Kaity's Corner: Grusha's Scarf from Pokemon Violet

This is my inaugural Kaity's Corner post! If you're not sure what that means, check out my previous post on the topic.

A customer recently asked if he could commission a scarf to look like Grusha's scarf from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. A quick Google search told me that yes, I can absolutely make that! I was really excited for the opportunity both to get a completely custom order and to write a pattern. It's been a while since I flexed my writing muscles (except to tweak a few steps in already-written patterns), so to start the year on a more creative foot felt awesome!

I have a PDF of this pattern available to purchase on Ravelry, which can be found here. It doesn't have the advantage of no ads since my blog doesn't have ads either, but the PDF is downloadable, printer-friendly, and a little more streamlined for reading. Consider this blog as a guided walkthrough, while the PDF is more of a set of instructions.

Source: https://scarletviolet.pokemon.com/en-us/characters/grusha/

Step one was figuring out the texture! This screenshot from the actual game shows that the scarf is knit, so I wanted to do something more than crochet in the front loops only. I tried double crocheting in the third loop, and I liked it, but since this is a flat scarf that gets turned, I felt there was too much distance between the "V"s. Single crocheting in the third loops looked perfect... but I'm impatient and I didn't want to have to do single crochet for such a wide scarf. So I settled on half double crocheting in the third loop! It makes for a really nice texture, mixed between looking crocheted and mimicking the knit look.

My first attempt at the scarf, I made it far too short. I had test wrapped it around my neck once, and 5'6" seemed long enough. I made the entire thing, only to realize... it needs to wrap around the neck TWICE! Suddenly 5'6" was WAY too short. So I started over and this time made it 6'8" long.

Abbreviations (in US terms)

• fhdc: foundational half double crochet
• tlhdc: third loop half double crochet
• sc: single crochet
• mr: magic ring
• sc2tog: single crochet two stitches together
• inc: increase by making two stitches into the next open stitch
• ch: chain
• sl st: slip stitch
• rep: repeat

Materials

• Yarn A: worsted weight yarn in royal blue (I used Caron Simply Soft in Royal Blue), 258 yards
• 246.5 yards for the scarf body
• 11.5 yards for the Pokeball
• Yarn A: worsted weight yarn in bright red (I used Caron Simply Soft in Harvest Red), 211.3 yards
• 168.3 yards for the scarf body
• 18.5 yards for the Pokeball
• 24.5 yards for the tassels
• Yarn C: worsted weight yarn in white (I used Caron Simply Soft in White), 9.25 yards (this color is only used for the Pokeball)
• Stuffing: about 15 g of fiberfill. In a creative pinch, I have used clean Kleenex to stuff a small project!
• 6.5 mm crochet hook (US K/10.5)
• 4.0 mm crochet hook (US G/6)
• yarn needle for weaving in ends
• scissors
• measuring tape

Gauge

6 sts and 4 rows = 1.75". While gauge isn't vital to this project, working loosely will help make it easier to work into the third loops. If your foundational row comes out tighter, you can simply add more stitches to make the project as long as it needs to be. For the Pokeball trim, you will want to work more on the tight side so the stuffing doesn't show through.

Instructions

Scarf body: 6.5 mm hook

1. With color A, fhdc until your row is 6'8" long. Depending on your gauge it should be approximately 320 stitches, but stitch count is not important. When measuring, pull gently on the row but don't stretch it all the way taught.

If you're not comfortable doing fhdc, you can chain a length of 6'9" and hdc across. If you do, make sure you make your stitches in to the back loop so you still have two pretty loops on the bottom of your project!

I'm obsessed with using foundational stitches. I try to use them as often as I can! I find it much easier than making a starting chain, especially for long projects like this one. It's easier for me to count whole stitches than chains - or, in the case of this project, I can crochet up until the length I need, and rip out the last few stitches if I accidentally make it too long! Foundational stitches have become such a staple for me that I made a video tutorial of how to do it for those of you who aren't familiar!

2 - 4. Ch 1 and turn; tlhdc across

The third loop of a stitch is just below the front and back loops that we usually crochet in to (the "V" part). In the photo below, the usual loops are highlighted in green; the third loop, which you'll be working in to, is highlighted in orange.

Below shows how the third loop will look on your hook. When the starting row is facing you, it looks normal. But when you flip the project so that the top of the row is facing you, you can see that the normal "V" part of the stitch is pushed out.

It can be awkward to crochet in to this third loop, so it's important to keep your gauge on the looser side - hence why I used a 6.5mm hook for a worsted yarn. The tighter you pull your yarn, the harder it will be to work in to that third loop. 

