Raspberry Crochet Shawl / Wrap

The last couple of years I've been working on lace-work more than anything, so this little wrap was a way for me to get away from the complicated lace patterns and to make something a little more down to earth.

This project was also way faster, which made it that much more fun. Some of the lace blouses and cover-ups I make can take weeks, but this wrap only took me a few evenings in my spare time. 

Here's the pattern I used for the main body of the wrap:

As you can see, it isn't a terribly complicated pattern. It's just shell stitches seperated by a dc stitch. I actually really like to use this pattern for all sorts of scarves (and I'm helping a friend make a cardigan in this basic pattern).

 In this project, I started with a five-shell pattern, just like in the diagram. Then I added rows until the piece was long enough to wrap around me comfortably. At this point I had a long reactangle, kind of like a scarf.

After that, I made a lacy border across one of the long sides...

This is the pattern I made for the edging. I kind of made it up as I went but it turned out pretty nice. [Note: The number of rows I used for the main body needed to be in quantities of 4 plus 1- this allowed this edging to line up nicely]

This is the pattern I used. Sorry if it looks messy; I like to draw my diagrams by hand.

After that, I could have just tied off and woven in the ends before moving on to the top long edge, but I decided to instead work up the side in a row of sc.

This made it so that I could move up to the top edge without cutting the yarn so many times. 

After that, I worked three rows of double-crochet on the top edge. (Note: I didn't count these stitches. I just made sure they bunched up a little on purpose. I hate counting - blech )

Okay, so this diagram is definitely messy, but I'm sure you get the gist of what I mean. Finally, I worked along the remaining short edge in sc stitches to match the other short edge. 

Last, but not least I wove in all my ends. Please please always weave in your ends. I'm not very nit picky about much in crochet, but I do believe strongly in the power of weaving-in-the-ends. Seriously, weave in the ends, or else.

I hope you like this little wrap. I found it to be very cozy - perfect for autumn. I'm probably going to make several more for friends and family before the season is over. 

If you would like any clarification, feel free to leave a comment. I love crochet talk! Dont forget to visit often to check out my endless crochet projects ;)