Crochet Pocket Shawl Free Pattern » Colour Ceilidh Crochet

This free pattern crochet pocket shawl is called Autumn Berries and is an easy breezy pattern with the tassel fringe made using the yarn tails from the color change. Featuring a generous size and a simple repeat of 5 colors in dcs and bobbles, this relaxed style shawl is beginner friendly and is great for romantic walks in nature to snuggle yourself into.

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The Yarn

This shawl is made using a simple repeat of 5 colors with King Cole Pricewise DK, King Cole Big Value DK and King Cole Meadow DK. I love the combination of mustard, amber, tan, navy and the mixed browns yarn which reminds me of pinecones in the fall. And it’s called Pinecone too! The warm colors remind me of the fall leaves and the dark blue provides a nice contrast.

The Design

I wanted a generous size shawl that covers my back and my sides enough. I also wanted roomy pockets and short tassels to soften the lines and to add a bit of playfulness.

The tassel fringe is also very practical in the making process. That’s because I’m just using the long tails from the color change between the rows, so you have no tails to weave in at the end. (But there’s also a no fringe – no tails to weave in option too below!)

How nice is that? You get to enjoy the flow of the colorway row by row… It’s a feast for the eyes… Pleasure to work with… And there are no consequences (weaving in the yarn tails) to deal with 🙂

The Stitch

This stitch is called the Blackberry Salad. It’s a very easy repeat of dcs and bobbles which is also a cluster of dcs. And it’s much easier than the popcorn stitch for example (in my opinion) because you don’t need to remove the hook to complete each bobble. I also find that dc must be the easiest stitch to work with for larger projects.

I’ve seen a few slight variations of this stitch. To make the blackberry salad for this pattern, you need to alternate a row of double crochet with a row of bobbles and double crochet stitches. Which when you do it in a repeat of 5 colors I think gives a very interesting result.

This stitch produces cute protruding “berries” on one side which is great for the cozy factor and it also looks gorgeous on the wrong side too.

Easy Styling

Because it looks so nice on the wrong side, it’s reversable! When I don’t want to wear it as a shawl, I sometimes wear it inside out as an oversized scarf over my navy wool coat. And wrap it around my neck to protect myself from the chilly wind.

It’s drapy and lightweight enough to create a nice and warm folded bulk around my neck that’s airy enough and I feel protected but not sweaty. All of this versatility is great for layering in the unpredictable weather like here in Scotland…

The presence of the navy blue makes it super easy to style it with a pair of blue jeans or jeggings. And the warm oranges and browns will easily match with a pair of brown boots.

Crochet Pocket Shawl Autumn Berries – Free Pattern

* – a lovingly made PRINT FRIENDLY version for a small fee.

Description

This crochet pocket shawl free pattern in King Cole Pricewise DK, King Cole Big Value DK and King Cole Meadow DK is called the Autumn Berries and is an easy breezy pattern made up of dcs and bobbles with the tassel fringe made using the yarn tails from the color change. Featuring a generous size and a simple repeat of 5 colors, this relaxed style shawl is beginner friendly and is great for romantic walks in nature to snuggle yourself into. Includes a tassel fringe photo tutorial and instructions for custom fit sizes, such as plus sizes. There is one row of front / back post double crochet to close in the top of pockets.

Sizes

One size or custom size including plus size, see below. Finished size measures approx 175 cm / 69 in length X 48 cm / 19 in width plus 2.5 in tassel fringe on either side.

Model’s height is 5’7 ft and the shoulder width is approx 14.5 in.

How To Custom Fit Your Pocket Shawl?

I have seen other crocheters’ advice to have the measuring tape hanging around your neck and measure from knuckle to knuckle, from bottom of one fist to another or from bottom of thumb to another when your hands hang relaxed at your sides.
Then if your gauge is the same as mine, take your measurement in centimeters and multiply it by 1.3. We need to make sure that this number is a multiple of 4 sts + 1, because that’s what the blackberry salad stitch requires. So divide it by 4 and pick your multiple if you get any decimals. Make sure that your chosen multiple of 4 +1 answer is close to the measurement times 1.3 answer above.

