Crocheted Scoodies Book Review with Excerpted Pattern: Black & White

Crocheted Scoodies: 20 Gorgeous Hooded Scarves and Cowls to Crochet by Magdalena Melzer and Anne Thiemeyer | Book review, excerpt pattern (Black & White), and giveaway on Underground CrafterI’m excited to share a crochet book review with a giveaway. I’ve also included an excerpted pattern, so read on for details!

This post contains affiliate links. A free review copy of Crocheted Scoodies was provided to me by Search Press North America. Although I accept free products for review, I do not accept additional compensation, nor do I guarantee a positive review. My reviews are based entirely on my honest opinions.

Book Review

Crocheted Scoodies: 20 Gorgeous Hooded Scarves and Cowls to Crochet is a pattern collection by Magdalena Melzer and Anne Thiemeyer. I confess that before reading this book, I had heard the term “scoodie” and felt a little bit like a nerdy high schooler again because I had no idea what it meant (and didn’t really want to expose my ignorance by asking). It turns out it’s a portmanteau of “scarf” and “hoodie.” (Now that I know, it seems kinda obvious in retrospect.)

Crocheted Scoodies opens with a brief introduction and then dives right into the patterns. The table of contents includes large, colorful thumbnails of each pattern so you can see details of the stitch pattern and color palette. Each pattern is presented with a short descriptive phrase (like “The new black” for the pattern called Orange) and dimensions in both metric and United States measurements. All patterns are designed using Schachenmayr yarns and hooks are listed in both in US letter and metric sizes. The book is written by European authors, so the term “tension” is used instead of “gauge.” The gauge information is pretty detailed, even though I suspect few of us actually check our gauge when making chunky and cozy neckwarmers.

Each pattern features several large, clear photographs of the pattern. The photos are on models and are shown by numerous angles. And, no, these aren’t the types of photos where the models hair or hand conveniently covers the design feature you were really interested in knowing more about (or, when they do, there are plenty of other photos that allow you to see the details more clearly). There are some great colors in use in the book and the photos are definitely designed to get you excited about making your next project.

Pattern instructions are written using US terms with UK abbreviations in parentheses. (14 of the 20 patterns also include charted instructions in international stitch symbols in the back of the book.) All of the patterns include finishing instructions explaining how to create edgings, seam together parts, or otherwise assemble the scoodies.

There are 7 patterns described as level 1 (beginner), 9 patterns described as level 2 (easy), and 4 patterns described as level 3 (intermediate).

After the patterns, there are 9 pages of illustrated instructions for basic crochet stitches and techniques featuring both US and UK terms. I will say that I found the illustrations for “casting on” with chain stitches a bit confusing and overly-complicated, but if you already know how to make a chain, you will not need to rely on these at all.

So, who is this Crocheted Scoodies best for? If you’re one of the millions of crocheters always looking for a new scarf or cowl to crochet, you’ll definitely find some great options in this book. (My favorites are Evergreen, Blue Velvet, Rockabilly, Rainbow, Soft Waves, Grey Shadow, and Black & White, which is excerpted below.) If you consider yourself a beginner or advanced beginner — or, if you are a more advanced crocheter who likes to make “mindless” projects while watching tv or otherwise multi-tasking — this book is ideal for you. The book is a small softcover that’s portable enough to carry while commuting or traveling. Like all softcover books, it doesn’t lay entirely flat so you will need to press down the spine a bit if you’re reading and crocheting at the same time. If you don’t enjoy crocheting women’s neckwarmers, this book isn’t a good fit because (ahem) that’s all that’s included inside. Also, the book is really about the patterns. While it does include the illustrated instructions, there isn’t much chatter or background stories and the like. This helps to keep the book compact and portable, but if you want to “get to know” the authors, this isn’t the book for you.

Overall, I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It includes a diverse range of stitches, contemporary colors, and trendy styles for scoodies that would be great to wear in cold weather or to give as gifts.

Black & White

Crochet Pattern by Magdalena Melzer & Anne Thiemeyer

Published in Crocheted Scoodies

Pattern text and photograph © 2014 frechverlag GmbH and shared with permission from Search Press North America

Crocheted Scoodies: 20 Gorgeous Hooded Scarves and Cowls to Crochet by Magdalena Melzer and Anne Thiemeyer | Book review, excerpt pattern (Black & White), and giveaway on Underground Crafter

Marie’s note: If you’re not familiar with the rfp (round front post) or rbp (round back post) stitches, these are more commonly known as FP (front post) and BP (back post) stitches in the U.S. You can find a video tutorial for the double crochet version of both stitches as used in this pattern here.

Level of difficulty: 3

Dimensions

  • Circumference 164cm (64-1/2in)
  • Height 27cm (10-3/4in)

Materials

  • Schachenmayr original merino Super Big Mix (87-1/2yd/3-1/2oz, 80m/100g) in White (Col 01), 10-3/5 oz (300g), Black (Col 99) and Grey (Col 90), 7oz (200g) each
  • Hook size N/P (10mm)

Tension

  • In dc (UK tr) rfp (round front post) pattern – with hook size N/P (10mm) – 8 dc (UK tr) rfp and 7 rows = 10 × 10cm (4 × 4in)

Colour sequence

  • Rnds 1 to 5: In White.
  • Rnds 6 to 15: In Grey and Black.
  • Rnds 16 to 20: In White.

