Rainbow Orphan Scarf

Completed: 2014
Finished Size: 7" wide by 72" long

I made this scarf using a pattern called Orphan Scarf by Doris Chan. Her technique in this pattern is really simple; you basically just do rows of single crochet with very small gauge yarn with a very large hook. While you're working with it, it doesn't look like the spaces between the rows are very big, but once you've washed it and blocked it and stretched it out, the rows get really far apart.

She uses it in a number of patterns, including a set of curtains.

The finished product

I did have trouble with the ends, as they were firmer than the middle and tended to bow out wider than the body of the scarf. Maybe it's something about the way I cast on and finish off my crochet; or something in the blocking. If I was to use this technique again, I might not stretch it quite so far, and let it stay a bit more uniformly wide all over.

Detail of single-crochet loops

It's an excellent pattern if you want to try something with just one skein of laceweight yarn, which is what I had: a skein of about 400 yards of rainbow hand-dyed merino lace yarn I had bought at the Ann Arbor Art Fair in 2013.