Tunisian Scarf CAL OCTOBER WINNER!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Tunisian Patina Scarf CAL.  Everyone who completed a scarf in September and October got their name in the drawing.  Everyone who pledged to donate a Patina scarf project got their name in the drawing an additional time.


The winner is.... Cookie45!

Cookie gets to choose from either 4 skeins of Red Heart Supersaver in Carrot or 6 skeins of Vanna's Choice in Linen.  Send me a Ravelry message, Cookie, with your choice and your mailing address and I'll send out your prize!

Be thinking about the next CAL to start after the first of the year.  We are leaning toward doing a bag/tote/purse type CAL with a guest expert to help us do a Sewing A Long, if you wish to line your bag/tote/purse.

CAL: Tunisian Scarf

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Patina Tunisian Scarf Crochet A-long!  It's not over yet.  You still have the chance to finish your projects.
Everyone who completed a scarf before September 30 and posted a photo either to me or on the Ravelry group, all those people's names went into a drawing.  Any of those projects, if they were pledged for donation in the 60 scarves in 60 days Challenge, Dee's Challenge, those people got their name in the drawing a second time.

The name pulled out of the drawing for September is.... Kimb0 from West Chester, Ohio!

So,  Ravelry mail or email me with your mailing address and I will send your prize out.  I'm going to give you a choice of prizes... either 2 free patterns from my Ravelry store, or a selection of 3 matching skeins of Red Heart SuperSaver, or 3 matching hanks of Louet Gems. 

All the September entries... will go BACK in the hat.  Anyone who completes a Tunisian Patina Scarf by October 31, your name will be added to the hat and another drawing November 1.

Give me a few more days.

I'll get back to posting as soon as I can.  Life got a little complicated.  All is well.  I am working diligently on the book edit.  That has to be my #1 focus until it's done.  Don't forget your Tunisian Scarf!  If you have one done, (or more) LEAVE A COMMENT here and if you are donating one of the scarves, let me know!  Everyone who has completed a scarf will get their name in a drawing for a prize. 

Tunisian Patina Scarf, CAL:Tunisian

Here are some photos of the scarves our friends are making! Above is the scarf Kimb0 made for her niece! Beautiful!

Cookie is making this one:
Fracksmom is making this one:
Knotnut is making this one:
HappyHooker32 is making this one:
Kimb0 made this one
jam 52 made this one,,,Keep up the good work everyone!

CAL Tunisian Scarf: Blocking

Blocking methods depend on the fiber content used in the project.

Kimb0 on Ravelry made her scarf in a silk/wool blend yarn, she asked, "Since it’s so long, can I double it up to do this step? I’m headed to my dad’s for the rest of the weekend, and was thinking I could pin it to a couple of towels laid across the washer/dryer, but it’s way too long to lay out in a single layer."

My reply: To block your silk/wool blend, I would pin it down to the right dimensions, stretching it as much as you want to show off the openness. then squirt it with water until it is very wet, near saturated, and let it dry. If you can’t pin it to towels on a floor or bed, then you can double the scarf, but make it shaped like a “V” so that it is not resting on itself. The keys to blocking wool is to use only cool (not hot) water and try not to handle it much or let it rub against itself much…. you don’t want it to felt.

Chickee caught a butterfly! It almost doesn't look real. Unfortunately, I think it was easy to catch and sat so still because it was injured.

Tunisian Patina Scarf, CAL:Tunisian

I'm making progress on my scarf, how is yours? This is in Malabrigo Silky Merino. I have a feeling it is going to felt very easily, so I'll have to be easy with it. What yarns are you using?

Sneak Peek, CAL Tunisian Scarf

It feels like it has been a while since I've given you a sneak peek... here's an easy one!

How's everyone's Tunisian Patina Scarf coming along? The discussion has been a little more active on the Ravelry group. Some of the participants have already been wondering about how to block the scarf, so we'll definitely be talking about that soon!

