Two words: sports nuts. Every family has at least one. They seem like average, everyday people until you mention their favorite -- or, heaven forbid, their most hated -- team, and then they turn into raving lunatics. Sometimes it’s disturbing, but mostly they’re cute in their own way.

Sports nuts sometimes form happy relationships with one another, but other times you get a sports nut who falls in love with someone who is willing to go along for the ride to the game, but would rather keep her shirt on and stomach unpainted, thank you very much. For that couple, I offer the following pattern sets. Though it’s winter, these sports nuts and their unsuspecting partners find themselves sitting ring- or field-side, rooting for their favorite teams. The patterns below are a new take on team colors hat and scarf sets. The alternating spike stitch gives them a nice, insulating loft, and the stripe pattern in each set can be as garishly lunatic or subtly lucid as you choose. (And let’s face it, many of the team colors out there are quite garish.) The trick to toning down the team colors is to pick a nice neutral—black, gray, white, tan—and add a hint of the team colors to it. I’ve put suggestions for color changes in, but of course you should judge the degree of nuttiness of your chosen recipient and feel free to alter the stripes accordingly.

• Lion Brand Wool-Ease (197 yards / 180 meters per 85 grams/3 oz.) -- Both sets together used Cranberry 138 (Color A), 3 skeins; Gold 171 (Color b), 3 skeins; and Black 153 (Neutral Color), 2 skeins
• 6.0mm (size J/10) hook
• 6.5 mm (size K/10.5) hook
• A cd jewel case for making fringe

One size.

19 rows and 11 stitches in alternating spike stitch = 4 inches x 4 inches

ssc = shallow single crochet — Insert the hook into the space below the row, yo, draw through, yo, pull through both loops on hook.

altsp = alternating spike stitch – Single crochet in first stitch, shallow single crochet in next stitch.

inc = increase -- Work two stitches into the same stitch

dec = decrease -- Work two stitches together

altsp dec = alternating spike stitch decrease – Insert hook as for ssc, yo, draw through, insert hook into next stitch as for a sc, yo, draw through, yo and pull through all three loops on hook.

rev altsp dec = reverse alternating spike stitch decrease – Insert hook as for sc, yo, draw through, insert hook into the next space as for ssc, yo, draw through, yo and pull through all three loops on hook.

Lucid

Cloc