Free Crochet Pattern - Teacher Appreciation Pencil Scarf

Teachers can have such an impact on our children's lives. Recently my son's teacher had to leave the school to care for her ailing mother, and because she had been such a stellar influence on my family I felt compelled to create her a parting thank-you gift for all she's done. If there's a teacher or educational professional in your or your child's life that you appreciate, give them a gift of thanks with this cute crochet Pencil Scarf. It features easy texture stitches for the body (post stitches) and the ferrule (back loop single crochet) to give it some depth, and graphghan-style lettering to let the recipient know you think they're "No. 1". The lettering may be difficult for beginners, but instructions are provided to leave it off if desired. The length of the scarf can also be extended or reduced by adding or subtracting rows in the yellow body of the pencil before the lettering section. It doesn't need a full skein of any color except yellow (only if you decide to significantly extend the length), so it's a great project to use up scrap yarn as well. Scarves typically measure the armspan of the recipient from fingertip to fingertip, so keep in mind the person's height when figuring how many rows you need.

Difficulty:

Easy

Materials:

- Worsted weight (4) yarn -

• black or charcoal gray - approx. 6yd
• peach/fleshtone/tan - approx. 8yd
• yellow - approx. 181 yd
• gray/silver - approx. 9 yd
• pink - approx. 6 yd

- Size I (5.5mm) crochet hook

- yarn needle

- stitch markers (optional)

Gauge:

11 rows/16 sts per 4" in hdc

Finished size:

Approx. 5" x 60" (length adjustable; if planning to extend scarf, approx. 3yd additional yellow needed per each 2 added row)

Terminology:

ch - chain
hdc - half-double crochet
inc - increase (two half-double crochets in the same stitch)
rep - repeat
hdc spike - half-double crochet anchored not in the top of last row, but two rows down
fpdc - front post double crochet
bpdc - back post double crochet
blsc - back loop single crochet

Instructions:

Pencil point (5 rows black, 5 rows tan):

Row 1: Begin with black. Ch 2. 2 hdc in 2nd ch from hook. Ch 1, turn. (2 sts)
Row 2:  Inc in each st, ch 1, turn. (4 sts)
Row 3: Inc in first st, 1 hdc in next 2 sts, inc in last st. Ch 1, turn. (6 sts)
Row 4: Inc in first st, 1 hdc across to last st, inc in last st. Change to tan on last st, ch 1, turn. (8 sts)
Row 5: Inc in first st, 1 hdc across to last st, inc in last st. Ch 1, turn. (10 sts)
Rows 6-10: Repeat Row 5. On last rep, change to yellow before final ch 1, turn. (20 sts)

Pencil body/shaft (130 rows):

You may do more or fewer rows as desired in this section to change the length of the scarf, as long as you keep the following two sections to 12 rows (gray ferrule) and 4 rows (pink eraser) respectively. Stitch markers every 10 rows may be helpful for row counts, but aren't necessary.

Row 11: 2 hdc. Hdc spike. *4 hdc, hdc spike. Repeat from * until end of row. Ch 1, turn. (4 spikes + 16 hdc = 20 sts, last rep is incomplete)
Row 12: 6 hdc, *fpdc, 6 hdc. Repeat from * to end of row, ch 1, turn. (2 fpdc + 18 hdc = 20 sts)
Row 13: 6 hdc, *bpdc, 6 hdc. Repeat from * to end of row, ch 1, turn. (2 bpdc + 18 hdc = 20 sts)
Rows 14-123: Repeat rows 12 and 13. (20 sts)

If you do not want lettering, continue repeating rows 12-13 for another 17 rows (to row 140), changing to gray in last stitch. Skip to "Ferrule" instructions.

Lettering (optional):

Using this diagram as a guide, create "No. 1" in the center portion of the end of the pencil shaft,
between the front post stitches. You may use whichever technique you prefer for color changes as long as the fpdc side (RS) of the scarf looks smooth and the letters are readable. When dropping colors to the back, always do so towards the bpdc side (WS). The intended stitch color will be abbreviated and placed in brackets [ ] whenever you are to change colors. Example: [Y] 6 hdc, fpdc, [B] 6 hdc, [Y] fpdc, 6 hdc would equate to 7 yellow stitches, 6 black stitches, and 7 yellow stitches.

Row 124: [Y] 6 hdc, fpdc, [B] 6 hdc, [Y] fpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 125: [Y] 6 hdc, bpdc, 1 hdc, [B] 2 hdc, [Y] 3 hdc, bpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 126: [Y] 6 hdc, fpdc, 1 hdc, [B] 2hdc, [Y] 3 hdc, fpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 127: [Y] 6 hdc, bpdc, [B] 6 hdc, [Y] bpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 128: [Y] 6 hdc, *fpdc, 6 hdc.  Repeat from * to end. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 129: [Y] 6 hdc, bpdc, 2 hdc, [B] 4 hdc, [Y] bpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 130: [Y] 6 hdc, fpdc, [B] 1 hdc, [Y] 2 hdc, [B] 1 hdc, [Y] 2 hdc, fpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 131: [Y] 6 hdc, bpdc, 2 hdc, [B] 1 hdc, [Y] 2 hdc, [B] 1 hdc, [Y] bpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 132: [Y] 6 hdc, fpdc, [B] 4 hdc, [Y] 2 hdc, fpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 133: [Y] 6 hdc, *bpdc, 6 hdc. Repeat from * to end. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 134: [Y] 6 hdc, fpdc, [B] 1 hdc, [Y] 5 hdc, fpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 135: [Y] 6 hdc, *bpdc, 6 hdc. Repeat from * to end. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 136: [Y] 6 hdc, *fpdc, 6 hdc. Repeat from * to end. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)
Row 137: [Y] 6 hdc, bpdc, 1 hdc, [B] 1 hdc, [Y] 3 hdc, [B] 1 hdc, [Y] fpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)

Row 138: [Y] 6 hdc, fpdc, [B] 6 hdc, [Y] fpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)

Row 139: [Y] 6 hdc, bpdc, [Y] 5 hdc, [B] 1 hdc, [Y] fpdc, 6 hdc. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)

Row 140: [Y] 6 hdc, *fpdc, 6 hdc. Repeat from * to end. Change to gray on last st, ch 1, turn. (20 sts)

Ferrule (12 rows):

Rows 141-142: Hdc in each st across. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)

Rows 143-150: Blsc in each st across. Ch 1, turn. (20 sts)

Rows 151-152: Hdc in each st across. Change to pink in the last st, ch 1, turn. (20 sts)

Eraser (4 rows):

Rows 153-156: Hdc across, ch 1, turn. Fasten off on last row, weave in all ends securely. You may use single crochet to border the scarf in the color(s) of your choice, but a border is optional.

*Do not repost my patterns elsewhere without my permission, for free or profit. You are welcome to post what you make from them online, but please link back to the associated pattern page. Thank you for your cooperation, and happy hooking!*