Everyone who finishes their scarf by the end of September will get their name in a drawing for a prize. Everyone who finished in September PLUS everyone who is finished by the end of October, will get their name in a drawing for another prize at the end of October. If you pledge that at least one scarf will go to Dee's 60 scarves in 60 days Challenge for Charity, you'll get your name in the September drawing a second time. Send me photographic proof by posting a photo on Ravelry (let me know!) or send me a flickr or photobucket link to my email address in the right sidebar.

Tunisian Crochet: Counting Rows

Here's the first 5 rows of my Tunisian Patina Scarf. How do I know that it is 5 rows? Count the stitches along the right edge! Row 1 is my TSS foundation row. Row 2 is a Twisted Simple Stitch row, and rows 3, 4, and 5 are the pattern row. (Refer to your pattern for the instructions). Don't have the pattern? Get it here as an automatic PDF download for $6.00 USD.

Begin! Tunisian Patina Scarf CAL

The Tunisian Scarf Crochet ALong starts TODAY! WooHoo! A little history for you: The scarf was published in Inside Crochet magazine in the UK last December. I was called the "Tunisian Scarf" and written in UK terminology. I re-wrote the pattern in US terms and renamed it the "Patina Scarf" because the green Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb yarn reminded me of the patina that happens on metals when they encounter wind and air. Here is the link to the Ravelry page for the Tunisian Scarf. If you are a Ravelry member, please make a project page for your project! Also, if you are a Ravelry member, you can join the forum, 'GoCrochet with Ellen Gormley' and participate in the thread on this CAL. Above, in the photo, I am wearing the scarf like a shawl.

Regardless if you are a Ravelry (which is free and you'll love it) or not, I want to see photos! I want to hear about your progress! I prefer you send me links to your Flickr or Tweetphoto or Facebook photos... you can email me, my address is on the right sidebar of this page.

You can use any yarn you want! You can use any hook that does not have a thumb rest. The length of your hook needs to be close or a little shorter to the width of the scarf you are going to make. (You can squish the stitches on a little, but don't crowd them too much).

The pattern comes with 10 or 11 (I forget) process photos and Chickee filmed a little Tunisian tutorial video for me that you can view to help you. If you don't have the pattern yet, you can get an instant PDF download now for $6.00 by clicking on the Buy now button:



I'm casting on a new Patina scarf now too. I'm using Malabrigo Silky Merino and I hope to have a photo for you tomorrow of my early progress. Any questions you have, I will post answers here on the blog and in the Ravelry group.

Quick Tunisian Video Tutorial

Here's a quick Tunisian Tutorial, filmed by Chickee. It includes, Tunisian simple stitch, a traditional bind off, twisted simple stitch, how how to miss the first and last vertical bars, and how to bind off the project.

More Tunisian Questions

Sara writes: "Do you usually foundation crochet the first row for tunisian?"

No, I usually do a row of Tunisian Simple Stitch like you saw in an earlier post unless I start right in with the pattern on the first row.

KnitPurlGurl wrote: "I like Tunisian, but it seems to curl."
Yes, you are right! Just like in knitting how stockinette seems to curl toward the purl side, it is in the nature of Tunisian to curl in Tunisian Simple Stitch unless you take measures to prevent this tendency. I think also, when you pull up a loop, the loop has to be tall and loose enough that it is not acting like a tether holding it tight to the row before. I good bind off final row is also important.

Susan writes: "I like tunisian , but mine just doesn't turn out with straight / even sides"

Susan, as with traditional crochet, when our edges get wonky, it is usually with failing to work the last stitch in the row or omitting the first st. With Tunisian, sometimes people accidentally work an extra stitch at the beginning and then also fail to do a Tunisian Simple Stitch (Tss) in the edge vertical bar at the end of the row. I'll try to post some photos soon with detail. Always count the loops on the hook before doing the return pass. The number of loops on the hook will tell you if you have been increasing or decreasing or if your number of stitches has remained constant.

