Sending your child off to college is hard. Sending your child off to college 10 hours away in the dead of winter at the height of a pandemic is much harder. It makes you think about a lot of things. I spent a lot of time thinking about the male Emperor penguins who forgo food for two months during the Antarctic winter incubating their precious egg by balancing it on their feet. Love is definitely a feeling, but it’s also a verb. Emperor penguins love their offspring. I have absolutely no doubt.

My Antarctic egg incubating equivalent, was packing everything that I thought that my child might need quarantined alone for 14 days 10 hours away from home. There were lists with sub lists. Medical supplies, groceries to last two weeks, and everything essential to supply an empty apartment. And of course, warm clothes were crucial for long walks to the grocery after the quarantine was completed. 

In my mind, a homemade Mom scarf was all that my son needed to keep him safe in the world. At least that was my magical thinking as the quest for a pattern began. Searching Google using the terms “men’s scarf patterns” turned up a lot of great looks, and I thought that he would like the classic look of a ribbed scarf best, so the next step was choosing a yarn. 

Lion Brand Jeans® yarn in the color Stovepipe was my first choice, and I thought that the back post double crochet stitch would give me a well-defined ribbed pattern. The Jeans® yarn is incredibly soft and just what I would want wrapped around my face and neck on a frigid day in January. Stovepipe really appealed to my son with its black base and white highlights. The final scarf was warm and soft, but using the back post double crochet stitch in every row made for a scarf that was too accordioned-feeling for my taste. 

My son thought that the scarf was fine, but I didn’t. Remember that an egg is at stake here, figuratively speaking. To reduce the accordion tendency, I made a second scarf adding a row of double crochet stitches between each row of back post double crochet stitches. This time I used Lion Brand Jeans® yarn in Vintage, a charcoal gray color with white highlights. The ribbed pattern only shows up on one side of the scarf, but the overall feel of the finished product is much less bunchy and more comfortable to wear. Now he has two scarves and double the love.

Detailed instructions for how to make each scarf are described below so that you can make the one that you prefer for your own precious egg.

Instructions

Scarf with Ribbing on Both Sides
Lion Brand Jeans® yarn in Stovepipe, three 100g skeins
5.5mm crochet hook
Chain 240 to work the scarf lengthwise.
Double crochet into the fourth chain from the hook and in each chain across to the end of the row.
At the end of the row, chain 3 and turn your work.
Back post double crochet around each post including the turning chain 3.
Repeat the pattern until you reach your desired width.
My finished scarf measured 65” long by 4.75” wide.

Scarf with Ribbing on One Side
Lion Brand Jeans® yarn in Vintage, three 100g skeins
5.5mm crochet hook
Chain 304 to work the scarf lengthwise.
Double crochet into the fourth chain from the hook and in each chain across to the end of the row.
At the end of the row, chain 3 and turn your work.
*Back post double crochet around each post including the turning chain.
Chain 3 and turn your work.
Double crochet in the second stitch and continue until the end of the row.
Chain 3 and turn your work.
Repeat from * until you reach your desired width.
My finished scarf measured 77” long by 5.5” wide.

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