Changing colours

  • When changing colours, work the last part of the last st in the new col to make a smooth colour transition.
  • In rounds 6 to 15 keep the col that is not being used behind the work, and crochet around the yarn with every second dc (UK tr).

Instructions

  • Using Hook N/P (10mm) and White, loosely crochet 140 ch, join with a sl st to first ch.
  • Rnd 1: Ch 3 (counts as a stitch), 1dc (UK tr) into each ch, sl st into the 3rd starting ch (140 sts).
  • Rnd 2: Ch 3 (counts as a stitch), 9dc (UK tr) rfp, 10dc (UK tr) rbp, *10dc (UK tr) rfp, 10dc (UK tr) rbp, repeat from * to end, sl st into 3rd starting ch.
  • Rnds 3 to 5: Work as Rnd 2, changing to Grey at the end of Rnd 5.
  • Rnd 6: In Grey, ch 3 (counts as a stitch), 9dc (UK tr) rbp, in Black 10dc (UK tr) rfp, * in Grey, work 10dc (UK tr) rbp, in Black work 10dc (UK tr) rfp, repeat from * to end, sl st into the 3rd starting ch in Grey.
  • Rnds 7 to 10: As Rnd 6, changing to Black at the end of Rnd 10.
  • Rnds 11 to 15: In Black, ch 3 (counts as a stitch), 9dc (UK tr) rfp, in Grey 10dc (UK tr) rbp, *in Black, 10dc (UK tr) rfp, in Grey 10dc (UK tr) rbp,repeat from * to end, sl st into the 3rd starting ch in Black, changing to White at the end of Rnd 15.
  • Rnds 16 to 20: In White, ch 3 (counts as a stitch), 9dc (UK tr) rbp, 10dc (UK tr) rfp, *10dc (UK tr) rbp, 10dc (UK tr) rfp, repeat from * to end. Fasten off at end of rnd 20.

Finishing off

  • To make the hood, fold the loop in half with the right sides facing and sew up over 20 sts. Sew in all yarn ends.


Giveaway

Crocheted Scoodies: 20 Gorgeous Hooded Scarves and Cowls to Crochet by Magdalena Melzer and Anne Thiemeyer | Book review, excerpt pattern (Black & White), and giveaway on Underground Crafter

So now that you’ve read the review and checked out the sample pattern, I’m sure you’d like to get your hands on a copy of Crocheted Scoodies: 20 Gorgeous Hooded Scarves and Cowls to Crochet by Magdalena Melzer and Anne Thiemeyer, right? The nice folks at Search Press North America have agreed to provide a copy to one lucky winner!

This giveaway is open to readers with mailing addresses in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, or other parts of Europe, except where prohibited by law. Enter by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday, February 13, 2017. One winner will be chosen at random from the entries submitted via the Rafflecopter widget. The winner will receive 1 copy of Crocheted Scoodies, courtesy of Search Press North America. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

32 thoughts on “Crocheted Scoodies Book Review with Excerpted Pattern: Black & White”

  1. Since it would be my first one and I’m still a relative amateur I’d probably end up keeping it for myself. If it came out real well though I’d definitely give it away because it’s more fun. ?

    Reply
  2. I’ve been looking for a new scoodie to go with my new barn coat seeing as winter is not quitting here at all. 12″ of white overnight and still coming down until tomorrow morning!

    Reply
  3. I hope I win as I’ve been wanting to crochet these for people living on the street as I know they’re especially helpful over a winter hat instead of just a traditional scarf and hat for keeping warm!

    Reply
  4. There are several people I would love to make one for my Mom, my Granddaughter, my Sister and of course myself. The book looks wonderful, so excited. Best of luck to all. Thank you for this opportunity ?

    Reply
  5. Thanks for the opportunity to win this awesome sounding book!
    Your review has me drooling over what lies between those book covers.

    Reply
    • My daughter in law loves hoods and scarves, if she gets lucky, she might be the first recipient of one. Then again, I just might make the first one for myself!! LOL

      Reply
  6. They look warm and versatile! I can think of a few people to make these for, so I’ll need the book! First recipient – my daughter in Seattle!

    Reply
  7. I always keep the first thing I make if it is a new pattern or technique. I like to get all the kinks out first. Then make gifts for my family and friends. So, I guess it would be a scoodie for me. Thanks so much for the giveaway.

    Reply
  8. I would make it for my sister in law!! She is more like a sister to me and she is from Texas and is not used to this snow even after 4 years in this Utah weather hahaha!!!

    Reply
  9. I would make my first scoodie for my daughter,Quinn. She has decided that winter jackets are not “cool” and living in western NY does not allow for this attitude. All of her classmates have cowls and such so, with a bit of wool and crossed fingers, maybe this will be “cool” enough ,o wear but not so cool that I have people asking meto make it time after time! This is a beautiful book!

    Reply
  10. I’ve needed one of these this winter with the “old fashioned” winter we’ve had. Every storm has brought us 12″+ of snow X 6 storm

    Reply

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