In my last post I told you about my Cool Cat Cuff design in the new Fall Issue of Interweave Crochet, and today I will tell you about the second design- the Far Out Ruana. This design also started out as a smaller project, inspired by their call for crochet that looks like macrame. I devised a stitch pattern after studying various macrame knot combinations. It is basically a series of chains that are joined together at different intervals. It has a lovely drape, and it looks a little like a fancy fish net. It looks different when it is stretched out vs. draped over your shoulder which is interesting and eye-catching.
My original idea was a for a delicate scarf. The editor really liked the stitch pattern and decided she wanted it to be used on a larger scale project, a ruana. A ruana is a fun and versatile piece to have in your wardrobe. It is like a garment, but functions as a shawl too.
If you like the idea of the stitch pattern to be used in a scarf, you can just do less rows, and customize the length of a panel to your desired length.
The Ruana is made in two panels and then crocheted together with some decorative detailing added to the center back. My photos the finished sample seemed to have disappeared from my files, so I can't show you in this post, but I plan to take photos when I get the sample back so I can point out the details! Since the stitch pattern is mainly chains, it only takes 4 skeins of yarn, and the yarn used in the sample is a readily available and affordable yarn, Lion Brand Heartland.
Post Update:
Thanks to one of my blog readers, it has come to my attention that the edging instructions for this pattern were mistakenly left out of the magazine. I contacted Interweave and they said they will update Ravelry and their errata page with these instructions.