If the photos aren't enough, check out my video tutorial of working in to the third loop below:

5. rep row 2, changing to color B on the last stitch (total of 5 rows of color A)

The edges will look pretty messy with the first and last stitches made into the third loops. If this were going to be a plain scarf, I would single crochet or slip stitch around the edges. But one end is going to have tassels, and the other is going to have a Pokeball sewed on to it - so we really don't need to worry about having clean edges here!

To change from color A to B, I used the same end-of-row method I always use. Work the last stitch of row 5 in this way: Yarn over, insert hook into the third loop, yarn over, and pull up a loop. Then drop the working end of yarn A, pick up yarn B (leaving about 6" of a tail to weave in later)...

and pull through all 3 loops on the hook. This has completed the flhdc in color A, with the new active loop on your hook being color B. You will then chain 1 and begin row 6 in color B!

Written words are often not enough for me to learn a new crochet technique, so here's a video for you!

6. With color B, ch 1 and turn; tlhdc across. 

I crocheted the first stitch of row 6 on top of the blue and red tails, then left them out and wove them in once I finished the scarf.

7 -12. rep row 6, changing back to color A on the last stitch of row 12 (total of 7 rows of color B)

13. With color A, ch 1 and turn; tlhdc across.

14 - 17. rep row 13 (5 new rows of color A)

18. turn; sl st in the third loop across. Fasten off and weave in all ends.

This is going to give the last long edge a nice, crisp look just like the starting edge with the foundational stitches. You can skip this row if you'd like, but I recommend doing it!

Now it's time to make the Pokeball and the tassels for the ends!

Tassels

Cut 52 pieces of color B to 17" long. Tie two strands at a time to one end of the scarf. 

You will have enough strands to tie two to the end of each row, plus several extra to fill in the gaps and make the tassels look more full. I took a video of this as well!

Pokeball: 4.0 mm hook

The Pokeball is made from the bottom up in traditional amigurumi style. Do not join at the end of each row; place a stitch marker into the last st of the row. Move this marker up at the end of every row.

• With color C, work 8 sc into a mr. Pull the tail tight to close. (8 sts)
• inc around (16 sts)
• [sc, inc.] around (24 sts)
• [sc, sc, inc] around (32 sts)
• [sc, sc, sc, inc] around (40 sts)
• [sc, sc, sc, sc, inc] around (48 sts)
• [sc, sc, sc, sc, sc, inc] around (56 sts)
• sc around (56 sts)
• rep row 8
• rep row 8, changing to color A on the last st of the round (56 sts)
• With color A, sc around (56 sts)
• rep row 11
• rep row 11, changing to color B on the last st of the round (56 sts)
• With color B, sc around (56 sts)
• rep row 14
• rep row 14
• [sc, sc, sc, sc, sc, sc2tog] around (48 sts)
• [sc, sc, sc, sc, sc2tog] around (40 sts)
• [sc, sc, sc, sc2tog] around (32 sts)
• [sc, sc, sc2tog] around (24 sts)
• [sc, sc2tog] around (16 sts) Stuff the ball after this round. Don't over stuff it - aside from looking lumpy, overstuffing the ball will also make it too heavy at the end of the scarf.
• sc2tog around (8 sts) Fasten off and cut a long tail, about 2', for sewing. Add a tiny bit more stuffing if necessary to round out the very top of the ball.

To sew the ball closed: Using a yarn needle, weave the yarn tail through the front loops of row 22. When you pull this tight, it will close up the opening very neatly. Check out my video on this below!

Use the same tail to sew the ball to the second end of the scarf. Try to line up the ball so that the visible color changes are facing a flat side of the scarf - this way, you can sew the button on to cover the color changes and the ball will be facing forward when the scarf is worn. 

The color changes, which look zig-zagged, are perfectly covered by the button!

Sew across the top of the ball so that it is attached all the way across the red rows of the scarf (rows 6-12). Don't worry - this won't flatten out the top of the ball! Weave the end in through the ball a few times before cutting the yarn.

Make the Pokeball button, 4 mm hook:

• With color B, sc 6 into a mr. Pull tight to close and join to the first stitch with a sl st. Do not turn. (6 sts)
• Ch 1; inc around. Join with a sl st to the first st of round 2. Do not turn. (12 sts)
• Ch 1; [sc, inc] around. Join with a sl st to the first st of round 3. Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. (18 sts)

Sew the button flush onto the Pokeball, covering up the color changes of the ball and making sure that the button faces one of the flat sides of the scarf. Weave both ends in through the ball. Pat yourself on the back - you're finished!!!

This pattern is copyright Kate Schwerzler of Charm and Strange Crochet. Pokemon, Pokeballs, and Grusha are copyright Nintendo. You may sell the items you make using this pattern, but do not share or redistribute the pattern; only use your own photos when sharing images. Please credit Charm and Strange Crochet as the designer if you share or sell this item.