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Reversible Scarf (free pattern)
Ruffled Water Bottle (free pattern)
Unisex Hat (free pattern)
Foundation Stitch (instructions)
Crocheting With Novelty Yarns (tips/advice)
REVERSIBLE SCARF
Copyright 2005 by Karen Klemp
Dimensions: Finished scarf is about 99" long plus 10" fringe on each end. 4 " wide.
Materials Needed: Approximately 200 yards each of two colors (let’s call them A and B), worsted weight wool yarn. I used one skein of Paton’s Classic Wool in bright blue and one skein of Cascade 220 in off-white.
Size J-10 (6 mm) crochet hook.
There are lots of patterns on the market these days for reversible items made using double-ended hooks. They involve picking up loops on a long hook and working them off, a two-step process. This pattern allows you to achieve the same look using a regular crochet hook and normal half double crochet stitches.
You will be changing color every row, leaving 12” for fringe at the beginning and end of the row.
Row 1: With Color A, chain 301, or fewer if you don’t want such a long scarf.
Working in the back bar of the chains, half double crochet (hdc) in the 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. You will have 300 hdc stitches. Being sure to leave 12” at the end of the row, cut yarn and fasten off. Turn.
Row 2: With Color B, make slip knot 12” up from start of your yarn, attach yarn with hdc to 1st st of row. To do so, yo insert hook under both loops of 1st st in row, yo, pull loop through (3 loops on hook), yo and pull through all 3 loops. Hdc in back loop only of each st to end of row, working under both loops of last st. Leaving 12” tail, cut yarn and fasten off. Turn.
Repeat Row 2, alternating Colors A and B, until scarf is as wide as you want. There should be no ends to work in, because your ends have become fringe for the scarf. If you want thicker fringe, you may cut 24” pieces of yarn and add them to the existing fringe.
RUFFLED WATER BOTTLE CARRIER
Copyright 2003 by Karen Klemp
Materials: 100 grams (3.5 oz.) of worsted weight cotton, 50 grams (1.75 oz) of laceweight yarn for ruffle (I used sock yarn for the ruffle)
Size G-7 (4.5 mm) hook for bag; size E-4 (3.5 mm) hook for ruffle
Chain 2
Round 1: 8 sc in 2nd ch from hook. Do not join rounds, but place a marker in the last st of each round so you can keep track of where you are.
Round 2: 2 sc in ea st around (16 sc)
Round 3: *2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next st, rep from * around (24 sc)
Round 4: *2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next 2 sts, rep from * around (32 sc)
Round 5: Sc in BLO (Back Loop Only) of each st
Round 6: Hdc in ea st around. Join with sl st to 1st hdc. Turn.
Round 7: Ch 1, work hdc by inserting hook into the horizontal bar that sits below the front loop and in the front loop; repeat in ea st around. Join with sl st to first hdc. Turn.
Rep round 7 until holder covers about 2/3 of a half-liter bottle of water. End with a WS (wrong side) row.
Handle: Ch 100 (or as long as you want the strap to be). Hdc in 2nd ch from hook and in ea ch across. Turn.
Row 2: Ch 1, hdc by inserting hook in horizontal bar and in front loop as described above.
Row 3: Repeat Row 2. Fasten off and sew handle securely to sides of bag.
Your bottle carrier now has ridges onto which you may work ruffles (or any other decoration that you desire). Attach lightweight yarn to bottom ridge of carrier and work 5 dc in each st. If you want a more gentle ruffle, you may choose to work only 3 or 4 dc in each st of the ridge. I made ruffles only in the four rows of ridges toward the bottom of the carrier and added one row of ruffle to the center of the strap. You can choose your own ruffle pattern, working them in every ridge all the way up the sides of the carrier, if you like.
UNISEX WINTER HAT
Copyright 2005 by Karen Klemp
Materials Needed: 200 yards of worsted weight wool or acrylic, such as Patons Classic Wool or Canadiana. Size I-9 (5.5 mm) crochet hook (or size needed to obtain gauge).
Gauge: 12 dc = 4” (3 dc = 1”)
Finished sizes of hat – Small (21”), Medium (22.5”), Large (24”) 
Begin with ribbed band. This is done in slip stitch, and you must be careful to work your stitches loosely in order to work into them on the next row.
Chain 13.
Row 1: Working in back bar of chain, slip stitch in 2nd ch from hook and in ea ch across. Turn. (You will have 12 sl sts.) Mark this row as right side (RS) of work.
Row 2: Ch 1, sl st under both loops of 1st st, in back loop only of next 10 sts, and under both loops of last st. Turn.
Repeat Row 2 until band, when slightly stretched, measures 21/22.5/24”, ending on a wrong side (WS) row.
Holding 1st and last rows together, sew band together with whip stitches or crochet them together with sl sts, picking up the back loop on the row nearest you and the back loop of the row away from you.
Round 1: Working along edge of band, with RS facing, ch 1, work 56/60/64 sc evenly spaces around. Join with sl st to first sc.
