The Drover Scarf is one of six patterns in issue three of John Arbon Textiles’ in house magazine, The Annual.

Conceived from the Shetland tradition of being gifted a wedding shawl so fine that you could pull it through your wedding band, this pattern is designed to pull one end through the other, thereby keeping it round your neck on even the most blustery walks.

A Drover is someone who drives cattle and sheep to market, so would definitely benefit from a nice warm neck! This versatile design can be crocheted in any yarn weight (from lace through to worsted), in any of our yarns and incorporates textured stitches that simulate traditional embroidered smocking, field tracks and herringbone patterning that link back to our agricultural heritage.

Sizes
One size in each of 5 yarn weights: Worsted (DK, Sport, 4ply, Lace)

Finished Measurements
Length (A): 118 (119, 117, 117, 117)cm / 46.5 (46.75, 46, 46, 46)”
Keyhole fold (C): 15cm / 6” (for all yarn weihts)
Width (B): 25 (24, 28, 31, 29)cm / 9.75 (9.5, 11, 12.25, 11.25)”

Yarn
Worsted Suggestion: Yarnadelic (Worsted: 216m/ 236yds per 100g); 260g
DK Suggestion: Knit by Numbers (DK: 250m/ 273yds per 100g); 235g
Sport Suggestion: Yarnadelic (Sport; 333m/ 464yds per 100g); 225g
4ply Suggestion: Harvest Hues (4ply; 400m/ 437yds; per 100g); 240g
Lace Suggestion: Appledore (heavy laceweight; 275m/ 300yds per 50g); 180g

We think this is a great pattern for hand-spun yarn. Follow the pattern with the closest gauge to your own hand-spun.

You can find kits we’ve created for the Drover Scarf on our website, in the sample colours, and a few other options we think would look particularly fab!

Gauge
Width of 32 sts: 19 (18.5, 16.5, 15, 12)cm / 7.5 (7.25, 6.5, 6, 4.75)”
Length of 24 rows: 17.5 (17, 15, 13.5, 10.5)cm / 7 (6.75, 6, 5.25, 4)”
Width of 5 Xtr: 9.5 (8.75, 8, 7, 5.5)cm / 3.75 (3.5, 3.25, 2.75, 2.25)”
HBhtr over 10cm / 4” width: 16 (17, 19, 21.5, 26)

Hooks
Crochet hook size: 5.5 (5, 4.5, 4, 3)mm / US I/9 (H/8, 7, G/6, C/2 or D/3)

Pattern Notes
Drover Scarf is crocheted in rows. It is then partially doubled over and sewn at one end to provide a tube or keyhole to pass the other end through, keeping it secure around your neck.

To adjust the length of your scarf, add or remove multiples of 3 chains to your starting chain. To adjust the width, work more or fewer repeats of Rows 4-13. Remember than adjustments will affect the amount of yarn required.

The Annual (issue three)
This pattern is currently only available in print. Pick up a copy of our Annual here.