Roo's Button Adjustable Cowl/Scarf Pattern

My brother Roo is a proud member of the Zulu Nation, but feels comparatively short on tribal costume. Since a northern European heritage does mean sunburn, he was very happy to have a T shirt I dyed with woad for him last time he was home.  In KwaZulu-Natal, knitwear may not be as useful.  Still, having about 200m of Jacob hand spun, also dyed with woad, I decided to make him a small scarf.  
Perfect for those nippy July evenings on the beach.

Reading the May edition of Handspinning News I saw Mary Keenan's free pattern for a Crazy Cowl, ideal for uneven hanspun wool and knitted all in button holes, with a button to fasten it wherever you like.  A brilliant idea, which I have her permission to copy in crochet.  I will now point out with considerable pride that a couple of my projects have also been featured. While the offspring tell me 50 pageviews in a day is not 'going viral', I claim small bacterial zit status on the blogosphere.  One day, Wool Tribulations will go carbuncular! 

Crochet is a very straightforward way to create something full of potential buttonholes.  This is the first time I have made up a crochet pattern more complex than rows of double crochet. Anyone skilled could look at this bit of crochet and see how it was done, easy, no need for a pattern. For those like me, who tend to get mixed up when turning and lose or gain a stitch, I have made a clean copy of my final chart for the whole repeat square.  Also, spot the deliberate mistake, I got it wrong with the starting square in the photo. Look closely and you will see the treble mesh goes one row too many in the first block.  By the time I had unravelled several unworkable false starts and was happy with the width and balance of structure and spaces, I could not be arsed to start again.

This chart should make squares, in which the 'button holes' - clear squares outlined in pen on the chart - will match up when you match the two ends at right angles. 

For Roo's Cowl, I used a 4mm crochet hook.  I am now making another from the natural lilac coloured part of the same Jacob fleece with a 7mm hook and the fabric feels softer as well as being wider and looser.

Chain 29 stitches, chain one more for the turn, then *double crochet into each of the 29 stitches. Turn, chain 5, then treble crochet into the third stitch on the base line and the following two.  Chain two, miss two stitches, treble crochet into the next three, repeat to the end, when one treble crochet goes into the last stitch. 
Chain one, turn and double crochet into each of the 29 stitches.  Repeat this row once.  
Chain 4, missing one stitch, treble crochet into the second stitch on the base line. Chain one and treble crochet into the second stitch away until you reach the end.  Repeat this row once.
Chain one, turn and double crochet into each of the 29 stitches.  Repeat this row once.
Chain 4, missing one stitch, treble crochet into the second on the base line. Chain one and treble crochet into the second stitch away until you reach the end.  Repeat this row twice.
Chain one, turn and double crochet into each of the 29 stitches.  Repeat this row once.
Chain 4, missing one stitch, treble crochet into the second on the base line. Chain one and treble crochet into the second stitch away until you reach the end.  Repeat this row once.
Chain one, turn and double crochet into each of the 29 stitches.  Repeat from *

This is the basic square pattern.  I had enough wool to make eight repeats and the dimensions were 15cm (6 inches) wide and 123cm (4 feet) long.  The lilac Jacob one on the 7mm hook is 20 cm (8 inches) wide and will continue growing til the ball of wool runs out. 

Finish by working one more row of double crochet along the top, then come down the side putting two double crochet stitches around each treble post and one double crochet in the hole between  each double row of double crochet stitches.  Across the bottom putting one double crochet into each of the 29 chain, the back up the other side in the same way as the first side.  

Wash and dry flat.  Sew a button onto the double crochet just below the first and last button hole on the first two pattern blocks - four buttons. 

Elinor models two buttoned up options

Pictured left, put the centre of the scarf under your chin, bring the end with buttons over one shoulder, then the other end over the other shoulder and button it at right angles to make a point.  Above, button the top and bottom ends together to make a loop and double it over your head.
Belle channels tribal style - Celtic Hound.