Hello, fellow fiber artists! I am Eleanor Jane, The Crochet Faerie, here with my first pattern for Clover USA. The Pixie Pebble Shrug, like the majority of my designs, is inspired by faeries and fantasy, and I’ve been using Clover Amour Hooks to create stitch magic for some time now. My hope for this pattern was to capture the essence of Autumn from a pixie’s point of view. I’ve always imagined pixies, and other faeries, wearing different kinds of gloves and sleeves. As an impatient stitcher, I enjoy using mesh stitches in my patterns because it helps the design work up quickly, but I also wanted to add texture to spice things up a little. Pixies, after all, are rather fiery creatures… and so the Pixie Pebble Shrug was born.
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Below are the instructions for you to fashion your own piece. If you would like a version of the pattern with photo guidelines or would like to check out my other patterns, visit my Etsy: TheCrochetFaerieShop
I truly hope you have as much fun creating this as I did designing it! Seeing you magical beings express yourselves through my designs fills my heart in the most lovely sort of way. Thank you for accepting and spreading the love I put into my work.<3
Materials:
Yarn: Category 4 – Worsted Weight – Acrylic (The beautiful color schemes and soft shiny textures of Red Heart Unforgettable Yarn is my absolute favorite choice of fiber for this particular design, although sometimes I end up blocking my project because the sleeves take up so much yardage with this particular brand)
Clover Amour Hook: 6mm US- Art No. 1049/J
Other Materials: scissors, darning needle, measuring tape
Gauge: 8dc x 2 rows = 2.5” wide x 1.5” tall
Size: Made to Measure
Stitch Abbreviations:
Chain – Ch
Stitch – St
Slip Stitch – Sl St
Single Crochet – SC
Double Crochet – DC
Half Double Crochet – HDC
Back Loop Only HDC – BloHDC
Pebble Stitch – PBS
Right Side – RS
Yarn over – YO
PBS: in specified ST – *YO, insert hook, YO, pull through** repeat from * to ** twice, YO, pull through all 7 loops
Instructions:
Turn work after each row, DON’T Ch 1 unless instructed
When working the body/sleeves, the RS of your project should always be a SC row
Ch 2 at the beginning of a row counts as a DC
HINT: This pattern gives guidance for full-length sleeves, but you can make 3/4, or even a short sleeve bolero if you shorten your desired sleeve length. Rather than measuring wrist to wrist, try from bicep to bicep, or forearm or forearm.
IMPORTANT: Before starting this project, you will want to know your upper arm circumference (the measurement around the largest part of your arm), and your desired sleeve length (measuring from your wrist, across your chest, to your other wrist).
Process: This piece is worked vertically, starting from the wrist, working to the shoulder, across the back of your shrug, all the way through the next sleeve, until you finally reach the opposite wrist. The entire piece is then folded in half, lengthwise, and the sleeves are stitched together. Lastly, a ribbed border is added around the opening.
Sleeves:
Ch a multiple of 4 (your total amount of chains should be divisible by 4) equal to your upper arm circumference x 1.5 (my arm circumference measures 11″ so I crocheted a chain string 16.5″ inches long, making sure to double-check this measurement was still accurate a few rows into the project )
Row 1 (SC – RS): SC in each Ch across
Row 2 (Mesh): Ch 2 (counts as DC), *Ch 1, Skip next St, DC in next St,** repeat from * to ** across
Row 3 (SC – RS): SC in each DC and Ch 1 space across
Row 4 (PBS): SC in next 3 Sts, *PBS in next St, SC in next 3 Sts** repeat from * to ** across
Row 5 (SC – RS): SC in each St across
Row 6 (Mesh): Ch 2 (counts as DC), *Ch 1, Skip next St, DC in next St,** repeat from * to ** across
Row 7 (SC – RS): SC in each DC and Ch 1 space across
Repeat rows 4 – 7 (following the pattern of PBS row, SC row, Mesh row, SC row) until you’ve reached your desired sleeves length. Ch 1, DO NOT cut yarn yet.
You can double check your sleeve length by holding it wrist to wrist, across your chest. Just be careful not to stretch it, otherwise your sleeves will end up shorter than you want. Proceed to stitch your sleeves together, following the directions below 🙂
Stitching the Sleeves:
Mark out the very center row of your project. With the marked row in the center, place your shrug against your upper chest area, and hold the garment where it meets each armpit (DO NOT stretch as you measure). Place stitch markers at both of these points, making sure they are evenly distanced from the center marker.
Fold your shrug in half lengthwise (with the wrong side facing out) and begin sewing sleeves together by slip stitching into the side of each row.
Continue slip stitching until you reach your first stitch marker (where you marked under your armpit area), cut and tie off yarn.
Reattach yarn to the wrist of the opposite sleeve and repeat the slip stitching steps, but do NOT cut your yarn once you’ve reached the second stitch marker.
Turn your shrug RS out and try it on to make sure it fits properly (it shouldn’t be so tight that it bothers your armpits, but it should be comfortably snug). If necessary, adjust the garment to your optimal fit by adding or removing Sl Sts on both sides of your sleeves. Once you are happy with the fit, proceed to work the ribbing 🙂
Ribbing:
Border: SC in each St (2 SC in the DC spaces) all the way around the opening of your shrug, Sl St in 1st SC from the beginning of row
Step 1: Working the RS (don’t turn your work before starting the ribbing) Ch 11
Step 2 (RS): HDC in 2nd Ch from hook and in each Ch across (10 HDC total), Sl St in next 3 SC of border
Step 3: Do not Ch 1, skip 3 Sl Sts, BloHDC across the HDC Sts from row 2 (10 BloHDC total), Ch 1
Step 4 (RS): BloHDC in each St across the ribbing (10 BloHDC total), Sl St in next 3 SC of border
Repeat steps 3 – 4, making sure your tension isn’t too tight so that your opening doesn’t shrink, until you’ve worked around the entire SC border and have reached your initial row from Step 1
Connect your ribbing by slip stitching both sides together, cut and tie off yarn… Sew in any loose ends, and you have yourself a finished Pixie Pebble Top! <3
I really hope this pattern was easy to follow along, but if you need instructional photographs, you can find a more detailed, step-by-step, beginner-friendly version of this pattern (and all of my other designs) in my Etsy: TheCrochetFaerieShop
Until our next artistic adventure 🙂
Love,
Eleanor Jane <3
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