Crochet Houndstooth Scarf
I LOVE the crochet Houndstooth Stitch and doesn’t it look great in a scarf?!! It is an all-time favourite that deserves to be visited on a regular basis. In fact, one day I should write a love letter to it, it’s that good. And by love letter, I mean a blog post of its very own, a dedication to my love of the Houndstooth stitch!
It is such a simple crochet stitch pattern; just two basic little stitches. When you introduce two colours, on top of each other in tidy rows, a little bit of magic happens. It’s so pretty! US single and double crochets (AKA UK double and treble crochets) sit together in pairs to replicate the classic textile of the same name.
Depending on which side you look at the fabric, one colour will dominate and that’s one of the things that makes it such a delight.
This crochet houndstooth stitch scarf pattern is part of a set that’s not yet released. Together, they will be henceforth known as Barking Mad. I am not sharing it all today. I am saving the rest for a later date. On the horizon are a couple of other accessories that will join this awesome crochet scarf pattern.
I made the Barking Mad scarf a few weeks ago but have not had the time to show it off. Instagram tells me that I was working on it in November 2024! Feels like ages ago!
Due to a busy December and a surprisingly busy January too, I haven’t been able to publish it. I am still struggling for time so the rest of the Barking Mad set will be released in a few weeks. Probably to coincide with the weather getting nicer, typical!
Houndstooth Crochet Scarf – The Yarn.
To make your own easy crochet houndstooth stitch scarf, you need two colours of yarn. To make it extra special, I introduced a lace-weight mohair yarn to hold with two indie-dyed skeins of sock-weight yarn.
This weekend is the Unravel Yarn Festival in Farnham and funnily enough, I purchased both of the main yarns at the festival. Each skein weighs 100 grams. The beautiful blue is a yarn I bought from Spectrum Fibre at Unravel in 2019. The label tells me it is a Twisted Sock (love a high twist yarn!!) called Little Blue Dress. Then, I went again last year and bought a skein from Bona Yarns called Mostisky. I think that’s the name. That one isn’t a high twist but when paired with the mohair, you can’t tell that they are a different yarn base.
In stash, I had mohair to closely match both shades. Seeing as mohair normally comes in 25 gram balls, I needed two balls of each colour (typically, for every 50g of sock or fingering weight yarn, you need 25g of lace-weight mohair. Most of the time I use Drops Kid Silk mohair as it is reasonably priced.
If you have never used fluffy yarn to crochet with, read my top tips for using mohair here. It is one of my favourite things to do to achieve beautiful crochet makes.
You do not have to use mohair with your chosen yarn. This Houndstooth stitch scarf will look fabulous in most yarns. I think a Merino DK yarn would be awesome and I want to make one soon. Just make sure you use the appropriate sized hook for the yarn you choose. (For a DK, that would most likely be a 4mm crochet hook).
Special Crochet Stitches
There are a couple of things that you will find useful when following the scarf pattern. Here are some special crochet stitches that I use.
Stacked Start (SSt) – How to Start the Crochet Rows:
This is instead of starting rows by chaining, it avoids that pesky hole at the ends of the fabric. So much better than chaining 3!
Here is how to crochet a Stacked Start: Insert hook in first st, yarn over [yo] and pull through, yo and pull through both loops on hook (it helps to gently pinch the st at this point to make the next stage easier), *insert hook in left leg of the st (the pinch helps the back loop to become looser and more visible), yo and pull through, yo and pull through both loops; rep one more time from *.
Watch this crochet video for a Stacked Start (time stamp 5:12). Note that for this houndstooth stitch scarf I did not bother working in the loop behind.Â
US dc3tog / UK Tr3tog (a decrease):
Yo hook, insert hook into first st, yo & pull through (3 loops on hook), yo, pull through 2 loops, yo, insert into next st, yo & pull through (4 loops on hook), yo, pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), yo, insert into next st, yo & pull through 2 loops, yo and pull through all loops.
(Stacked) Beg of Row US dc3tog / UK tr3tog:
Insert hook in first st, yo and pull through, yo and pull through both loops on hook (it helps to gently pinch the st at this point to make the next stage easier), insert hook in left leg of the st and the loop behind it (the pinch helps the back loop to become looser and more visible), yo and pull through (2 loops on hook), yo and insert hook into next st, yo and pull through (4 loops on hook), yo and pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), yo and insert hook in next st, yo and pull through (5 loops on hook), yo and pull through 2 loops (4 loops on hook), yo and pull through all loops.
This decrease to start rows is demonstrated in the same video as linked above. Watch from 9:40.
Barking Mad Houndstooth Stitch Scarf Pattern
Oky poky, you want to crochet this easy peasy crochet scarf? If, like me, you are using two pretty coloured sock-weight yarns held with mohair, reach for a 3.75mm hook.
