Scraptastic Shawlette with Crochet Button

I love swaps, even though (more often than not) they come into conflict with my desire to downsize my stash.  I’ve been participating, on and off, in the International Scarf Swap on Ravelry.  Recently, I joined in their Stashbuster Swap, which seemed perfect for me.  I needed to make a scarf (broadly interpreted) with stash yarn for my partner, and send along some other fun goodies in the package.

My partner loves purples, pinks, and blues, and prefers shawlettes.  She also expressed a preference for natural fibers.  I dug through my yarn collection, and came up with these three skeins of Cascade Yarns that seemed right up her alley.

blog Cascade Yarns Collage

From left to right: Cascade Yarns Longwood in Lavender, and Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash in Mystic Purple and Pacific (or Spruce?).

All three yarns are superwash wool, so I thought combining them would make for easy washing.  But the thicknesses of the yarns are slightly different (the Longwood is a bit thicker), so I used two different crochet hooks to get a consistent gauge throughout.

blog Swap Shawlette 1

After just a few rows, I loved the way it was coming along.  Since only the Longwood was a full skein, and the other two were partial skeins leftover from these two projects, I knew I would probably not have enough yarn for a full shawl.

blog Swap Shawlette 2

I ended up with a really cute shawlette, but I wanted to add something special to make it easier to close up around the neck.  The granny clusters create wonderful eyelets that can serve as buttonholes, and I decided to crochet my own button.

blog Swap Shawlette 3

It’s a great embellishment, and I didn’t have all the stress of trying to find a matching button for a shawlette in 3 different colors.

blog Swap Shawlette 4

You can see that it’s pretty easy to close, and of course, my swap partner can adjust the closure to make the shawlette a perfect fit around her neck or shoulders.

blog Swap Shawlette 5

I released the pattern for the Scraptastic Shawlette with Crochet Button last night, and you can download it on Ravelry, free through March with the coupon code NatCroMo14.  (You can also download my other four March crochet pattern releases for free this month using the same coupon code as part of my National Crochet Month celebration!)

I’m pretty excited that I kept my commitment of releasing a new pattern every week during (Inter)National Crochet Month, and I hope you are enjoying the patterns.

Edited to add: And, I forgot to mention that today is also the 3 year anniversary of the Underground Crafter blog! Welcome to any new readers, and thanks to my longtime readers for all your support!

Now, back to the part where swapping allows my stash to grow…

Here’s the swap package I received from my partner.

blog Stashbuster Swap

It’s incredible!  She is truly a packaging expert.  She folded the scarf she made me into the project bag she made (you can see it peaking out), and there was another skein of yarn in the mug!

blog Elann

So I finished off 3 skeins of yarn making the shawlette for her, and sent along an additional skein in the package.  She sent me 4 skeins, so I guess I’m right back where I started, in terms of stash.

Swap shawl detail

But now I have a beautiful scarf, knit in a lovely, (mostly) brown, natural fiber blend that I can wear throughout the spring!  The scarf I received, by the way, is the lovely Deep Purple Crescent Shaped Lace Shawlette or Scarf by Pam Jemelian. It’s super long, so I only took a picture of the edging detail. It’s very cozy!

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