Isabella Infinity Scarf Tutorial
If you are familiar with Tunisian crochet, the first rule you learned was probably, “The right side of the work is always facing you. You never turn the work.” I set out to find a way that I could turn the work, use 2 colors and not have to cut the yarn at the ends of either the Forward Pass or Working Off the Loops. A locking stitch marker turned out to be the key I needed. By placing the loop remaining on my hook after working off the loops on a locking stitch marker, I was free to turn the work and pick up my Forward Pass yarn at the opposite edge. The resulting Scarf is cushy with a lot of textural interest and a different look to each side. If you seam your Scarf carefully there really isn’t a right or wrong side to this project. Let me walk you through the first couple of rows of the Scarf as you work a swatch. I suggest using 16 stitches for your gauge swatch, but any even number will work.
Note: A jumbo locking stitch marker is recommended because it won’t slip through the stitches. If a jumbo marker is not available, remove the final Aran loop from your hook, place it on a small marker and include the adjacent aubergine stitch before closing to prevent slippage. When you pick up that loop later, remember to place only the Aran loop on your hook.
Row 1 Forward Pass (WS): With aubergine, ch 16, working in back bar of chs (see illustration), pick up a lp in 2nd ch from hook and each rem ch across, leaving all lps on hook, drop aubergine. (16 sts)
Row 1 Working Off the Loops: With Aran, yo, draw through 1 lp on hook, *yo, draw through 2 lps on hook, rep from * across until 1 lp rem on hook. Transfer rem lp to locking stitch marker. (see Photo 1) Row 2 Forward Pass (RS): Turn, insert hook under front bar of first st, yo and draw aubergine through st (see Photo 2), ch 1, *2 Tds (see Special Stitches on page 7) under next st, sk next st, rep from * across, working 1 Tds under last st, drop aubergine. (16 sts)
Row 2 Working Off the Loops: Transfer Aran from marker to hook (see Photo 3), ch 1, *yo, draw through 2 lps on hook, rep from * across until 1 lp rem on hook. Transfer rem lp to locking stitch marker. Continue on as for the Scarf, remembering after working off the loops to move the remaining loop to a locking stitch marker and at the beginning of each Forward Pass, turn the work so aubergine may be picked up. Aubergine is used for every Forward Pass and Aran is used for every Working Off the Loops. I enjoyed designing this Scarf and look forward to experimenting further with this variation of Tunisian crochet! CW