Note that it is a lot easier to use a couple of stitch markers at the beginning and end of rows. Move them up each row. I often don’t bother with them but here, I found the decrease stitches a bit tricksy to see so a stitch marker identifies exactly where the first and last stitches of a row are. PM means place marker. MM means move marker.
Also, note that you want to carry the yarn so you don’t have to sew in loads of ends. What that means is you crochet over the non-working yarn as you go. Gently give it a little tug every now and then so it’s not too loose. But don’t pull so tight that it scrunches up your scarf. Keep the tension even.
To change colour, pull it through on the last yarn over of the previous row. Then you are ready to start the next row with the new colour.
Houndstooth Scarf Pattern
As the instructions are quite brief, below are separate patterns for US and UK crochet terminology. I assume you know the more standard terms. Special stitches are above, you have scrolled past them….
Crochet Scarf Pattern US terms
With YA, make a magic ring or ch3 and join with sl st.
Row 1: (1SSt, 2dc) into the ring, turn. – [3 sts]
2: (1SSt, 2dc) in first st, 1dc in next st, 3dc in last st, turn. – [7 sts]
3: With YB, (1SSt, 2dc) in first st, 1sc in next st, *1dc, 1sc; rep from * to last st, 3dc in last st, turn. – [11 sts]
4: With YA, (1SSt, 1dc, 1sc) in first st, 1dc in next st, *1sc, 1dc; rep from * to last st, (1sc, 2dc) in last st, turn. – [15 sts]
5- 15: Rep Rows 3 & 4 ending with Row 3. – [59 sts]
16: With YA, (1SSt, 1dc, 1sc) in first st, 1dc in next st, *1sc, 1dc; rep from * to last 3 sts, dc3tog, turn.
17: With YB, Beg of Row dc3tog, PM, 1sc in next st, *1dc, 1sc; rep from * to last st, 3dc, turn.
18- 128: Rep Rows 16 & 17, ending with Row 16. – [59 sts]
129: With YB, Beg of Row dc3tog, PM, 1sc in next st, *1dc, 1sc; rep from * to last 3 sts, dc3tog, turn. – 55 sts.
130: With YA, Beg of Row dc3tog, PM, 1dc in next st, *1sc, 1dc; rep from * to last 3 sts, dc3tog, turn – [51 sts].
131 – 141: Rep Rows 129 & 130, ending with Row 129 – [7 sts]
142: With YA, Beg of Row dc3tog, – [3sts]
143: Beg of Row dc3tog.
Fasten off and cut yarn.
Crochet Scarf Pattern UK terms
With YA, make a magic ring or ch3 and join with sl st.
Row 1: (1SSt, 2tr) into the ring, turn. – [3 sts]
2: (1SSt, 2tr) in first st, 1 tr in next st, 3tr in last st, turn. – [7 sts]
3: With YB, (1SSt, 2tr) in first st, 1dc in next st, *1tr, 1dc; rep from * to last st, 3tr in last st, turn. – [11 sts]
4: With YA, (1SSt, 1tr, 1dc) in first st, 1tr in next st, *1dc, 1tr; rep from * to last st, (1dc, 2tr) in last st, turn. – [15 sts]
5- 15: Rep Rows 3 & 4 ending with Row 3. – [59 sts]
16: With YA, (1SSt, 1tr, 1dc) in first st, 1tr in next st, *1dc, 1tr; rep from * to last 3 sts, tr3tog, turn.
17: With YB, Beg of Row tr3tog, PM, 1dc in next st, *1tr, 1dc; rep from * to last st, 3tr, turn.
18- 128: Rep Rows 16 & 17, ending with Row 16. – [59 sts]
129: With YB, Beg of Row tr3tog, PM, 1dc in next st, *1tr, 1dc; rep from * to last 3 sts, tr3tog, turn. – 55 sts.
130: With YA, Beg of Row tr3tog, PM, 1tr in next st, *1dc, 1tr; rep from * to last 3 sts, tr3tog, turn – [51 sts].
131 – 141: Rep Rows 129 & 130, ending with Row 129 – [7 sts]
142: With YA, Beg of Row tr3tog, – [3sts]
143: Beg of Row tr3tog.
Fasten off and cut yarn.
Blocking Your Crochet
I think blocking your crochet is important and adds extra impact. It neatens up the fabric and sets the stitches. All I did to block this scarf was to pin it out on the blocking mats and run a bit of steam over the top of it. Once it was dry, the drape was immense!
Eh, a houndstooth stitch scarf may not require the attention of blocking but I do think it is worth the extra effort to ensure you get the best out of your crochet.
Keep scrolling for a sneak peek at one of the other Barking Mad accessories.
And that’s it! What do you think? I really hope you like this crochet houndstooth stitch scarf as I think it’s an absolute doozy!! And if you like my crochet work, have you checked out my other free crochet patterns?
