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What shape is this shawl?

Shawlmaker

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Empress Busy Bee Proficient

Empress Busy Bee

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I'm terribly sorry I may have been unclear. I think I've been asking the wrong questions. Is there an easy-to-make crochet shawl out there that will cover my mom's arms to her wrists while worn backward when sitting in a wheelchair

I think you have been clear in what you are asking.  It is that without making and trying shawl patterns, it is hard to guess which ones will work.

Ruanas might not work.  I thought you could pick one and customize it in length both front and arms so it would work.  Maybe not though.

I looked some more under different things.  Maybe one will work.

This one is tunisian and made specifically for wheelchair people.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mitred-cape

Another one made for wheelchair bound people.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wheelchair-wrap

This one has a shape similar to the one you posted.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fit-for-a-princess-4

This one also has a similar shape.  You might want to leave the lace on the bottom of and you don't have to change colors if you don't want to.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/extermawrap

This one is called elder care.  Maybe it will work.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elder-care-warm-shoulders-capelet

Hopefully one of these will help.

 

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Granny Square Grand Master

Granny Square

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I apologize,  I may have given you too much 'theory' to explain the construction of the shawl design/swatch I suggested.  

Since you wanted to make a portion of a circle, I was trying to explain how to make a flat round circle without a pattern.  It was meant to explain how the increases worked, and how that depended on which stitch was used to determine how many stitches in a round.  "Make ring" could be an adjustable ring, or a small number of chains joined in a ring.  Don't worry about the ring part, you want a half circle or slightly less than a half circle, so you're not working in the round but rather back and forth and you don't need to start with a ring.

If you like the shape of the swatch I made, if you like I can write up instructions for you using the number of stitches you think looks right for the 'neckline shape', using your intended yarn and hook you are comfortable with (I just made up 40 stitches as an illustration) .  if you think my swatch needed one more 'pie slice', I can write that up for you as well.  If you'd rather it be in HDC or SC than the DC I went with, no problem.  Really, the pattern is just a tiny bit of math after getting the number of neckline stitches, and the pattern will just be a couple of lines - after the set up row, it's all 'turn, chain 3, DC into DCs and (ch1, DC) into each  ch-1 space".

As far as the ruana, there are short elbow-length ones.  The thing is, although you can wear it like a cape with the front flaps flipped behind you, for your mom wearing it backwards...it would end up being like a bib with really wide ties, that might be hard to deal with for her if she has trouble putting her arms over her head to deal with them.

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Shawlmaker Enthusiast

Shawlmaker

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I'm terribly sorry I may have been unclear. I think I've been asking the wrong questions. Is there an easy-to-make crochet shawl out there that will cover my mom's arms to her wrists while worn backward when sitting in a wheelchair? And it can be tucked in behind her and doesn't come too far up her neck? Sorry, my mom is extremely high maintenance and has to have things just so. It's exhausting. The Ruana seems like there will be too much material? More like a blanket? There's an idea--cut up a blanket!

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ReniC Grand Master

ReniC

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Just now, Shawlmaker said:

Possibly renic! Thanks! 

You're welcome. I do hope something works out for you. :)

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Granny Square Grand Master

Granny Square

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Here is a swatch, starting with 20 stitches versus 40 in my example above.  

Holding it over the photo in the first post, the angles seem to match pretty closely.  BTW, the reason I chose the increase to be a chain and not a second DC was because it was a little more decorative, plus it makes it super mindless to work after setting up the first row--to just ch1, DC each time you hit a chain space.  I'm not sure why I have 1 more stitch on one edge than the other, that could be easily tweaked...also I did an alternative to a chain 3 turn on the edges (turn, no chain, sc in first stitch, chain 1)

Alternately, if you think you need it wider but still less than half round, doing the math like I did above, but figuring 6 segments instead of 5, will give you 5 increases so should still yield less than a half circle shape.

scan0010.jpg

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Granny Square Grand Master

Granny Square

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Ah, so she's not walking around while wearing it, so less chance of shoulder fall-off, and doesn't need it to go all the way around her, gotcha.  This reminds me of my mom, when she sat down to watch TV or read she'd put her cardigan over herself backwards - not wear it, just drape it around herself as your mom has done with her shawl.

