Jumping Dots Scarf: A big project for a big brother

 This time for my own big brother...

I started crocheting this scarf in lockdown number 2, around the beginning of July last year, and as soon as I saw the pattern emerging I knew it should be a gift for my brother. 

Jump forward 12 months: I finished it in lockdown number 4 and posted it off to him. We've just entered lockdown number 5 and it's his birthday and he has just received it, so I can share it here.

The pattern is called Jumping Dots by Jellina Verhoeff (weblink and Ravelry link). It looks much more complicated than it is as it's all just single crochet stitch.

The design comes from carrying one thread along while crocheting with another and then switching. There's a bit of counting involved, but that's about it.

The yarn is Scheepjes Whirl in Mid-Morning Mocharoo, which is the colour gradient yarn, along with Scheepjes Whirlette in Licorice (2 balls). I purchased the yarn online from Yarnish

The colour gradient yarn is a huge cake of 1000m and I was almost sad that the final colour, a dark brown was only just emerging as I ran out of the second ball of the black whirlettte. But with the scarf at about 2m long it was definitely time to stop. The pattern was written to stop about two "dot lengths" earlier with the option to keep going if you wanted to use up all the solid colour yarn.

I had a bit of fun trying to work out how to photograph it without a Dr Who type model. It looked really cool on our cork stairs, but also very moody and dark.

The cotton is pretty fine and there's a gazillion crochet stitches in making this.  Each evening I could add about a centimetre of progress. Once or twice I discovered I'd miscounted somewhere and all my circles were a bit oval shaped. there's no hiding mistakes, so I'd just rip back. At least with crochet there's only ever one stitch to hold onto.

To keep me from having to move the yarn balls every time I switched yarn, and prevent them getting tangles, I did commission P to build me a Lego, rotating, yarn holder. He didn't get around to it, but I'd recommend finding something like that before you start! A bit like a lazy Susan with yarn holding spikes sticking up.

I'm keen to try some more of these tapestry type patterns with carried yarn colours. Using simple old 8bit computer type graphics I could maybe even invent my own. Maybe my husband needs a Space Invaders Galactica facewasher :)