Rainbow in the clouds scarf

Ain't this the sweetest thing you've ever seen!  Clearly I didn't make it for the teddy, but my mini wasn't feeling up to modeling so I went with plan B.

The scarf itself is really simple, just 16 rows of front loop single crochets. Front loop only because I like that ridged look it creates. I made it long enough to be wrapped twice around the neck, but I didn't count how many stitches it was. Sorry...

The cloud part was a bit more challenging. I just couldn't find an easy pattern that was properly shaped. In the end It took me about two days of trying before I came to this pattern. It's not perfect but it gets the job done. 

I made a prototype cloud in "normal" yarn but switched to fluffy yarn for the scarf. Fortunately fluffy yarn tends to cover up some of the mistakes you make. Unfortunately the texture of fluffy yarn makes it a lot more likely that you'll be making mistakes.

To make life easier on myself I crocheted the clouds with a 8 mm hook. This and the fluffy texture did resolve in the clouds being slightly bigger in fluffy yarn than the prototype.

I know working with fluffy yarn can be very daunting. The best tip I can give you is to just trust your muscle memory and to "feel" your way trough. Your fingers will be a better tool in determining where your next loop is than your eyes. 

I wanted to have a "cloudy" look on both sides but I didn't want to make it to heavy. So I sewed on one cloud then outlined a cloud on the back with slip stitches and filled it in with a combo of slip stitches and single crochets. I know that's not very technical at best it's very pragmatic ;)

Necessities: 

• 4 colors of yarn (I used acrylic yarn)
• White fluffy yarn
• 7 mm hook
• 8 mm hook
• Needle

Stitches used:

Sc = single crochet

Sl = slip stitch 

Sk = skip 

St = stitch

Dc = double crochet

Hdc = half double crochet

Front loop = the loop facing you/closest to you

Directions scarf:

With your 7 mm hook make a chain in your desired length.
Round 1: ch1, sc trough front loop of second chain from hook, repeat till end of chain. Turn. 

Round 2: ch1, sc trough front loop of second chain from hook, repeat till end of row. Turn. 

Round 3: ch1, sc trough front loop of second chain from hook, repeat till end of row. In the last stitch we will be changing color. 

To change color, you insert your hook and pull up one loop (two loops on hook). Instead of pulling trough a loop of your original color you pull trough a loop of your new color. Make sure you keep hold of the tails of both colors of yarn to get proper yarn tension. Turn. 

Round 4: ch1, turn your tails around so they are lying on top of your last row. Now simply continue crocheting single crochets trough front loop till end of row. This will literally secure and incorporate the tails into your scarf. Turn. 

Round 5-15: repeat this process for all your colors, then finish off and weave tails in. 

Directions clouds (make 2):

Chain 4, join with sl. 

Round 1: 4sc in ring = 4st 

Round 2: 2sc in each sc = 8st

Round 3: 2sc in each sc = 16st

Round 4: 2sc in each sc, join with sl= 32st (I know technically we did 33 but your circle hasn't gotten any bigger, so it still counts as 32)

Round 5: sk2, 8dc in third stitch from hook, sk2, sl in next 9st, sk2, 8dc in third stitch from hook, sk2, sl, 2hdc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in next 3 stitches, 2hdc in next 2 stitches, sl = 41st
You should have ended up at the base of your star (aka the little semi-circle that we've added), if this is not the case add slip stitches until you do.

Round 6: 2hdc in next 8 stitches, sl in next 9 stitches, 2hdc in next 8 stitches,sl and finish off. Leave a very long tail to sew. 

Assemble: 

Place cloud on scarf and use needle and tail to sew to scarf. Next use the same tail to crochet an outline on the backside of your scarf with slip stitches. How you say? You don't have a loop! Yes, you do. Simply insert your hook in one your existing stitches and pull up a loop. Crochet away. Use a combo of sl and sc to fill in the outline by crocheting in the gaps.

Surprise your favorite mini with this cute & warm scarf!