I cracked it. The shrug for my mum. The one that made perfect sense in my head, with the colour combo that looked amazing in the shop. But which was so very stubborn and uncooperative in reality.
I went through so many permutations and undid and redid and shouted and swore, but I cracked it. And I love it (and so does my mum, fortunately).
I went through so many permutations and undid and redid and shouted and swore, but I cracked it. And I love it (and so does my mum, fortunately).
I think there are two reasons why I struggled with it so much:
1) I insisted on using stitches that were new to me, and were hard to reduce for the shoulders
2) The colour scheme isn't exactly safe
In the end, though, I think I got the shape of the shoulders right and I'm happy with the proportions of the three colours. My mum has bright blue eyes (she's not the one modelling it for these pictures, by the way!) and so the blue colour collar looks fabulous on her.
1) I insisted on using stitches that were new to me, and were hard to reduce for the shoulders
2) The colour scheme isn't exactly safe
In the end, though, I think I got the shape of the shoulders right and I'm happy with the proportions of the three colours. My mum has bright blue eyes (she's not the one modelling it for these pictures, by the way!) and so the blue colour collar looks fabulous on her.
The two main stitches I used are the Half Double V (or Half Treble V if you're in the UK):
and the Grit:
I found both in 200 Crochet Stiches by Sarah Hazell:
 Half Double V |  Grit |
I love the Grit stitch in particular, as you get a lovely diamond motif when you alternate colours. The Half Double V is very easy and wonderfully supple - great for the straight panels at the bottom and for the collar.
The yarn is a soft and warm mixture of wool, microfibre and cashgora (the same wool I used to make the Bean his beanie), and is by the Milan-based yarn manufacturer Lanar Emporium. It's DK, but I used a 6mm hook for a fluid feel.
The 'pattern' is my own. I say 'pattern' because, being an amateur crocheter, I made it up as I went along and redid it whenever something didn't look right. Perhaps one day, when I'm more experienced and better at understanding crochet patterns myself, I'll make an attempt at writing it up and sharing it. For now I wouldn't dare - a fair few fudges are concealed within!
Come say hello:
I'm linking up with Moogly and Petals to Picots for Hookin on Hump Day #86