The result is your stitches per row, so to get the base chain, add two.
For example, when I measure from the bottom of one fist / thumb to another, I get 165 cm which I then multiply 165 x 1.3 = 214.5. When I divide it by 4 I get 214.5 / 4 = 53.6. So say I’m choosing my multiple to be 54. Then I need to take this number, multiply by 4 and add 1. 54 x 4 + 1 = 216 + 1 = 217. So 217 is my stitches per row, and my base chain is 217 + 2 = 219. Should I have chosen to go with 53 as my multiple, I would have gotten my stitch count as 213 and my base chain would have been 215. I didn’t choose the smaller number because I wanted a more generous size than a snug fit.
Now look at the pictures and if you decide that my pocket shawl is a little too generous in size for you, then perhaps you might want to measure a little higher up between your big knuckles.

Finally, I recommend making a multiple of 10 + 1 rows for the shawl and pockets because then you’ll begin and end with the same color and same row style which will make your shawl look more uniform.

Care Instructions

The care instructions for this shawl are very easy. All of the labels for King Cole Meadows DK, King Cole Big Value DK and King Cole Pricewise DK state that the yarn is acrylic or premium acrylic and the fabric is machine washable at 40 C. Yay!

Pattern Notes

Project difficulty: Easy

Beginner friendly, because the pattern repeat is very simple and you quickly gain automaticity
To change color at the end of the row, when you have two last loops on your hook and you’re about to yarn over and pull through for the last time in the last stitch, do so by grabbing the new color and dropping the old. Remember to leave long 10″ tails for the fringe for both colors. No need to tie or knot at this point. But see the tassel fringe tutorial below.
An example of quite a close color replacement to King Cole Pricewise DK in Admiral blue is Stylecraft Special DK in Lapis. I had only one skein of Admiral and although not ideal, Lapis did the job. You see Stylecraft yarn is a little silkier, softer and thinner which is not so great for keeping the bobble shape as well as the more matt and slightly fluffier and sturdier types of yarn like King Cole used in this pattern. So the shawl pictured is in Admiral, and the pockets are in Lapis.

The shawl and each pocket begins and ends with a row of dc in Pinecone, which gives it a nice uniform look without having to make a border.
My “berries” (bobbles) naturally stick out to the back. So when I’m making a row of dcs and bobbles, their “bums” puff out to the other side away from me.
The stitch count for every row in the shawl is 217 sts. But really all you need to make sure is that there are 3 dcs separating each bobble. And that there are either 2 or 4 dcs on either side of the bobble row.

The materials say 2 skeins of each color, but in reality only 10 – 30 g of the second skein was used.
Sourcing the yarn: I love to shop online from the comfort of my home and I’ve been buying from the following online retailers that ship to the US: Lovecrafts.com, Deramores.com (most links in this post) and Woolwarehouse.co.uk. You can find lots of brands there including King Cole and Stylecraft.

No Tails Color Change, No Weaving In

If you don’t fancy the tassel fringe you might be wondering how you’re going to manage all those tails. Or you like the fringe but you’re wondering how you’re going to make those colorful pockets without a hassle.

Well I’m here to show you that it’s possible! If you could make the magic knot exactly where you want the color change to happen, that would leave you no tails to deal with later, a neat edge and you’d still get to play with color as much as you please.

Check out how to change color leaving no tails to weave in tutorial and video if you’d like to know more.

This method works when you need to connect new or broken yarn in the middle of the row, at the end of the row or anywhere really, and I use it all the time. So no weaving in at the end, even if you choose to skip the fringe!

The pictures above and below are of my pocket after I’ve just completed it while applying the no tails method between rows. You can only see one magic knot where I changed the color. And there is just one tail from the foundation chain.