Don't forget, the Tunisian Crochet-Along starts September 1 with the Tunisian "Patina" Scarf project.

Tunisian Tip!

If you have never done Tunisian Crochet before here are a few tips. In the photo above, this is how I mark stitches in tunisian. I mark the vertical bar of the stitch I want to focus on with a locking stitch marker. I move the marker up to the next vertical bar when subsequent rows are worked or remove the marker according to the pattern instructions. Also this gives you a clear view of a vertical bar. The markers are placed on a vertical bars. There is one vertical bar for each stitch. This is the first row of a swatch. There are 30 chains and I pulled up a loop (which becomes the vertical bar) in each chain. This photo is in process of "binding off". which means, as a right hander, I'm working by yo and pulling the hook toward the right under the loop on the hook and the next vertical bar. This first row is TSS or Tunisian Simple Stitch.

Decision Day

Dum, Dum, Dum (queue dramatic music). Today I need to make some decisions regarding 2 projects that need to be stitched pronto! I've taken a few days off with the kids having fun with a little crochet thrown in here or there. Now is the time to take what's been percolating in my head and get it to happen in yarn form.

A question was asked about the Tunisian 'Patina' Crochet A long. Indeed, the pattern version published by Inside Crochet either in hardcopy or digital download are in UK terminology. Frankly, I don't think there is much difference between the UK terms and the US terms for Tunisian crochet. In the PDF download I am selling through here and Ravelry, I started from scratch and re-wrote the pattern using all the US terms. Get your yarn ready, we start on Sept 1.

Feel free to comment here about your goals or join us in my Ravelry group where you can share your goals for the CAL. (Ravelry is free).

Uh oh, I don't have a photo ready... let's see what I can find for you. OK, above is a swatch of a Tunisian baby/toddler sweater that I am designing for self-publish, as soon as I can get around to it. I will get to use my Denise Interchangeable crochet hooks to work this top-down raglan sweater. (It's another easy two-row repeat).

Tunisian Scarf CAL

The Tunisian "Patina" Scarf CAL is going to happen! It begins September 1. The pattern is available from either hardcopy of Inside Crochet, Issue 5, or you can get a digital download of Inside Crochet's issue 5 on Yudu. (I don't know exactly how this is done)... or you can get the PDF download from me for $6.00



Above is just one of the several (11? I think) process photos that are in my PDF download.

In the past, with Crochet-A-longs, we have been much more relaxed than it is my nature to be. My nature wants us to have structure! Goals! But many of you don't work the same way. We'll begin officially on Sept 1. I would think we would have this wrapped up by Thanksgiving for sure, don't you think?

Feel free to ask questions on any of the CAL: Tunisian posts and I will re-post your question and the answer for everyone to benefit both here and in the Ravelry group.

I'll try to post at least once per week on the blog to help motivate you along the way. There is no official 'sign up', just 'show up'. :)

Tunisian Patina Scarf PDF available! CAL:Tunisian

I call this the 'Patina Scarf' because the yarn, Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb, in this colorway reminds me of the patina that occurs on the surface of ornamental metal. It was in Inside Crochet, issue 5, where they named it the 'Tunisian Scarf'. This scarf, though, is wide enough to be a shoulder wrap and I also had it tied in Japanese Obi fashion as a belt. Above, I am talking with (L-R) Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby (Shibaguyz), Rebecca Velasquez, and Karen Whooley. (The above photo is by Vashti Braha) (The above photo is by Rebecca Velasquez)

This is the pattern we will be using in the Tunisian Crochet Along. It will likely begin September 1.

This scarf is only 2 different rows to learn. Very easy. Buy the PDF now for $6.00 USD

Advanced Shawl CAL

Whatever happened to the Whisper Wrap Crochet Along?

Did you finish? Did you stall? How did it go? Haley and I finished ours! What do you need to finish yours? Please comment here. What would make the CALs better for you? I'm open to suggestions.

Would you be interested in a Tunisian Crochet Along?