Crochet guide
How to crochet a scarf
A plain crochet scarf is a long, narrow rectangle in rows of one stitch. Decide how wide and how long it will be, choose which way the rows run, make the chain and keep the same number of stitches in every row. This guide takes those decisions in order.
On this page 8 parts
Before you start
A first scarf needs a chain and one stitch. If you have not made those yet, begin with how to crochet and come back.
This guide is a plan, not a pattern. It gives no stitch counts, because they depend on your yarn, your hook and your hands. For a scarf written out row by row, see the scarf patterns.
Stitch names on this page are United States terms, with the United Kingdom name in brackets where it differs.
1. Decide the width and the length
A scarf for an adult is usually 60 to 70 in (152 to 178 cm) long and 6 to 8 in (15 to 20 cm) wide. An old rule for the length is to make the scarf about as long as its wearer is tall.
None of this has to be exact. A scarf still fits when its length or its width comes out a little different. The scarf size chart gives sizes for children too.
2. Choose which way the rows run
A scarf can be worked in two directions.
| End to end | Lengthwise | |
|---|---|---|
| The starting chain | Short: as wide as the scarf | Long: as long as the scarf |
| The rows | Many short rows, until the scarf is long enough | A few long rows, until the scarf is wide enough |
| Stripes | Run across the scarf | Run along the scarf |
| The long edges | Made of the ends of the rows | Made of the chain and the last row |
| The length | Decided as you go | Fixed by the chain |
End to end is the plainer start: the chain is short, and you stop when the scarf is long enough. Lengthwise gives stripes that run the length of the scarf, but the length is fixed once the chain is made.
3. Pick a stitch, a yarn and a hook
One basic stitch is enough. Double crochet (UK treble crochet) and half double crochet (UK half treble crochet) are both used in scarves written for beginners.
Both sides of a scarf show when it is worn. A piece in rows of one basic stitch looks nearly the same on both sides, and so does moss stitch. Which crochet stitch to use has more on stitches for scarves.
A thick yarn with a large hook covers the same size in fewer stitches. Start with the hook named on the yarn's label, and buy the yarn from one dye lot so that the color matches. The hook size by yarn weight chart gives the usual range of hooks.
4. Make the starting chain
For a scarf worked end to end, the chain is the width of the scarf plus the turning chains your stitch needs. The starting chain calculator works out the number from a small swatch.
For a scarf worked lengthwise, the chain is the length of the scarf. Some makers start with foundation stitches in place of such a long chain. See foundation half double crochet.
Either way, make the chain loosely. If your chains come out tight, make them with a larger hook and change back for the rows.
5. Keep the width even
Every row must have the same number of stitches. Count now and then, and you will see at once if the scarf is getting wider or narrower. The stitches to watch are the first and the last of each row. See straight edges.
6. Finish
Fasten off after the last stitch and weave in the ends. A fringe on the two short ends is a matter of choice, and the short ends can also be seamed to make an infinity scarf. Finishing a scarf shows the ends and the fringe, and joining an infinity scarf shows the seam.
Patterns to follow
- Scarf patterns
- Lace scarf patterns