Materials

2 skeins each (2 X 100g) of King Cole Meadow DK in Pinecone, King Cole Big Value DK in Amber, King Cole Pricewise DK in Amber, Mustard and Admiral
Size H / 5 mm crochet hook

Scissors
Measuring tape

Gauge

There are approx 13.2 sts and 8.1 rows in a 4″ square as per pattern.

To make the gauge sample, make a multiple of 4 sts + 1, add 2 for base chain. Your stitch count will be base chain minus two.

Abbreviations (US Terms)

base chain: foundation chain
BPdc: back post double crochet

ch: chain
dc: double crochet
dc5tog: double crochet five together, or bobble stitch. Work 5 double crochet stitches into the same stitch leaving the last loop of each on the hook. So yarn over, insert hook in the indicated stitch, yarn over and pull through, yarn over and pull through 2 loops and stop there. Repeat 4 more times. Yarn over and draw through all loops on hook

FPdc: front post double crochet
rep: repeat
st: stitch

t: turn

Pattern Overview

Crochet the shawl leaving 10″ tails when you change color on either side of the rows.
Make the tassel fringe (tutorial below).

Crochet the pockets and stitch them on.

Pattern

This crochet pocket shawl free pattern is broken into the Shawl, the Tassel Fringe Tutorial and the Pockets.

Change color in every row and follow the simple repeat of these colors:

Pinecone – Big Value Amber – Pricewise Amber – Pricewise Admiral – Pricewise Mustard

The shawl and the pockets begin and end with Pinecone.

Shawl

Ch 219.

The stitch count for every row is 217 sts. Ch 3 counts as a st.

Row1 (right side) Dc into 4th ch from hook (counts as 2 dcs), dc in every st, t.

Row2 Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in same st, *dc5tog in next st, dc in next st 3 times; rep from * ending your last rep with dc5tog, dc in next st 2 times, t.

Row3 Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in same st, dc in every st, t.

Row4 Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in same st, dc in next st 2 times, *dc5tog in next st, dc in next st 3 times; rep from * ending your last rep with dc5tog, dc in next st 4 times, t.

Row5 Same as row3.

Rep row2 to row5 until you have 41 rows, fasten off.

Tassel Fringe Tutorial

This tutorial shows how to make a tassel fringe using yarn tails leftover from changing color between the rows.

As you change color between the rows, leave approx 10″ tails. When you finish the shawl, trim the tails so they’re mostly the same 10″ length.

Take your cluster of two tails from one color change.
Insert the hook back to front through the space behind the post where you changed the color. Pull the tails through.
Have the length of the tails fold into 3 equal parts.

Make a simple knot positioning it at the top of the tassel.
Cut the loops and trim the tassels to form a more or less even fringe to your liking.

Thus the 10″ tails formed an approx 2.5″ tassel fringe for your crochet pocket shawl free pattern.

Pockets

Make 2.

Ch 43.

The stitch count for every row except last is 41 sts. Ch 3 counts as a st.

Rep row2 to row5 of the Shawl until you have 20 rows.

Row21 Ch 2 (doesn’t count as st), FPdc around post directly below, *BPdc around the next post, FPdc around next post; rep from * skipping the bobbles, fasten off.

When you fasten off the pockets, leave about 3X the length of the pocket seam for sewing. Stitch pockets on positioned in the middle approx 1.5″ from the shawl bottom.

More Ideas

This easy pocket shawl by Winding Road Crochet uses only single crochet stitches which is great for beginners. And Your Crochet has a list of 10+ best pocket shawls – all free patterns – for you to explore, which means there’s likely to be something for everyone.

Well Done!

I hope you enjoyed this free pattern for my crochet pocket shawl Autumn Berries.

If you did, please share the link to this post with your friends, subscribe to my email list (the form pops up when you click around or come back again), Pin your favourite image by hovering over it and follow me on Pinterest so you never miss a pin, like my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram to see behind the scenes and for more color in your life.

Happy crocheting!

Justina