Treble Shrug PATTERN

A few words
Hello everyone! ~ I come here with a not so new pattern. I've been working on it for like 3 months but I kept postponing the day that it must see the light. This is mainly because I'm an undecided person and I was unsure about selling it or sharing it. So I decided to post it here instead of asking for money. Not that I don't need the money, because I'm a freelancer. I do like five big things with my life (I'm a writer and a musician and I illustrate and whatnot). But I don't see money all the time coming out of them and that's why I have to keep myself active in different projects. So anyways, I do need some cash but what the heck. If anyone wants to donate a dollar or two, I'll leave a PayPal button somewhere in this blog.

I realized how helpful and inspiring my blog has been for some people lately and well, I want to keep it like that. So, as a token of appreciation for liking my patterns (and ♥ them in Ravelry), I will be posting more and more patterns for beginners. But you will have to promise to be patient, because I'm working in a book, a zine, an ETSY shop and writing for a magazine. 

So here, the Treble Shrug - Crochet Pattern in American English. (I know for some of us in the south, wearing a shrug when it's 100 degrees out there it's equal to being nuts, but hey, there are others with better luck having beautiful summers in places where people actually do yearn for this time of year). And guess what? It's been tested by Lisa Gutierrez of Good Knits. (See photo below).

IMPORTANT: This written pattern, includes copyrighted pictures that you are not allowed to copy, use or distribute AT ALL. You are, of course, allowed to sell your accessory made with help of this pattern, but you are not allowed to sell or copy-paste my work.


Materials
I used medium weight yarn (my Retro Yarn) in one color but, as you can see on Lisa's picture above, she used 2 strands of the same color and it looks awesome too. Aprox 200 mts of each one. Crochet hooks 9mm and 6.5mm. Scissors. Patience.
Skills - Basic knowledge of
Basic Crochet stitches: Chain, Slip Stitch, Single Crochet and Treble Crochet. If you're unsure about them, go to my Crochet Friday Series page and check the videos of each stitch, practice for a few days and then come back to try.
Finished size 
Sleeve 37 cm long, Back 44 cm wide and 17 cm deep.
Note 
This shrug is made of two identical sleeve tubes, crocheted with two strands of yarn.
Abbreviations and additional explanations
If you're visual (like me) and not very familiar with written patterns you might need to know what a few things mean. First, all stitches are abbreviated. Example: Stitch is St, Chain is Ch, Treble Crochet is Tr, Slip Stitch is SlSt, Round (for working in rounds) is R, Single Crochet is Sc. Second, when you read "1Tr into top of next Tr" it means, work 1 Treble Crochet into top of Treble Crochet of previous row. Or, "Skip (1Tr, 1Ch)" means, leave the next Treble Crochet and the Chain next to it alone and work in the next stitch or in whatever the pattern says. If you're not familiar with written patterns, read this introduction about Understanding Written Patterns: Abbreviations and Terms.

Instructions
Work a foundation ring: Using a 9mm hook and two strands of yarn (different colors), Ch36 and join with SlSt to form a ring.

R1: Ch1, 1SC into every Ch to end, join with SlSt into first Ch.

R2: Ch5. [(Skip 1 St) work 1Tr + Ch1] (See photo #1 below) repeat to end, joining with SlSt into the 4th Ch of the initial Ch5. Ch5. (See photo #2 below)

Photo #1 (I know it's a different yarn but somehow I misplaced the right pic, so I'm using this)

Photo 2

R3: [1Tr into top of next Tr, Ch1] and repeat to end. Join again with a SlSt into the 4th Ch of the initial Ch5. Ch5.

R4-R11: Repeat R3. In last R, DO NOT end with a Ch5.

Here is when you have to make sure you have the sleeve length desired. I've made other versions of this shrug adding a couple of extra rounds to make the sleeve longer. It looks better if it falls a bit beyond the elbow but it's up to you.

Armhole Shaping

Row1: (SlSt into first Ch, SlSt into next Tr) x 4 (see the orange arrow in the picture). Ch5, Skip (Ch1, 1Tr, Ch1), 1Tr into top of the Tr of row below.

Continued Row 1:
(Ch1, 1Tr into top of next Tr) x 11. Ch1, Skip (Ch1, 1Tr), 1Tr into next Tr. Turn your work, we're no longer working in rounds.

Row2: Ch5, Skip (Ch1, 1Tr, Ch1). [1Tr into top of next Tr, Ch1] x 7. Skip (Ch1, 1Tr, Ch1). 1Tr into top of next Tr. Turn

Row3: Ch5, Skip Ch1, [1Tr into next Tr, Ch1] to end, making 1Tr into 2nd Ch of row below.

Rows 4-7: Repeat Row 3. Fasten Off (only for the first sleeve tube, for the second one don't fasten off cause we're going to attach both sleeves by Slip Stitching them together.

Slip stitching them together could be hard because the hook is big and you will need patience to be able to get your hook through the right stitch. So put both sleeve tubes against each other with the inside facing you, so when you stitch them into one piece, the seam is facing your back, not the outside of the shrug. This makes it more discrete. Here's a shot of where to start Slip Stitching:

The hook is pointing to the corner stitch where you have to begin.

This is how it looks when the SlSt'ing is done:

You can here, either fasten off or continue using the same strand of yarn to SingleCrochet around the edges of  the shrug, considering every space that you find in the edging as a place to stitch. There's no official count of SCs on here, since the edge varies when you reach the armholes. When you get to the stitch were you began your edge of SCs, join with a SlSt. You can also make a 2nd row, I picked another yarn and used a 6.5 mm hook for this, cause I want it to be tighter. Here it is:

I wanted to add details to the end of the sleeves too, so I thought of doing some clusters. I'll come next Crochet Friday Series with an explanation of Clusters. Since I ran out of yarn right after finishing the clusters in one sleeve and this is the Retro Yarn I got in Mexico, I couldn't do it on the other sleeve. I don't really mind since symmetry is not the most important thing in the world. Nothing created by nature is 100% symmetric. What a great excuse.

I thought of attaching a close up of how the Treble Crochet Stitch looks like in this pattern. I love the net effect that it gives to this shrug. This is, I think, the best accessory to wear when going to the movie theater, since they always have the AC on and I am always freezing. So, I suppose I don't have to wait until the fall to start wearing this one.

The sleeves are a lot shorter, I just wanted to show you the stitch.

Click on photos to enlarge and see details

In collaboration with:

♥

PSST!
I want to keep these patterns free of charge, but if you feel like giving something back, it's greatly appreciated!