it done in no time bar the sewing to make it an infinity scarf.

Materials:
Yarn: I used the Bernat Mosaic in Aura which is a medium weight yarn. If you go with a bulkier weight yarn you will need to make a smaller foundation chain so just keep that in mind (about 50 inches is what I would aim for on average). I used two skeins of the Bernat Mosaic which is 209 yards (191 meters) each so a total of 418 yards (382 meters) - always buy more than you need ... as if I had to tell you that. I had yarn left over (yes!) so it'll give you plenty of medium weight yarn.
Hook: This yarn called for a size H or 5.00mm hook
Yarn needles, clothes pins.

Stitches:
The only stitch you need to know for this pattern is a double crochet. You can sub out any stitch you'd like though (half double, single, triple, back post stitch, etc.).

**Variation idea: (this is just bonus) If you go with a bulkier yarn then I would do a back post stitch-like pattern to give it a knit look. Might come off looking very Katniss-like from Catching Fire. You can see what this looks like in my blog about this stitch that I used on a blanket.(http://chateaudesavoy.blogspot.com/2014/06/chunky-back-post-stitch-masculine.html)

Other tips about this pattern:
The basics of this pattern is you are making three mini scarves then braid them together, but the scarves are not made quite like you'd think. The foundation chain will represent the length of the scarf then you add about 5 rows to create the width of the scarf. Different because I know most scarves I make a small foundation chain to represent my width then just keep on adding rows till I get the desired length. Nope! This different technique give the scarf a different, but awesome, look.

To start, chain 200 which gives your first mini scarf a length of about 50 inches. Again, chain less if you want a shorter scarf and chain more if you want it longer. At the bottom is a picture of myself to give you perspective - I'm about 5'2" if that helps.

Ok, it was really 51" but you don't need to be exact! And guess what? My foundation chain is not near as pretty as those pictures from the pros - feel better now doncha?

 Rows 1: On your foundation chain, chain another two and then double crochet into the second chain from the hook - you will do 200 double crochets, chain two, then turn. Now as you do this you may noticed that your double crochets are curling up (see below) - there are a few ways to prevent this. First crochet your foundation chain very loosely you high anxiety person! Another technique that've been known to employ is to use a bigger hook like one letter up (in this case an I or even a J if you're a REALLY tight crocheter). Now I did a loose foundation chain and this still happened, but it disappeared the further I got - so just keep on going and if it doesn't look good you can always rip it out! There are many projects that don't really start to take shape until I get a few rows or rounds in.



Just make a loose foundation chain and the curl won't stick around after a few rows

Rows 2 - 5: Repeat the same thing you did in row 1. And don't forget to turn in a good TV show or movie you can listen to while crochet. I recommend a good BBC Masterpiece miniseries to make you feel sophisticated, but that's really up to you!
Row 6: This step is optional, I didn't like how the foundation chain left the scarf looking unbalanced (something that always bothers me when I finish a project) so I did one last row of slip stitches all the way across before fastening off.

Here's what my first scarf looked like:

One down two more to go!!

Do this entire pattern two more times to get three mini scarves. What you have might look like this:

I love how they are all different even though my OCD/perfectionist side is twitching a bit.

Now comes the tricky part - putting it all together. I'll share with you what I did and what I would improve - take what you want from it! First I sewed in all the tails on the scarves.

Lay your scarves out on a flat surface and figure out what order you want them in - if it's all one color this may not make a difference, but when we make out projects WE know the difference between the scarves because WE made them. Before I started braiding them I realized it might be a good idea to connected all of them together (picture below) - looking back on this you probably don't HAVE to, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. So across the top I did a single crochet. Hindsight, I might do a double crochet so it's a little more sturdy easier to connect to make the infinity part of the scarf, but I didn't want a huge seam so I went with a single crochet. Heck, you could even do a slip stitch! Again, connected them across the top is optional, but I thought it would keep everything together -- including my sanity!

Optional, but may help your sanity - especially if you are not coordinated like me - connecting them across the top with a single crochet before you start braiding them.

After connecting them, you can fasten it off. I didn't do that right away because I'm great at second guessing myself -- I mean I wanted to make sure that I kept the yarn attached incase I wanted to use it for connected the opposite ends of the scarves.

Next, I took something heavy - I had a Panini press! (my husband thought I was nuts, but hey, he married me!).  The Panini press (which was clean!) was used to hold down the connected scarves while I braided them. Again, optional, but it helped me and my uncoordinated ways.

Weight it down and start braiding! It's like I'm combining my two favorite hobbies - crochet and cooking - but I'm not gaining any calories!

I wasn't too tight with braiding them, and it takes a while to find how tight you want it. If you're a perfectionist this will drive you up the wall and you'll probably redo it ten times. Seriously. I was able to restrain myself to just five tries. Looking back I might try to braid a little tighter, but the tighter I did it I noticed the more the individual scarves start to curl. Don't fret over it too much - after all this is a hobby that should make you relaxed and happy!

Happy little scarves being braided. I braided loosely and tried not to re-do it too much!

But once you get the braiding looking the way you want it try to make the ends of the braid all line up.

Get the to line up as best you can. It's ok if one is longer or shorter than the other because once you sew the opposite ends together ... no one will ever know! Crochet is so forgiving!

Next, I used some clothes pins I had on hand to keep the braid together while I flipped it up to where my Panini press is holding down the other end. Because if that braid came undone I was going to come undone as well - I had it just the way I wanted it!

I pinned it (literally - not on Pinterest!) together so that it wouldn't come undone.

Now, take your project (you can have a seat and resume watching your BBC Masterpiece miniseries) and carefully sew the ends together using your yarn needle and about a foot or so of yarn of the same color. Make sure your yarn is not attached to the skein. Again, hindsight I might have kept the yarn attached at the top where I made the single crochet so I could just use that to sew the opposite ends together. Options! Options!

My first go and sewing these together - I'd probably do it a little differently next time. Just use your yarn needle to sew in and out of the stitches.

I'll be honest and say I just took my yarn needle and sewed both ends together by weaving my needle with yarn in and out of the ends of the scarves. However, I recommend taking your clothes pinned end and matching them up to make another braid. Here's what I mean, looking at the picture below, I would have taken the top left scarf and matched it up to the bottom right scarf and so on so that it created one more braid to be sewn together. You can do it my way, but you definitely have a seam that you'll want to hide with your hair. --Like I said! I'm perfecting this! If you have a better way of doing this PLEASE SHARE! Sharing is caring!

Sew the ends into the single crochet row. I probably would have sewn the ends together differently now so that it looked like one more braid - live and learn!

Guess what? You're done! That's it! Aside from getting the scarves braided and sewn together this is a super easy project that only mildly tests your sanity. So what's next? Make another one using a different stitch or a different type of yarn! Use multiple colors! Do five small scarves instead of three bigger ones! The possibilities are endless!! And if you needed a stylish gift for "that" friend/family member who is always changing their wardrobe - they'll love this! Or maybe that's you!

Pretty! Pretty!

I wish you luck and leave questions or suggestions in the comments. Thanks!

Crochet designer and model! Just kidding, but why not show off my beautiful creation?! Happy crocheting!