Crocheted Shrug [aka, A Series of Tubes!]
Aug. 19th, 2008 04:03 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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craftgrrlI realized the other day that I've been crocheting for years and have never made a shrug. This is partly because a great majority of the finished shrugs I've seen has struck me as floppy, sloppy, or just weren't my style at all.
Yesterday, the urge struck to give it a go, and after a bit of reading on the subject of how-to-make, I came to the realization that all a shrug is, in its most basic form, is a rectangle that gets transformed into a series of tubes. I'm aware that I'm probably the last person to catch onto this fact, but it's the truth. Getting that piece of information was the last bit of the puzzle, and I am now a crocheter who has made a shrug.
I whipped it up with a P-hook and Red Heart Light and Lofty. It took just over a skein, but I think I can work it down to a single skein by starting the sleeves just above the elbow instead of just below. I measured from an inch below my elbow to the top ball of my shoulder, and then I measured across my shoulders. From elbow to shoulder it was 12", and from shoulder-to-shoulder it was 15", so 12+12+15=39. I made my rectangle 40" long because I like working with even numbers, and then I just folded at the 12" marks from both ends and seamed with a slip stitch. I think one of the reasons some shrugs can look sloppy is that people don't take the time to get a measurement, and so you get shrugs that have a lot of extra that just kind of hangs around.
It's very cozy, if a touch itchy, but I think I can work out the itch with a bit of fabric softener and a round through the washer and dryer. I'm debating whether or not I want to add a collar. Given the thickness of the yarn, I think it'd be overwhelming.
Comments, questions, and critiques are always welcome!
Yesterday, the urge struck to give it a go, and after a bit of reading on the subject of how-to-make, I came to the realization that all a shrug is, in its most basic form, is a rectangle that gets transformed into a series of tubes. I'm aware that I'm probably the last person to catch onto this fact, but it's the truth. Getting that piece of information was the last bit of the puzzle, and I am now a crocheter who has made a shrug.
I whipped it up with a P-hook and Red Heart Light and Lofty. It took just over a skein, but I think I can work it down to a single skein by starting the sleeves just above the elbow instead of just below. I measured from an inch below my elbow to the top ball of my shoulder, and then I measured across my shoulders. From elbow to shoulder it was 12", and from shoulder-to-shoulder it was 15", so 12+12+15=39. I made my rectangle 40" long because I like working with even numbers, and then I just folded at the 12" marks from both ends and seamed with a slip stitch. I think one of the reasons some shrugs can look sloppy is that people don't take the time to get a measurement, and so you get shrugs that have a lot of extra that just kind of hangs around.
It's very cozy, if a touch itchy, but I think I can work out the itch with a bit of fabric softener and a round through the washer and dryer. I'm debating whether or not I want to add a collar. Given the thickness of the yarn, I think it'd be overwhelming.
Comments, questions, and critiques are always welcome!
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