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in back loop only (BLO) of ea st around. Join with sl st to first sc. Do not turn. From this point, the side facing you while you work will become the wrong side (inside of the hat.
Rounds 3 – 15: Ch 1, hdc in same st where you chained 1, and hdc in ea st around. Do not join with sl st at end of rounds. Place a market in the last st of each round to keep track of where you are, but continue working around until you have completed 15 rounds.
MEDIUM SIZE ONLY – Work Round 15 as follows: *hdc in 1st 12 sts, hdc 2 together, rep from * around. At the end of round 15 you will have 56/56/64 sts.
Round 16: *hdc in
Round 17 and each odd-numbered row: hdc in ea st around.
Round 18: *hdc in
Round 20: *hdc in
Round 22: *hdc in
Round 24: *hdc in
LARGE SIZE ONLY –
Round 26: *hdc in 1 st, hdc 2 tog, rep from * around.
Last round, all sizes: hdc 2 tog around. Fasten off, leaving a 12” tail. With tail yarn on a blunt tapestry needle, weave yarn in and out of each st around, gathering remaining sts tightly. Weave in ends, and turn hat right side out. Fold up brim to wear.
You may sew a pompom or tassel to the top if you desire.
Instructions: The Foundation Stitch
This stitch allows you to begin or add onto a project without a beginning chain. The way it works is that you make a chain in each stitch, so your “beginning” chain is along the top of your first row, and the actual stitches are along the bottom. When you have the number of stitches needed, turn and work your second row.
This method works best if the actual first row of your pattern consists of one stitch into each chain. It is possible to use the foundation stitch if your first row is something like “sc in the 2nd chain from hook, *skip 2 sts, 5 dc in next ch, skip 2 sts, sc in next ch, repeat from * across”, but you will have to put a lot more thought into what you are doing. In such cases, it is probably better to work a row of sc and then on the 2nd row begin the pattern stitch that involves skipping and crocheting multiple times in the same place.
Here’s how you do the foundation stitch:
Single Crochet Row: Chain 2; insert hook in 2nd chain from hook; *yo and pull loop through (2 loops on hook); yo and pull through 1 loop (chain made – good idea to mark with your thumb and finger so you can find it again); yo and pull through 2 loops, forming the single crochet*.
Next stitch: insert hook under 2 loops of chain made in the previous stitch; follow directions above between * and *.
Half Double Crochet Row: Chain 2; yo; insert hook in 2nd ch from hook; yo and pull loop through (3 loops on hook); yo and pull through 1 loop (chain made – mark so you can find it again); yo and pull through 3 loops on hook, forming the half double crochet*.
Next stitch: *yo; insert hook under 2 loops of chain made in the previous stitch; yo and pull loop through (3 loops on hook); yo and pull through 1 loop (chain made); yo and pull through all 3 loops on hook*. Repeat from * to *.
Double Crochet Row: Chain 3; yo; insert hook in 3rd ch from hook; yo and pull loop through (3 loops on hook); yo and pull through 1 loop (chain made – mark so you can find it again); yo and pull through 2 loops twice to complete double crochet.
Next stitch: *yo; insert hook under 2 loops of chain made in the previous stitch; yo and pull loop through (3 loops on hook; yo and pull thorugh 1 loop (chain made); yo and pull through 2 loops twice to complete double crochet.
Karen Klemp - May 2006
CROCHETING WITH NOVELTY YARNS
If you have never used some of the wispy or heavily slubbed novelty yarns before, the following tips should help minimize the frustration of working with a totally different type of yarn. Once you have worked with them a time or two, it will be a breeze, but at first, you might find it difficult.
n If working with the very wispy type of eyelash, you need to carry it with another yarn. It works very well with another wispy yarn, such as a flag yarn. Other possibilities include a sportweight slubbed rayon, a lightweight boucle, or even a lightweight smooth cotton-rayon blend.
n Use a large hook so the “lashes” on the yarn can hang free. They should not be all matted and tight. If lashes get caught in a stitch, you can generally coax them to pop out by giving your work a gentle shake.
n If your eyelash comes wrapped on a foam core or a cardboard tube, it is extremely easy to use. Just find the end and unwind it from the outside. If it has no core, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, I recommend that you find the outside of the ball and wrap it securely around the outside. Then fish inside the ball for the other end of the yarn, and pull it out from the inside. It may come out in a big clump that you then need to wind around the outside of the ball, but if you just start using this type of ball from the outside, you may find about halfway through that the inside and the outside are twisting around each other, causing a major problem.
n The same rule holds true with carry yarns that are sold without an inner foam core or cardboard tube, such as Trendsetter’s Flora, Charm, or Charming.
n When working with highly slubbed yarn, the slubs sometimes appear right at the point where you would hook the yarn to pull it through. When this happens, hook the yarn just past the slub and pull through. The slub will then be a kind of loop that sticks up, but that’s what it is meant to do.
Try not to unravel your work, but if you absolutely must, go very slowly, teasing the yarn with each stitch. The eyelashes tend to get wrapped around stitches and can be pretty tough to pull out. The same is true with heavily slubbed yarn.