Bonnie Thistle Scarf
This is a pattern I have been wanting to do for a long time, but I never got it quite right until now. I wanted to bring out the colours of Scotland without going for the usual twee dishcloth look, and create something that was modern, pretty and wearable. I used DK yarn to be able to bring out the features of the thistles clearly and so that the scarf could be worn in warmer months as well. I used a larger hook size so that the material would be soft and flowing.
Materials
- Approximately 130g Light Purple, 40g of Green and 30 g of Dark Purple
- 5 mm crochet hook
- Tapestry Needle
Light Purple – Stylecraft Special DK – Grape (1067)
Green – Sirdar Hayfield Bonus DK – Grass (825)
Dark Purple – Good Old Fashioned DK – Violette – C01 – note this yarn might be hard to come by so you might need to substitute it with another acrylic DK yarn.
Any yarn with a rich, deep purple that stands out from the background should do.
Skill Level
Intermediate. Although the main body of the scarf is fairly easy, requiring a mixture of sc (UK = dc) and dc (UK = tr) stitches, the thistles can be tricky. However, once you master a couple of them, they become a lot easier, so it might be a good project if you are looking for a bit of a challenge.
Abbreviations
Please note that I am using US crochet terms throughout. I am actually British, but I find the US terms more intuitive. Measurements are metric however.
sc – single crochet (UK = dc)
dc – half double crochet (UK = tr)
sl – slip stitch
ch – chain
st – stitch
(x) – x = number of stitches at end of round
Y/O – Yarn Over
F/O – Fasten Off
WS – Wrong Side
RS – Right Side
Pattern
This pattern is made up of repeats of the main rows and thistle rows repeated until the scarf is as long as you want it.
Row 1: With Light Purple, ch 33, dc in the third chain from hook (this is the only time, a ch 3 counts as a stitch), dc across, turn (31)
Row 2: [WS] ch 1 (does not count as a stitch here or in any following rows); sc across, turn (31)
Row 3: [RS] ch 3 (does not count as a stitch here or in any following rows); dc across, turn (31)
Note that alternating rows of sc on the WS and dc on the RS will form the body of the scarf
Row 4: First Thistle row [WS]. ch 1, 15 sc, changing to Green on the last st; [
sc; ch 10; sc; sc; ch 10; sc; sc; ch 10; sc all in the same sc from the previous row, changing to Light Purple on the last stitch];
15 sc, turn (31 – the whole thistle counts as one stitch)
Row 5: Second Thistle row [RS]. ch 3, 15 dc, changing to Green on the last st;
sl st in the first sc of the Thistle; sc2tog across the 4 middle sc of the thistle, in-between the two inner sc, sl st in the last sc of Thistle, changing to Light Purple as you do so;
15 dc, turn (31)
(Note: You want to make sure that you don’t get the “leaves” of the Thistle caught up in the yarn as you do this, so you need to lean them forward and crochet through and behind them. This is probably the trickiest part of the Thistle to master).
Row 6: Third Thistle Row [WS] ch 1, 15 sc, changing to Green on the last st, 1 sc in the middle of the Thistle changing to Light Purple on last Y/O; 15 sc, turn (31)
Row 7: Fourth Thistle Row [RS] ch 3, 12 dc, changing to Green on the last st, 1 dc, pulling up first loop of Thistle and changing to Light Purple on the last st; 2 dc, changing to Green on the last st;
dc in centre of Thistle changing to Light Purple on last Y/O, but do not pull up the centre loop; 2 dc, changing to Green on last st; 1 dc, pulling up last loop of Thistle and changing to Light Purple on the last st;
12 dc, turn (31)
Row 8: Fifth Thistle Row [WS] ch 1, 12 sc, changing to Green on last st;
1 sc, changing to Light Purple on last Y/O;
2 sc, changing to Green on last st;
1 sc, changing to Light Purple on last Y/O;
2 sc, changing to Green on last st;
1 sc, changing to Light Purple on last Y/O;
12 sc, turn. Cut Green (31)
Row 9: Sixth Thistle Row [RS] ch 3, 15 dc, changing to Dark Purple on the
last st;
Pulling up the middle Thistle loop, 6 dc in the centre of the Thistle, changing to
Light Purple on the last st;
15 dc, turn, Cut Dark Purple (31)
Row 10: Final Thistle Row [WS] ch 1, 15 sc, ch 1 across the top of the Thistle,
15 sc, turn (31)
Row 11: ch 3, dc across (31)
Row 12: ch 1, sc across (31)
Rows 13 -19: repeat Rows 11 and 12, alternating between sc and dc rows and ending on a dc (RS) row.
Repeat rows 4-19 as many time as you require to make the scarf as long as you like it, but after the final Thistle row of the scarf, only crochet 4 more rows of the alternating pattern.
Assembly
1. Using the tapestry needle, weave in all ends
2. Make the scarf fringe using light and dark purple. Use three strands of yarn per fringe and only add the dark purple every three fringes so that the colour doesn’t become overwhelming and distract from the thistles. There are many good resources on the Internet to show you how to make a scarf fringe if you haven’t done one before.
I hope you enjoy the pattern. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on my social links.
The Legal Stuff
Copyright 2020 – Cazimodo Creative by Caz Thomson. I am very happy for you to make and also sell items using this pattern, but please don’t sell or otherwise distribute the pattern itself. Please try and credit me with a link to the pattern if you do sell your finished item online.
