De-Stashing

Inspired by Marie Kondo, as many around me seem to be, I was recently taken with the idea of culling my yarn stash. It had gotten to be quite unruly, with half-used skeins and unwound hanks spilling out of seemingly every nook and cranny of my house.

Armed with the directive of choosing what sparked joy for me and what didn’t, I picked up every single ounce of yarn in my possession and made some difficult decisions. It helped that I had a neighbor looking for yarn donations for her preschool classroom. I also knew that Knitteapolis, the infamous Minneapolis yarnbomber, would welcome yarn donations with open arms.

All together I cleared out 10 or so shopping bags full of yarn. I didn’t bother with a before photo, because it was frankly embarrassing! But I do have some after photos:

Even though I got rid of a lot of yarn, I still have an awful lot left. I’m sure some of you can relate! It feels freeing though, to have cut down my stash to what I imagine I can actually use in a lifetime.

Happy Scrappy Scarf

Of course seeing everything all organized got me excited to start designing something new. And what better way to honor my newly organized stash than to create a little scrappy something?

Thus the Happy Scrappy Scarf was born.

I used Aran cotton to design the scarf, because it’s what I had in my stash in the colors I wanted. If you’re making your own, I’d recommend something a little lighter weight, with more drape. A cotton blend would work fine, as would wool or acrylic.

I’ve decided to write up the pattern as a sort of “Choose Your Own Adventure.” Rather than giving the row-by-row instructions for the exact scarf I made, I’m going to give you the tools to crochet each of the different sections. It’s up to you to put them together in whatever order you see fit!

Yarn

Like I said above, I used an Aran weight cotton in my scarf. It was mostly Paintbox Aran Cotton, with some Drops Paris mixed in. Paintbox Simply Aran is an acrylic yarn available in the same color ways as the cotton if you’d like to replicate some of the colors I’ve used. Here’s my color list (substituting Paintbox colors for the cream and dark grey Drops Paris I used):

• Mustard Yellow
• Vintage Pink
• Bright Peach
• Peach Orange
• Dolphin Blue
• Duck Egg Blue
• Washed Teal
• Champagne White
• Granite Grey

Instructions

The Happy Scrappy Scarf is worked up in linen, or moss stitch. There are four types of sections: solid linen stitch, two-row repeat stripes, decrease triangles, and increase triangles. Below are the instructions for each section type. You can add as many sections to your scarf in whatever order you’d like!

The pattern is written in standard US terms. You can find a full stitch guide here.

Solid Sections

To start the scarf, work a solid linen stitch section.

Begin with an even-numbered chain of any length. This will determine the width of your scarf. Using a 5.0 mm hook*, I started with ch 42, which yielded a scarf that is 8 in (20 cm) wide. You might want to choose a hook that’s on the larger side for your yarn because linen stitch can work up kind of tightly.

Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each st to the end, ch 1, turn.

Row 2: Sc in first st, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next st; repeat from * to end, ch 1, turn.

Row 3: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to end, working final sc into ch-1 sp at the end of Row 2, ch 1, turn.

Be sure to work the final sc into the ch-1 sp, not the sc at the end of the row.

Continue working Row 3 until the section is at your desired length.

Striped Sections

The striped sections of the scarf are worked in a two-row repeat with the unused color carried up the side of the scarf. This is to avoid having a gazillion ends to weave in at the end of the project (even though there are still quite a few!). Check out the video below for a demonstration of how to carry the yarn.

Join your new yarn color in the last stitch of the previous row. To do this, work the final sc of the row of the previous section to the second to last step, i.e., insert hook in sp, yarn over, draw up a loop (2 loops on hook), yarn over with the new color and complete the sc, ch 1 and turn. This is how you will switch colors throughout this section.

Work the final sc of each row into the ch-1 sp at the end of the row below, not the sc.

Row 1: With color A, sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to end, ch 1, turn.

Row 2: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to end, switch to color B, ch 1, turn. Do not fasten off A.

Row 3: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to end, ch 1, turn.

Row 4: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to end, switch to color A, ch 1, turn. Do not fasten off B.

Continue working Rows 1-4 until the section is at your desired length.

Decrease Triangles

For the triangle sections of the scarf, you will first work a decrease triangle, and then add an increase triangle (see below) to create the other straight edge of the scarf. See the video below for a demonstration of how to work the decrease triangles.

Begin by switching colors in the manner described above in the striped section.

Row 1: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to end, working final sc in ch-1 sp of row below, ch 1, turn.

Row 2: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to 2nd to last ch-1 sp, sc in final ch-1 sp, ch 2, turn.

Row 3: Sk 2 sc, sc in next ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to end, ch 1, turn.

Row 4: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to final ch-1 sp, sc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2, turn.

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until the triangle is complete. The final two rows will each have one st in them. The final sc will be worked into a ch-2 sp.

The video below includes tips for working the solid and striped sections, as well as the decrease triangles.

Increase Triangles

After working a decrease triangle, join the new yarn color with a sl st in the ch-1 sp at the beginning of Row 1 of the decrease triangle.

Row 1: Ch 1, sc in same sp as join, sl st into the side of the sc at the end of Row 2 of the adjacent decrease triangle, ch 2, turn.

Row 2: Sc in ch-1 sp at the end of Row 1, ch 1, turn.

Row 3: (Sc, ch 1, sc) in ch-2 sp, sl st into the side of the sc at the end of Row 4 of the adjacent decrease triangle, ch 2, turn.

Row 4: Sc in first ch-1 sp, ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in ch-1 sp at the end of of Row 3, ch 1, turn.

Row 5: Sc in first ch-1 sp, ch 1, sk 1 st, (sc, ch 1, sc) in ch-2 sp, sl st into the side of the sc at the end of Row 6 of the adjacent decrease triangle, ch 2, turn.

Row 6: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to end, working final sc into ch-1 sp at the end of the row below, ch 1, turn.

Row 7: Sc in first ch-1 sp, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next ch-1 sp; repeat from * to final ch-1 sp, ch 1, (sc, ch 1, sc) in ch-2 sp, sl st into the side of the sc at the end of the row above of the adjacent decrease triangle, ch 2, turn.

Repeat Rows 6 and 7 until you reach the top of the decrease triangle. Omit the final ch 2 on the final row.

Check out the video below for tips on working the decrease triangle.

Putting It All Together

Now that you have the instructions for each of the different kinds of sections, I hope you have a fun time creating your own Happy Scrappy Scarf! Let loose with color combinations, work your way through your stash, and find some joy along the way!

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s Happy Scrappy creations. Be sure to tag your photos with #happyscrappyscarf on social media!

*Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. If you choose to purchase items after following these links I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.