Starpath Scarf, a Star Stitch How-to by Vashti Braha

Starpath Scarf, a Star Stitch How-to

Crochet
March 2014
yarn held together
Aran
+ Sport
= Sport (12 wpi) ?
16 stitches and 8 rows = 4 inches
in An antique 5-spoke star stitch
5.5 mm (I)
4.0 mm (G)
320 - 360 yards (293 - 329 m)
63" [160 cm] long by 6" [15.24 cm] wide scarf with information for customizing both length & width, in US & metric terms.
both US and UK
English
This pattern is available for $5.99 USD
buy it now or visit pattern website

I celebrate a 19th century Star stitch with this scarf. It’s designed to offer maximum color fun because there are zero ends to weave in, and no switching between attached colors. It’s finished with fringe-as-you-go edges.

The pictured scarf is crocheted with two strands of a shimmery draping sport weight yarn held together because it amplifies the lovely starry texture of this stitch. You could easily use one strand of a worsted wt (CYC #4 Medium weight) yarn instead and get the same finished dimensions. That makes this project a great way to combine leftover yarns from other projects.

A contrasting color for each row also heightens the starry texture. Another feature of this special stitch pattern is that the backs of the Stars are pretty too, in a different way.

I love the range of Star stitch variations I’m finding as I prepare class materials to teach a star stitch class. My goal is to design with them in ways that take advantage of the unique charms of each Star type.

Skill Level: Easy Intermediate. I’ve kept abbreviations to a minimum.
After using this pattern, you will know (if you didn’t already): 

  • How to crochet a historic Star stitch pattern and understand its texture.
  • How to heighten the best qualities of this Star stitch.
  • How to create crocheted fringe scarf ends.
  • How to plan striped color combinations and estimate amounts needed of each color.

Color Planning & Yarn Estimating Tips: 
For the double-strand scarf shown, each inner stripe requires between 25g-30g of Lotus or other sport weight yarn; each outer stripe requires an additional 10g-12g for the foundation chain and the final slip stitch edge.
To estimate amounts needed for worsted weight yarns, or for a longer or shorter scarf, weigh the scarf in grams (a finer measurement than ounces) after fastening off at the end of each row. 

Scarf shown has 6 colors in 11 stripes.

  • For three of the six colors I needed 50g-60g (approx. 150 yds) each: Teal Glimmer (“Color B”); Bamboo Green (“Color C”); Rose Red (“Color D”).
  • Sapphire (“Color A”) and Grenadine (“Color E”) were used for both an outer stripe and an inner stripe, so I needed up to 72g of each.
  • Purple Glow (“Color F”) was used only once as an inner stripe, so I only needed 25g-30g of it. 

To plan the sequence of the colors, I used my new Color Chips as a crocheted color planning kit. (Some of the colors repeat so I used two sets of chips.) I decided on a total of 11 rows based on the row gauge and my desired scarf width. I knew that I wanted this scarf to begin and end with darker colors, but not necessarily the same color or the darkest of all. (Newsletter issue #56 is about the color chips tool.)