A Free Crochet Pattern for a Crochet Lace Scarf Featuring Bold, Colorful Shell Stitches

You can crochet this fabulous scarf using a taller, lacier variation of the popular vintage crochet shell stitch.

Update 10-5-2024: My original scarf project sample was multicolored. I now have a solid-colored version of this scarf to show you, too! I like the solid-colored version better. Which one do you prefer? Please let me know in the comments!

You can crochet this beautiful, lacy shell stitch scarf using the free crochet pattern posted below.

Amy Solovay is the designer of this scarf pattern. Amy is a living human, not a robot and not artificial intelligence (AI).

This matters because untrustworthy AI-generated crochet patterns are flooding the internet. You really don’t want to waste your time working them because they don’t typically work out. Maybe someday they’ll get better, but right now, if you attempt them, you’ll waste a lot of time and yarn.

So even if this scarf isn’t what you want to make right now, I invite you to check out my other patterns (and also my crochet book recommendations) because I only offer and recommend human-generated crochet patterns.

Related Resources: Crochet Scarf Patterns | How to Crochet a Scarf | Crochet Accessories | Shell Stitch

Project Description:

Special Stitch: The Lacy Treble Shell Stitch, shortened to “Lacy Shell” in the pattern below — Work the following sequence into the same chain stitch or half double crochet stitch, as directed in the pattern below: tr, ch 1, tr, ch 1, tr, ch 1, tr.

List of Supplies:

Yarn: You’ll need three different colors of worsted weight yarn. I worked the multicolored sample projects in acrylic yarn, and I crocheted the solid-colored project using Cascade 220 wool yarn. I think this design would also be lovely if crocheted in alpaca or other fibers.

Yarn Brand and Colors: The first time I crocheted this scarf, I used several different colors of Caron Simply Soft yarn. The colors I used are as follows:

• Color A: Strawberry, the bright pink colored yarn
• Color B: Autumn Maize, the golden tan colored yarn
• Color C: Chocolate, the rich dark brown yarn

To keep the same general look, you’d want to go with one bright color, one light color, and one dark color. There’s no rule that says you have to keep the same general look, so feel free to experiment with different color values.

This might not be the best color combination to work into your wardrobe, so feel free to choose other colors if they’d suit your needs better.

I wear quite a bit of khaki and brown, so this color combination works well for accessorizing many of my outfits. I think the pink is an interesting accent; I have NO other clothes this color, so it adds a bright cheery (and eye-catching) touch of color close to my face. I love that!

I enjoyed crocheting this design so much that I tried a second colorway:

• Autumn Maize
• Bone
• Antique White

I’d love to try other color combinations, such as using Autumn Maize, Autumn Red, and Antique White together. For a tested-and-true cool color combination, I already know from other projects that Sage, Bone and Blue Mint work well together, so that’s another good combination you could try.

You can also crochet this stitch pattern in one color if you like, or you can vary the number of colors you’ll use.

Crochet Hook: I / 9 – 5.5 mm

Other: Tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Crochet Abbreviations Used in This Scarf Pattern:

• ch = chain
• ch-1 space = chain-1 space
• ea = each
• hdc = half double crochet
• rep = repeat
• sc = single crochet
• tr = treble crochet
• st = stitch

Design Notes:

This scarf features an interesting mirror-image design. To create this effect, the beginning of your scarf eventually becomes the center of the design; you start crocheting in the spot that will turn out to be the middle of the piece. Then you work in rows until the scarf reaches half the overall width, at which point you flip the work over and start again in the center. From there, you work more rows to complete the other half of the scarf.

Center of a Lacy Shell: When you are directed to work into the center of a lacy shell, work into the center ch-1 space in the shell – the second of the three ch-1 spaces you crocheted when working the lacy shell in the previous row.

Changing Colors: If you want to work with several colors as pictured, you should have an understanding of how to change colors.

Before you complete the last step of the last stitch in each row, change to the next color you want to work with.

Loose Ends: If this pattern has a downside, it’s that you generate bunches of loose ends from all your color changes. I recommend weaving them in as you go, to avoid having a big headache at the end.

Here’s how I did mine: After attaching each new color, I’d work the turning chain in the new color, then cut the old color. If you do it that way, before you proceed with the row in the new color, you can then weave the old color into the stitches of the last row worked, and crochet overtop of them with the new color. For even more security, you can leave a little bit more of a tail at the end to be woven in the usual way, if you like. I’ve found that this method is more secure than just weaving in my ends, and I have started to do this with crochet patterns featuring lots of open areas, like this one has. Of course, feel free to use the method of your choice for weaving in your ends. If you’d rather do it in the usual way, you certainly can.

How to Crochet the Scarf:

Using color A, Ch 203.

Row 1: Using color A, work a hdc st in the third ch from your hook. [Skip 3 ch sts. In the next ch, work a lacy shell. Skip next 3 ch sts. Hdc in next ch st.] Rep the sequence in brackets all the way across the row. At the end of the row, change colors to color B.

Row 2: Ch 4, turn. Your turning chain counts as the first tr in the row. Work another tr into the same st, ch 1, then work another tr into the same st. [Work a hdc in the center of the next lacy shell, then work a lacy shell into the next hdc st.] Rep the sequence in brackets all the way across the row. At the end of the row, work a hdc st into the center of the last shell, then work a tr into the last hdc, ch 1, then work 2 more tr into the same st. Before completing the last step of the last st, change colors to color C.

Row 3: Using color C, ch 2, turn. Hdc in first st. [Work a lacy shell in next hdc st, work a hdc st in the center of the next lacy shell.] Rep the sequence in brackets all the way across the row. End the row by working a lacy shell into the next hdc st, then working a hdc st into the turning chain. Before working the last step of the last st, change colors to color A.

Row 4: Using color A, ch 4, turn. Your turning chain counts as the first tr in the row. Work another tr into the same st, ch 1, then work another tr into the same st. [Work a hdc in the center of the next lacy shell, then work a lacy shell into the next hdc st.] Rep the sequence in brackets all the way across the row. At the end of the row, work a hdc st into the center of the last shell, then work a tr into the last hdc, ch 1, then work 2 more tr into the same st. Before completing the last step of the last st, change colors to color B.

Ch 1, turn.

Row 5: Using color B, work sc st across the entire row as follows: Put 1 sc st in ea tr, hdc, or ch-1 space.

After you’ve completed row 5, flip your work so that what used to be the bottom is now the top, and what used to be the top is now the bottom of the piece. Attach color A; if you’re right-handed, attach it in the upper right-hand corner. If you’re left-handed, you’ll most likely want to attach your yarn in the upper left-hand corner.

Row 6: To crochet this row, you’re going to be working back across your starting chain. The ch sts will all have sts already worked in them (from when you worked row 1 at the beginning) but don’t let that bother you! You can still work more sts into these chains.

Using color A, ch 2, then work a hdc in first st in the row. [Skip 3 ch sts. In the next ch, work a lacy shell. Skip next 3 ch sts. Hdc in next ch st.] Rep the sequence in brackets all the way across the row. At the end of the row, change colors to color B.

Rows 7 – 10: Rep rows 2 – 5 to create a mirror-image of the first half of the scarf.

End off and weave in any remaining loose ends.

Enjoy your new crocheted scarf!

Another Crochet Project Using The Lacy Treble Shell Stitch:

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Posted By: Amy Solovay

This page was last updated on 10-5-2024.