Tuesday 2 April 2013

Top Down Shrug (Pattern)


Hi All,

Since the spring sun is finally starting show I want to share my shrug with you.
Finished!
Front view

Most shrug patters are worked in one square and from side to side most of the time.
I had a hard time getting it to fit in a way that it didn't pinch my in my arms or armpit.
So I started on a new pattern a while back.

I tried a a lot of different things and finally this one is the one that fits best.
It is worked like a top down cardigan, made in one piece and can be made to fit all!

So let us get started!

I used the folowing stitches:
Double Crochet (DC)
Slip Stitch(SS)
And a Foundation Double Crochet(FDC)

Part one: Measurements

First you have to measure your bust.
Divide this by 2 to get the amount of cm needed for your whole neck.
For a normal cardigan you need to divide it by 6. 2 parts for the back, two for the front and one for each sleeve.
We only need the back and the sleeves so we use only 4 of the parts.

So Bust circumference / 2 = Neck circumference
Neck Circumference / 6= width of one part
One part * 4 = Starting width of shrug.

Calculate how many stitches you will need with a gauge swatch.

For me this was 30 cm and 44 stitches.
Row 1: FDC this amount. Chain 2

The second thing your should measure is the circumference of your arm. Calculate how much stitches you need by using your gauge swatch. I needed 44 stitches.

Part 2: Dividing stitches

Like said before you have equal parts. You have one part for the sleeve, two parts for the back, and again a part for the other sleeve. Next to each piece is an extra stitch.
So subtract 4 from your amount of stitches and divide this by 4 again.
(Amount of stitches - 4)/4 = Amount of stitches for one part
My example: (44 - 4) / 4 = 10 a piece

So now it would be
+* 10 + 20 + 10 +
+ is an extra stitch
Put a stitch marker in each of these extra stitches.
The stitch markers in place

The dividing of the stitches is now done

Part 3: Calculating amount of rows needed

You need to get from the amount f stitches needed for one part to the needed amount of stitches for the arm width.
Every row you get 3 extra stitches on the sleeve.You already start with the stitches of one part.
(Amount of stitches needed - amount of stitches in one part) / 3 = amount of rows needed. This can be a bit less of more. I would say measure it once in a while and see if it fits.

Part 4: Start crocheting

The rest is fairly easy.
Row  2: 3 DC in extra stitch Place stitch marker in first stitch. DC up to next stitch marker.
*DC in extra stitch, chain 1, DC in extra stitch. Place stitch marker in chain. DC up to next stitch.* repeat again.
3 DC in extra stitch. Place stitch marker in last stitch. Chain 2, turn
The first, last stitches and two middle chains are now the extra stitches.
This is how a extra stitch looks like. You can see a slight knack in the work. I apologise for the darkness.

Row 3 - needed rows: Repeat row 2.
I didn't really need the stitch markers because can see the made chains fairly easy. And I can remember the what to do in the first and last stitch.

After working the needed amount of rows

Part 5: The sleeves

Sleeve row 1: Crochet up to second extra stitch. Dc in extra stitch. Now we will join the sleeve. Fold the  first chain towards the extra stitch and ss them together.
Chain one and DC in the extra stitch.
Continue as a normal row.
Sleeve row 2: Now join  the first stitch and the first extra chain space with a ss. I like to slip my needle through the first stitch, through the chain space, yarn over and slip through.
Up to second extra stitch
After joining first sleeve

Extra part 6:

- The Extra length:
This has only been tested with one row.
I wanted a little extra length so I added one row after finishing the joining of the sleeves.
I DCed across the back piece.
I thing you can do this as often as you like but I would Decrease the sides with one stitch every row so it would go lower smoothly instead of a square. I still want to test this but haven't done it yet.
-Longer sleeves:
Attach your yarn anywhere on  the bottom of the sleeve en DC in the round. Simple as that. Remember the amount of rows you added, that way you can do the same on the next sleeve.

I hope you can make some sense of it and I would love to get some reviews or comments on it. Let me see what you make.

Love,

Little Mouse

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