Chain Link Scarf

After that doozy of an illusion scarf I'm going to be doing simple things for a bit.  Mostly because there is no way I can keep posting patterns regularly if they're all that complicated.  That doesn't mean I'm going to stop making complicated patterns, just that it may be a while before I get another one up.  I have a hard enough time getting posts up on a regular basis as it is so I figure I should start practicing, at least, that's what mom always tells me about stuff like that.  I swear that was her favorite line when I was growing up. Any time I tried to get out of anything by saying I wasn't good at it I was told "then you must need more practice" and it was added to my list of chores.  The upside is that now I can do a bunch of stuff I wouldn't have otherwise been able to do.   We'll have to see how that works out on the blog posting end of things.

The pattern I have for you today is actually a prototype of an idea that I had.  I've been wanting to play with interlocking parts, eventually for making a blanket, but I figured starting small would be a good plan (for once.  Look, I'm learnding!)  Then an opportunity for experimenting presented itself; I got sick.  When I'm sick I spend the vast majority of the day passed out on my couch but I'm usually up for an hour or so between naps.  During those bits of consciousness having crochet as a hobby is exceedingly convenient.  Crochet fits all of my sick day activity requirements; I don't have to move to do it, I don't have to think about it, and if I fall asleep in the middle it doesn't matter.  Of course, remembering what I did becomes a bit of a challenge as fevers tend to make me forgetful.  I'm going to assume that this particular scarf doesn't take all that long to make since I made it over 2 days where I wasn't exactly coherent.  Presumably that means someone who isn't half dead could manage it in an evening.  It didn't turn out quite how I was expecting, but it's still reasonably interesting.


Chain Link Scarf

Materials
Vanna's Choice in 3 colors, 70 yards each for the link colors and 55 yards for the edging.
J hook

Gauge
Each link should measure about 4 inches across when laid flat.  The blue yarn gauged smaller for me and I had to work it a little looser than the white.

Chain Link Pattern, blue and white
Make 9 in each color, 18 total, alternating as you go.  All links after the first are made by joining the starting chain through the previous link.  Make sure you thread the chain through the same way each time or the linking pattern won't look right.

ch 24, join in a ring making sure not to twist the chain.
Round 1:  Ch 1, 2sc in next st.  Work (sc, 2sc) around ending on a 2sc.  Skip the ch 1 and join to the first sc.
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in same space as joining, sc in next space.  (2sc, sc, sc) around.  Join, break off, and weave in ends. (46 sts)

Edging, purple
Important note:  Before you join a link pair make sure that you lay them flat to make sure you get them evenly spaced.  It won't seem to matter on the first side, but it does.  If you don't line up the links beforehand, they may not line up on the second side and it will either look funny or require you to add or remove stitches to make everything line up.

Round 1:  Join yarn to an end link.  Ch2, 2dc in the joining space.  Sc in the next 10 sts then line the links up and sc through the first and second link.  Sc 10 across the second link, then line up the second and third link and sc through both.  Continue in this manner until you reach the last link.  Sc 10 then 3 dc in the 11th st.  Repeat this once then return to the 10 sc, join links pattern.  When you return to the first link sc 10, 3 dc in the 11th st, sc 10 and join to the top of the ch 2.
Round 2: Ch 1 and sc around the entire piece making 2 sc in each second (center) dc.  Join, break off, and weave in ends.

You'll need to block the scarf if you don't want it to curl and even that doesn't always help that much.  I'm not sure why it likes to curl up as much as it does but it sure seems to like it!  The link pattern lays flat on it's own, or it did when I made the first few, but for some reason they like to roll.  It does look interesting when it curls up so I may well come back to this pattern with an alternative edging technique to show off the neat twists it can do.  I've got a blanket pattern I need to finish first, though, and a few more ideas to tweak out.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see!