From knitting to crochet! The weather is getting warmer, but the spring days are often chilly. A 'vintage' girl would certainly wear an ascot with her jacket, so today's free pattern is an early 50's ascot cravat. The AWW published this pattern in 1952:
"Ascot cravat, crocheted in fine wool is designed to fit snugly. A brooch or scarf-pin adds a decorative touch."
ascot inspiration:
There are a few patterns out there for a plain, garter stitch knitted version, like these two below, but this one is different because it is crochet and it has a pretty stitch too! The crochet pattern also gives more body to the ascot.
left: a supposedly 1949 knitting pattern from the net
right: Agatha Christie's Miss Marple character wearing the same ascot-type scarf
did you know...material and sizing:
...that an ascot tie, or ascot, is a narrow neckband with wide pointed wings, traditionally made of pale grey patterned silk? This wide, formal tie is usually patterned, folded over, and fastened with a stickpin or tie tack. A cravat is another type of neckband.
I used a fingering weight acrylic yarn with a metric size 3 hook. The finished width of the ascot with 41 stitches in pattern is 17,5 cm (=about 7 inches)
construction:
The construction of the cravat is simple. You start crocheting from one end of the main (middle) section, then you decrease the amount of stitches for the cross-square, increase again and end with the pointy end. Then join the yarn at the other end of the middle section and finish it in the same way.
I made one piece for the back loop instead of two and sewn it at a slight angle with a little bulk instead of flat, which makes it easier to pull the tail through:
the stitch:
There is a decorative, but simple stitch used. You alter dc and treble stitches. In the following row you crochet a treble on top of the dc and a dc on top of the treble. This results in a pretty, bobbly pattern, which you wouldn't tell by looking at the original picture:
my scalloped edge:
When decreasing I ended the row with a treble, then turned with 3 chains in the beginning of the row, skipped the first stitch (a dc) and and put a dc in the next stitch (the first treble). This resulted in a pretty scalloped edge:
modifications:
- Adjustments in sizing see above under construction details.
- I crocheted the main part and the 'tails' of the scarf according the instructions. - The instructions for the square where the two parts cross are way off!
The pattern instructs to make a dc in every other stitch, ending with 24 sts. If you start out with 41 sts, you make a stitch in every other stitch you will end up with 21 instead of 24sts.
I tried the 21 but I found the square to be too wide. My second version I reduced the amount of stitches by half once more in a second row, but that turned out to be too small.
My third version which I like consists of 16 stitches. Here is how to do it:
- reduce the amount of stitches by making a dc in every other stitch starting with 2ch for the first dc (=21sts)
- reduce further evenly in a second row until you have 16 stitches
abbrevations:
As we all know, crochet abbrevations are different in the US and UK.
The pattern uses the UK abbrevations:
d.c. = double crochet (US: single crochet)
tr. = treble (US: double crochet)
In the pattern you first do a yarn over for the treble and not for the double crochet.
the original pattern:
