Hello, everyone! Today I present to you my first ever crocheted shrug which I have been working on over the past several months – the Wanderess Ribbed Shrug!

If you have been following my blog, you know that I’m still on my journey to discovering different types of yarn. Thus, nothing feels more exciting for me than designing a project using a newly discovered fingering weight gradient cake yarn! I bought the yarn last summer from one of our local independent dyers in Baguio. As soon as I received the yarn, I started crocheting right away. I’m already halfway done with the project before I realized I haven’t taken any photo of it! I’m thankful the yarn seller has been so accommodating and allowed me to use the photo below to feature the yarn on this blog post. Again, a big THANK YOU, Entangled.ph! You can find their online shop in Facebook and Instagram.

The yarn is 100% cotton, very soft, and produces a beautiful drape. With its Forget-Me-Not flower colorway, I’m amazed how it delicately transition from color to color. You can also decide whether to start crocheting from the outside or from the center, it will give you a result of different color arrangement though. I decided to use the light blue and azure color for the main part to give the shrug a semi-neutral look and the yellow to highlight the ribbing.

As might be expected for a first time user of this type of yarn, I thought of making a shawl for myself. But having a little boy on my hips all the time I knew I need something that would stay around me without having to worry that it’s going to fall out. So using the Rover Stitch, a stitch that caught my attention in one of the crochet books that hubby gave me, I decided to design a shrug instead.

Despite my excitement, it took me three months to finish the shrug because I only pick it up every now and then. I also did a lot of redoing to obtain the suitable fit. Good thing the yarn is quite sturdy even after countless frogging. Nevertheless, this is a really fun and easy pattern once you get the hang of it. It works up quickly and makes a great project for those crocheters who are comfortable with beginner patterns but want to try their hands at something a little more challenging. It has zero shaping, increasing and decreasing. You just have to crochet one big rectangular piece then fold and sew the edges together, leaving spaces to create the armholes.

With the 260 grams of yarn I have, I was able to make a shrug that fit is on small end to medium but the pattern can be easily adapted for various sizes. You’ll find more details in the pattern below. I gave the finished shrug to my niece since I prefer mine a little loose. I’m now waiting for another yarn posting so I can place an order to make a bigger shrug for myself.

CHOOSING THE NAME

As the stitch name suggests, you’ll notice that the stitches on each subsequent row are pointing or roving in different direction which to me somewhat resemble traveling sea waves. Some friends who have seen the shrug said the stitches look like groups of cherry blossoms or Sakura flowers, and this reminded me of Japan which happens to be one of my dream place to visit. In a nutshell, the Rover Stitch and my desire to travel and visit far off places with my family someday inspired me to choose the shrug name “wanderess” or female traveler.

MATERIALS:

• Hook: 2.5mm and 2.0mm crochet hooks
• Fingering weight yarn, approximately 260g to obtain the same size as the pattern below.
• Tapestry needle

ABBREVIATION/STITCHES:

• ch – chain
• sc – single crochet (US) / dc – double crochet (UK)
• dc – double crochet (US) / tr – treble (UK)
• st(s) – stitch(es)
• sl st – slip stitch
• Asterisk * – repeat the pattern from point where you see this symbol. 
• (N sts) – number of stitches in a row/round after finishing row/round.

If you need guide with the basic stitches, you can always check my blog post about Basic Crochet Techniques HERE. 

• fpsc – front post single crochet (Insert hook from front, under post stitch of previous row yarn over then pull up a loop, two loops on the hook. Yarn over again, pull through all loops on hook.
• bpsc – back post single crochet (Insert hook from back, over post stitch of previous row yarn over then pull up a loop, two loops on the hook. Yarn over again, pull through all loops on hook.

I am also sharing two helpful video tutorials from New Stitch a Day on how to do the “front post sc” stitch HERE and “back post sc” stitches HERE  just in case you need it once you do the ribbing.

SPECIAL STITCH:

Rover Stitch (Foundation Chain: Multiple of 6 sts + 5)

1st Row: dc into 6th chain from hook, dc into each of the next 2 chains, ch 3, dc into next chain, *skip 2 chains, dc into each of the next 3 chains, ch 3, dc into the next chain. Repeat from * to last 2 chains, skip 1 chain, dc into the last chain

2nd row: ch 3, turn, *[3dc, ch 3, dc] into the 3ch arch work. Repeat from * to last 3 dc sts, skip the 3 dc sts, dc into the 1st chain of previous row

3rd Row: ch 3, turn, *[3dc, ch 3, dc] into the 3ch arch work. Repeat from * to last 3 dc sts, skip the 3 dc sts, dc into the 3rd chain of beginning chains of previous row

Repeat 3rd row until you reach your desired length for the project.

