Crochet Ribbed Scarf. It’s like knitting, only better!

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Knitted scarves are beautiful and soft, but a crocheter wants to crochet! Crochet is faster than knitting, and is great for producing nice chunky stitches. But too often, crochet scarves turn out awkward and stiff, lacking the nice drape and softness of knit. Determined to make a warm, soft, beautiful crochet scarf, I set out on my quest to find the perfect way to crochet a scarf.

I experimented with a lot of stitches to find one that would look nice (on both sides of the piece, because who wants a one-sided scarf?), would feel nice (not too dense, and with soft and smooth stitches), and that would work up quickly.

What I finally settled on is this beautiful ribbed variation of a half double crochet stitch. I love the look and feel of scarves made using this stitch.

Here’s how it’s done:

Start with a row of half double crochet (hdc).

The following rows will all be worked in the ribbed hdc variation. The only difference between a normal hdc and the ribbed variation is with where you insert your hook. Hdc stitches create an extra horizontal loop below the ‘V’ where you would normally insert your hook. To create hdc ribbing, you will insert the hook through that extra loop instead of through the V.

Some pictures to help:

The image below shows the hook inserted through the V, like a normal hdc. This is not how you will complete this stitch.

The next image shows the hook inserted in the horizontal loop. Continue hdc through these horizontal loops, and you will create the ribbing, it’s that easy!

You won’t really start to see the ribbing effect until after a few rows, and it tends to look strange on a short piece (like the swatch below). So don’t give up on it too soon! It really is a simple and beautiful stitch, especially for a scarf.


Making the Scarf 

Once you have the hang of the ribbed half double crochet stitch, making a scarf is a lot of fun. The scarf is worked up lengthwise, so the length of the starting chain determines the length of your scarf, and the number of rows determines the scarf’s width. I’ll walk you through how to figure out how long your starting chain should be.

**If you don’t want to calculate and don’t care about the exact length of your scarf, just make a chain wide enough that you can hold it in both hands and stretch your arms wide. Then, add 10-20 more stitches, and start crocheting your scarf!

Yarn
You can use any size yarn, but I recommend not using special fuzzy yarns because they will hide the ribbing – this stitch looks best with a standard yarn. I’ve used cotton, wool, acrylic, and more, and all have worked well, just not fuzzy yarns.

Hook
I recommend a hook that is a size smaller than you would typically use with your yarn – the ribbing turns out best when the stitches aren’t too loose.

First step: Crochet a swatch

The best way to calculate how many stitches you will need is to start by crocheting a swatch. To create a swatch, chain 15 stitches. Complete 5 rows of the half double crochet ribbed stitch.

Measure the 10 stitches in the middle of the swatch and write this measurement down. You will use it to calculate the number of stitches needed to complete the scarf.

The swatch I created measures about 2.75 in. for each 10 stitches.

Determine the length of the chain

Now we need to use our swatch measurement to determine how many chains to make to get the desired scarf length. Between 6-8 feet (183-244 cm) is usually a good length. I’ll shoot for 6 feet for this example. First, I’ll convert that to inches. There are 12 inches in a foot, so my 6 foot scarf will be 72 inches.

So how many 10-stitch segments does it take to reach 72 inches? Here’s a simple formula:

Scarf Length / Swatch Measurement = X

Plugging in my numbers I get:

72 in. / 2.75 in. = approx. 26

So I will need 26 10-stitch segments to complete the scarf. In other words, I will need 260 stitches.

The width

Just keep adding rows until you like the width of your scarf. Not sure what width a scarf should be? Between 5 – 7 inches (12-18 cm) is usually a good standard size.

And you’re done! No finishing off needed.

I love using this stitch for scarves, but it’s also beautiful for blankets. I’m sure there are other applications as well, play around with it and let me know what you come up with! Also, if anything is unclear, feel free to ask for some help or clarification. Thanks for reading 🙂

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Made several scarves following your directions because my granddaughter’s friends all fell in love with these. They are so easy and beautiful!!! Thanks

I’m confused what to do after first row and turn…lol

Would this rib stitch make a good blanket/afghan?

I love this scarf! But I have made two and am very careful when I chain two and turn. I can’t
make my edges to come out straight across. They tend to grow. How do you makes your
Edges so straight?

This is an amazing scarf! I’m going to make one for my husband, but I have a quick question- Do you chain at the end of each row or just turn and start working on the next row?

