At my latest attempt to organize the odd-balls-and-left-overs part of my stash, I realized that I had quite an impressive collection of orange yarns in different kinds of summer materials, especially for someone who rarely wears orange. That pile of orange skeins tickled my imagination, until I finally realized what they were meant to be – an orange stole, inspired by the Irish crochet technique.

• Yarn from your stash, or odd-balls from the yarn store. This is a stash-busting project, and its size and style will depend on what you have at hand. Color consistency (all oranges, all pinks, all blues, all greens) and seasonal consistency (summer materials for a summer stole, winter materials for a winter stole) are more important than quantities and yarn weights. You will, however, need enough yarn of the same weight to make the base mesh (see below).
• Hooks in various sizes to go with the different yarns
• Tapestry needle(s) to weave in yarn ends
• Sewing thread in matching color and sewing needle to sew motifs to mesh

Custom

Varies

Dtr: double treble crochet (also called double triple crochet), yo three times, insert hook into next stitch, yo and pull yarn through st (5 loops on hook), [yo and pull yarn through first 2 loops on hook] 4 times.

Dc2tog: yo, insert hook in next st, yo and pull yarn through st (3 loops on hook), yo and pull yarn through first 2 loops on hook, yo, insert hook in next st, yo and pull yarn through st (4 loops on hook), yo and pull yarn through first 2 loops on hook, yo and pull yarn through 3 loops on hook.

Base Mesh

This is the foundation of your stole – or scarf, or whatever shape you want to give your project.