To see how to crochet the Rover Stitch in action, click HERE for another helpful video tutorial from New Stitch a Day.

GAUGE AFTER BLOCKING: 

• 5 Rover Stitches and 11 rows = 3” square

NOTES:

• Chain 3 at the beginning of each row counts as 1 double crochet stitch unless otherwise stated. 
• This shrug is constructed from one large rectangle worked from the bottom up and seamed to create sleeves.
• It measures 53cm from top of neck to bottom and 78cm from end of sleeve to end of the other sleeve, without ribbed collar.
• This pattern fits size Small to Medium. You’ll be able to adjust this in length and width if needed by creating a longer or shorter foundation chain (multiple of 6 + 5) and crocheting for more or less rows.
• Any variations to hook size and yarn weight will also result in a different sized shrug, be sure to follow the gauge.

PATTERN

BODY RECTANGLE (ROVER STITCH ROWS):

Using the 2.5mm crochet hook, start by making 317 chains.

Row 1 (right side): dc into 6th chain from hook, dc into each of the next 2 chains, ch 3, dc into next chain, *skip 2 chains, dc into each of the next 3 chains, ch 3, dc into the next chain. Repeat from * to last 2 chains, skip 1 chain, dc into the last chain (52 set of rover stitch, plus 1dc st made)

Row 2: ch 3, turn, *[3dc, ch 3, dc] into the 3ch arch work. Repeat from * to last 3 dc sts, skip the 3 dc sts, dc into the 1st chain of previous row (52 set of rover stitch, plus 1dc st made)

Row 3: ch 3, turn, *[3dc, ch 3, dc] into the 3ch arch work. Repeat from * to last 3 dc sts, skip the 3 dc sts, dc into the 3rd chain of the beginning chains of previous row (52 set of rover stitch, plus 1dc st made)

Row 4 – 72: Repeat Row 3

From here you can add more rows if you want to make the shrug longer. Be sure to complete an “Even” number of rows so that you will be working at the “right side” of the rectangular piece once you start the border. 

BORDER:

Switch to 2.0mm crochet hook. 

Row 73: ch 3, turn, *[dc, hdc, sc] in the 3ch arch work , [sc, hdc, dc] in the next 3dc cluster, repeat from * to the last 3dc cluster (I made 312 sts)

Continue by making single crochet stitches evenly around the perimeter of the remaining 3 sides of the rectangular piece to complete the border (or follow what I did below).

Chain 1, do not turn. Work into the left side of the Rover Stitches rows, *2sc into the post dc st, sc into next dc st, repeat from * to last post dc st (I made 217 sc sts)

Work 1 sc stitch into each chains of the foundation chain (I made 312 sc sts)

Work into the next side of the Rover Stitches rows, *2sc into the post dc st, sc into next dc st, repeat from * to last post dc st (I made 217 sc sts)

Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing. Block the rectangle (you may click HERE for Tips on How to Block Crochet).

ASSEMBLY:

Place the rectangular piece flat on the floor. Fold the four corners of the piece into the center as shown on my photo below. Sew the edges together using Mattress Stitch method (or any joining method you prefer) approximately 4.5” (or 47 stitches) on each side. The part not sewn will be the opening for the armholes.

SLEEVES RIBBING:

Start with the right side of the piece facing you, chain 1 in any corner of first sleeve hole. 

Round 1: sc in the same stitch as the beginning chain, sc in the next 123 sts, sl st in the first sc made to join (124 sc sts made)

Round 2: ch 2, dc in the same stitch as the beginning chain, dc in the next 123 sts, sl st in the first dc made to join (124 dc sts made)

Round 3: ch 1, *fpsc in the next st, bpsc in the next st, repeat from * to last dc st, sl st in the first fpsc made to join (124 sts made)

Round 4, 6 & 8: Repeat Round 2

Round 5, 7 & 9: Repeat Round 3

Fasten off and weave in ends. Repeat steps on the other sleeve.

COLLAR RIBBING: 

Make sure the right side of the piece is facing you, then chain 1 in any corner where you joined the rectangular piece. 

Round 1: sc in the same stitch as the beginning chain, sc in the next 623 sts, sl st in the first sc made to join (624 sc sts made)

Round 2: ch 2, dc in the same stitch as the beginning chain, dc in the next 623 sts, sl st in the first dc made to join (624 dc sts made)

Round 3: ch 1, *fpsc in the next st, bpsc in the next st, repeat from * to last dc st, sl st in the first fpsc made to join (624 sts made)

Round 4, 6 & 8: Repeat Round 2

Round 5, 7 & 9: Repeat Round 3

Fasten off and weave in ends. 

Voila! You can now enjoy your finished shrug. Stay tuned for another crochet design coming very soon! Happy crocheting!