What occurs to me is something like the generic knitting references I published above, but for taller stitches in crochet, following the recipe to make a flat circle.  Here's the recipe:

SC=6, HDC=8 or 9,  DC=12

SCs are about half the height of DCs, and HDCs are between the 2.  Here's how to use the recipe - for the stitch given, the number is the number of stitches in the first round, and the number of stitches increased in each round.  The pattern would look like this for DC for example (leaving of the joining of rows and chaining up, the chain counting as a DC)

1) make ring, make 12 DC into ring (12 DC)

2) make 2 DC into each DC (24 DC)

3) DC in first 1 stitch, 2 DC into next DC,  repeat (36 DC)

4) DC into first 2 stitches,  2 DC into next DC, repeat (48 DC)

5)  DC into first 3 stitches,  2 DC into next DC, repeat (60 DC)

etc.  Notice the pattern forming, each round there is 1 more 'plain' stitch between stitches with increases in them.

So...you could make up your own pattern, using this recipe.  A plain DC shawl would be solid and warm, and a little quicker to do than a shorter stitch, so I'll assume DC. I'm also assuming that you want less than a half circle; 6 segments would be a half circle, so I'd think 5 segments would come close to the shawl she is wearing. What I would do (or attempt to do, it seems feasible in my head!) is grab a hook and the same yarn (or at least yarn weight to experiment with) that you want to use, and make a chain about the length you'd want the neck part to be,in a multiple of 5, plus 2 (when you DC flat, starting with a chain, you chain 2 more than the number of DCs you want, then your first DC goes into the 4th DC from the hook--so over the first 4 chains, you have 2 DCs, which is 2 chains more than the number of DCs).

Ok, so what I just said above was row 1; let's say the multiple of 5 that you picked was 40 stitches, which at a gauge of 4 stitches per inch would be 10" for the neck (I'm making up numbers to use for the math, does that seem about right?  Going with that number...

1) After the  foundation chain of 42, turn, DC in 4th chain from hook and in remaining chains. chain 3, turn

2) (OK, so you want 5 segments, so 40 divided by 5 is 8 stitches) Skip first stitch (as you normally would when doing DC with a ch 3 turn), DC in next 6 stitches, chain 1 and DC in the next stitch, *DC in the next 7 stitches, chain 1 and DC in the next stitch, repeat from * twice more, DC in remaining stitches, ch 3, turn

3 and remaining rows) DC in DCs, (ch1, DC) in chains).  

I think this will work, what I'm wondering is if it's going to be too much less than five twelfths of a circle because this gives you 4 increase points.  I'm going to make a swatch and make sure this works...

 

 

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Shawlmaker Enthusiast

Shawlmaker

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GS, I'm so frustrated. I made two great shawls, but neither work for her. This photo of her current shawl works because it covers her entire arms while worn backward and the sides tucked in behind her back. All is not lost, though, because there are other beneficiaries. 

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Granny Square Grand Master

Granny Square

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Here is a doily with 24 points (which I think the original picture, if it was a modified doily, would have had).  I can look a bit more if you are interested (have to weed thru a lot that are more open, which you probably wouldn't want)

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spider-web-doily-9

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Granny Square Grand Master

Granny Square

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This shawl really reminds me of a well known doily pattern (knit) https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hemlock-ring-doily-7556

Doilies usually have a repeating symmetry like this; I don't know why one couldn't take any doily with 12 repeats and turn it into a shawl, and instead of working it in the round with the same side facing, work it back and forth over 6 segments for a half circle, or 5 segments for something similar to your photo or 7 segments for more shoulder coverage.  If I were going to try this, I'd probably work the doily 'as usual' for the first few rounds (to figure out the repeat if the it isn't obvious in the centers), rip out and re-do with the center stitches appropriate to the number of repeats I wanted.

 

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Granny Square Grand Master

Granny Square

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That's a gorgeous pattern.  There are 8 points, it sort of looks like 4 more points would make it half round.  I've heard of half round or half circle shawls, this looks to be a third round - but I'm not sure if that would work as a search term.

I found this, is a knitting reference but this shape isn't quite in there http://www.laylock.org/blog/2011/05/free-shawl-knitting-cheat-sheet/  .  If you are adventurous you could probably follow the guide using crochet, k=knit stitch (read as SC), yo=yarnover (read as chain 1).  Here's another one https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/02/top-down-knit-shawls/

Did that last shawl you made not work for your mom?  Looking at this one, I'm thinking the shape would make it difficult to keep on one's shoulders, and I'm not even sure it has enough fabric to close in front to add a button.  Oops, just noticed 2 replies as I was looking for those links - I agree with Magiccrochetfan, the Faroese shaping, which is a bit greater than half round, would be easier to wear I think.

 

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magiccrochetfan Mentor

magiccrochetfan

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I would say the neckline "indent" is like a Faroese shawl, but they usually have more of a forward sweep to the sides.  This example is more backswept at the sides.  Lots of examples on ravelry https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#query=Faroese&view=captioned_thumbs&pc=shawl-wrap&page=2&sort=best

Was there any info with the photo ?  

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