How to Crochet a Scarf for the Chilly Months

Posted by Christine on February 3rd, 2010 at 12:10pm

I don’t know about you, but during the winter I am freezing. It starts with my fingers and nose and then goes throughout my body. I struggle through the winter months while my skin is dry and chapped. I am always looking for ways to keep warm and finally a light bulb went off. It’s not much, but I learned how to crochet a scarf.

I haven’t had as much experience as some of you out there, but I am learning and I like it. When I first learned how to crochet a scarf I was so excited that I just couldn’t stop. It took about six hours to make, of course it was non-stop, but I was also a bit slow as I had just learned.

The essentials of crochet is your very first stitch. This is called a chain stitch. You do this chain stitch for as long as you want. The length of your stitch determines how wide your scarf is going to be. For a beginner, 14 stitches is best as the scarf will be four inches wide. When I first started, half my scarf was wide and half was skinny. I crocheted very tight, but eventually I got a little more loose. The really neat thing about crocheting is that if you mess up, you can easily redo it. This is because you can rip out the yarn at any given point, it’s so simple.

The easiest yarn to work with if you’re a beginner is a bulky worsted weight yarn like wool. It’s durable and easier to handle. Follow these steps and you can crochet yourself a fabulously looking scarf for the chilly months.

1. From the first chain, count the first two stitches in the chain that are off the hook. Skip the first one, and insert the hook into the second stitch. Wrap the yarn over the hook and pull the yarn through the stitch using the crochet hook. You will then have two loops around the crochet hook, the one that was on from making the first chain row, and the one you just pulled through.
2. Yarn over the hook again and pull the yarn through both loops leaving one loop around the hook.
3. Go to the next stitch in the chain, insert the hook into that stitch and repeat the process to the end of the row.
4. At the end of the row, make one more chain stitch, turn and then single crochet in each of the previous single crochet stitches back across that row. The only difference with the second and all the other rows is that you will bring the hook through the two loops of the stitch. You will see that each single crochet stitch has two sides, one with a single yarn and one with two yarn pieces. Pick up the side with two loops with the hook for each new stitch you make.
5. At the end of each row, chain 1 and turn and go back across until you have the length you want.
6. Pull the final yarn through the last stitch and weaving the end into the scarf.

That’s it, you just crocheted your first scarf. It’s so easy and fun to make. I made all my sisters and my mom a scarf for Christmas just this past year. These scarves really do make great gifts. They are sentimental and everyone will be so proud of you, including yourself!

Here are some great crochet scarf patterns:
Beginner Striped Scarf
Chunky Mittens and Scarf Set
Harvest Crochet Scarf
Soft Check Scarf

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