Feb
What You Actually Need
So I made one of these last February when I was basically living on my couch binge-watching The Last of Us and I just needed something mindless to do with my hands. The rectangular shawl is honestly the best first real project because you literally just make a rectangle and wear it.
You’re gonna need a size J or K hook—I used a 6mm which is basically a J hook. For yarn I grabbed two skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in like a burgundy color because it was on sale at Michaels. You could also use Red Heart Super Saver if you want something cheaper but it’s a bit more scratchy. Caron Simply Soft is good too and really soft obviously. Get at least 600 yards total to be safe, maybe 800 if you want it bigger.
The Basic Concept Here
A rectangular shawl is just a long rectangle that you drape around your shoulders or wrap around your neck. That’s it. You’re not shaping anything or decreasing or doing sleeves or whatever. You chain a bunch, then you work rows back and forth until it’s long enough.
The width of your starting chain determines how wide the shawl sits on your shoulders. I did about 60 inches wide and it was good. The length you crochet determines how much it wraps or drapes—I did mine about 20 inches long which sounds small but it’s plenty.
Starting Chain
Chain like 200 stitches. I know that sounds insane but it goes faster than you think. Don’t count every single one because you’ll lose your mind. What I do is chain 10, then put a stitch marker or just tie a piece of different yarn around that 10th chain. Then keep going and mark every 10 or 20 chains. When you get to roughly 200 you can count the markers instead of individual chains.
The thing that really annoyed me was that my starting chain kept twisting and I had to keep untwisting it before I could start the actual first row. Just lay it out flat on your couch or table or whatever before you start row 1.
Row 1
Okay so in the second chain from your hook, do a single crochet. Then single crochet in each chain across. This takes forever. I’m not gonna lie to you. My cat kept walking across my chain and I had to restart twice because she messed up where I was.
When you get to the end, chain 1 and turn your work around.
All The Other Rows
This is where it gets easy. You’re just gonna single crochet in each stitch across, chain 1, turn. Repeat that until your rectangle is as long as you want.
Single crochet in every stitch means you insert your hook under both loops of the stitch from the previous row, yarn over, pull through (now you have 2 loops on hook), yarn over again, pull through both loops. That’s one single crochet done.
Keep going across the whole row. Count your stitches every few rows to make sure you’re not accidentally increasing or decreasing. You should have the same number the whole way. If you’re gaining stitches you’re probably accidentally crocheting into the chain-1 turning chain at the end of rows—don’t do that, skip it. If you’re losing stitches you’re probably missing the very last stitch of each row because it’s hard to see.
How Long To Make It
I did about 20 inches but you can go up to like 30 inches if you want more of a wrap situation. Every few inches try it on and see how it feels. The nice thing about a rectangle is there’s no wrong answer really.
It took me maybe 8 hours total? I wasn’t timing it but it was like three or four evenings of TV watching.
If You Want Texture Instead
Plain single crochet works fine but if you want some texture you can do half double crochet instead. It works up faster too which is nice for something this big.
For half double crochet: yarn over first, then insert hook into stitch, yarn over and pull through (now 3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all 3 loops at once. Then chain 2 at the end of rows instead of chain 1 before turning.
Or you could do a whole double crochet for even more drape and speed. Yarn over, insert into stitch, yarn over and pull through (3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 loops (2 loops left), yarn over and pull through last 2 loops. Chain 3 to turn.
I stuck with single crochet because I wasn’t confident yet with the taller stitches and I didn’t want to screw it up but honestly half double would’ve been… wait I actually did try a few rows of half double at one point and switched back because I didn’t like how it looked with that specific yarn, it got too floppy.
Finishing The Edges
When it’s long enough just fasten off. Cut your yarn leaving like 6 inches, pull the tail through the last loop, done.
Weave in your ends with a yarn needle. Thread the beginning tail and weave it through stitches along the edge for a few inches then trim. Do the same with the ending tail.
You don’t really need a border or anything. The edges of single crochet are already pretty finished looking. If they’re a little wavy you can block it which just means getting it damp and pinning it flat to dry but honestly I never bothered.
Yarn Combinations That Worked
Like I said I used Wool-Ease which is acrylic and wool blend. It’s warm but not too heavy. The shawl I made is actually still my go-to for when my apartment gets cold.
My friend used Caron Cakes for hers and the color changes made it look way fancier than it actually was construction-wise. Those big cakes have like 500+ yards so you might only need one.
If you want something lighter for not-winter, try Knit Picks Comfy Sport weight. You’d need a smaller hook though, probably an F or G, and your starting chain would need more stitches to get the same width. Maybe like 300 chains? I haven’t actually done this with sport weight I’m just guessing.
Common Problems I Had
My tension was all over the place for the first like 15 rows. Some rows were tight and some were loose so the edges looked weird. It eventually evened out as I got into a rhythm. If this happens to you just keep going, it’s not gonna be perfect and that’s fine.
I kept losing track of which row I was on. Doesn’t really matter for a basic rectangle but I’m the kind of person who wants to know. I started using a row counter app on my phone but then I’d forget to increment it half the time so whatever.
The other thing is your hands might get tired. Take breaks. I had to stop every hour or so and do something else for a bit.
Variations You Could Try
Instead of single crochet every row you could do stripes of different stitches. Like 5 rows single crochet, then 5 rows half double, then back to single crochet. That creates texture bands.
Or use two colors and carry the unused color along the edge, switching every 2 rows for stripes. I haven’t done this but I’ve seen it and it looks good.
You could also make it narrower and longer for more of a scarf shape instead of a shawl. Like maybe 12 inches wide and 60 inches long. Same exact process just different dimensions.
Fringe If You Want It
Cut a bunch of yarn pieces all the same length, maybe 10 inches each. Fold one in half, insert your hook through the edge of your shawl, grab the folded loop with the hook and pull it through a bit, then pull the two ends through that loop and tighten. Do this every inch or so along the short ends.
I didn’t add fringe to mine because I thought it would be annoying but it does look nice on other peoples.
How To Actually Wear It
Just drape it over your shoulders like a blanket scarf. Or wrap it around your neck a couple times. Or fold it in half diagonally to make a triangle shape and wear it like a traditional shawl with the point in back.
There’s no wrong way. It’s a rectangle of fabric. You just put it on your body somewhere that feels cold.
The one I made stretched out a little after wearing it a bunch which is normal for acrylic yarns. If you want something that holds its shape better use wool or cotton but those are pricier usually. Wool-Ease is a decent middle ground.