Very beautiful result! 🙂

Hi Jenn,

I just made this scarf up for the first time and I wanted to say “thank you!” for sharing this pattern with us all. I love how mine came out that I made for a male friend. I know he’ll love it and feel special, which is what I want.

Thank you again!
Lisa( aka Knitterlee on Rav)

What size hook and what type of yarn did you use? My scarves dont turn out as nicely as yours, and I was wondering what I could be doing wrong…

I don’t understand about the loop below instructions. Could you please clarify that? Thank you! The pattern though is very nice!
Alizandra

Thabk you SO much for this amazingly simple and beautiful stitch! Way to think outside the box! I am crocheting hats for a friends mom who recently got diagnosed with cancer and I was able to whip up matching gorgeous scarves effortlessly! Half double is my favorite stitch and this confirms it!
Tina

Very nice. Going to trade it in for my DC back stitch only

[…] {if anything productive was going to happen the rest of the day, now any chance was shot} and found this amazing scarf pattern from Jenn Ozkan. It works a half double crochet the length of the scarf for a ribbed look that you […]

Great looking pattern! Can’t wait to get enough yarn to be able to try it out.

I DO have a question (of course). I’ve recently returned to crochet after a more than 2 decade hiatus. It’s coming back pretty easily, but there are a few things that I question ever having learned correctly when I was younger, & I get a bit bewildered over them. One thing is how to start into the foundation chain. I’ve seen a couple of other questions about this, so I guess I’m not the only one.

Here goes: When you say to start the hdcs into the bottom loop of the chain, I find this confusing. To me, at the risk of sounding stupid, there are 3 loops in a chain: the top of the “v”, the bottom of the “v”, & the little bumpy nubbin underneath. So – do you mean to start the hdds in the bottom loop of the “v”, or in the little bumpy nubbin?

Other than that, I think it sounds pretty straightforward to me & I can’t wait to give it a try. Hopefully, by the time I have the yarn at hand, I will have an answer to the chain question & will be able to cross that bit of confusion off my befuddlement list.

Thank you!

Hi Nancie, I agree, ‘bottom loop of the chain’ sounds a bit confusing. What I meant was the bottom of the V. Hope you enjoy this stitch, glad you’re picking up crochet again 🙂

Ah, got it! Thanks for the quick reply to clear this up.

Hi,
I got a little problem with the pattern, because my scarf ribbes horizontaly with the width of the scarf, instead of the length. What am i doing wrong?

This scarf is crochetet along the length of the scarf. Right now, sounds like you are crocheting across the width of the scarf. You should start with a long chain, which is as long as you want your scarf to be. Hope that helps 🙂

I like knitting, but it takes much longer to finish a scarf. I usually do the hdc in the back loops and get a somewhat similar result but this is the perfect crochet stitch for my next scarf!
Thank you for sharing, I will be on this tonight!

have come across your beautiful pattern of HALD DOUBLE CROCHET this on my favite stitch never thought about doing this beautiful stitch your way>> wow love the results

por favor necesito un video de esta puntada, estoy perdida, y no se como empezar. Gracias.

I am going to crochet this for my grandson of 26. how many chains for what length??? thanks. Barbara from Panama City, Florida
It is amazing….so glad you worked this pattern out……

Thank you so much for sharing your pattern. I discovered it last night on PINTEREST and started and finished one today. Works up really quick and it does look like a knitted scarf instead of crochet. Whenever I wanted a rib affect in the past I would just crochet in the back look. Your technique looks better. Thanks again. Happy crocheting!

I’m confused:(…after the 1 st hdc row where do I got from ther

At the end of the row do I crochet two chains and then turn the work? Or just go into the next stitch?

Chain one and turn. When you reach the end of the row, no need to crochet into the chain from the last row. Just crochet in each hdc across, chain one, turn.

I just made the scarf and it turned out beautiful and soft
Thanks so much
Gail

Hi I’m making my second scarf from this pattern and I love it!! It works up quickly and turns out great! I did wonder how many chains you started with and how many rows across you made though? Thanks again for sharing your pattern.

Thank you for the stitch. I will be making it tomorrow. Do you think that I can make this with an N needle and two strands on the needle at the same time?

[…] and take off the scarf without wreaking havoc on your hairstyle, but I also wanted to try out this ribbed crochet technique. My favorite thing about the world of crafting is that you are free to mix and match and do things […]

Hello!

I’m a spaniard woman living in Holland… What a wonderful stich and wonderful scarf!!! So nice that I’ve just finished the scarf for my brother in law for this christmas in one day! Very easy stich and very elegant.

Thank you very much for sharing.

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