May Day Pocket Shawl: Free Crochet Pattern

It has been at least a year since I started my pocket shawl, which was initially started as a poncho, and for all the work I had to put into it, I decided to call it the May Day Pocket Shawl:

The May Day Pocket Shawl

You can scroll down to see the full pattern, the good news is is it's free* :)

First I need to share the Sunset Poncho pattern (available free from crochetdreamz.com), as this was how the idea of making it a pocket shawl came to me.

Even though the original Sunset Poncho pattern is for a worsted (Aran) weight yarn, the yarn I used for this was 3 cakes of Sirdar Colourwheel, shade 206 (well I used a bit less as I've had to cut some when I was undoing the poncho that was already assembled, so there was some waste), and 2 balls of Quality Yarn, shade 06, all in DK (you can use a thicker yarn, if you reduce the stitch number accordingly).

If you crochet the borders using the main yarn, you will need an extra cake.

I used a 4mm crochet hook for the main part and the pockets, and a 3.5mm for the borders, as the Quality Yarn must have been slightly thicker than the Sirdar Colourwheel and using the 4mm hook for the border made it bunch a little, but if you are using different yarns, you'll have to see what works best for you.

I recommend making the pockets first if you are using the main colour as I did, just to make sure you don't run out of yarn before you get to that stage.

Pocket Shawl Wrong Side Out

Final dimensions for the May Day Pocket Shawl:

One size fits most adults: 

Length 64 inches x width 23 inches;

Width not including borders: 19 inches;

Each border is 2 inches wide;

Each pockets is approx. 8.5 inches high x 8 inches wide.

Pocket Shawl before blocking

Sample: 

6 repeats of the main shawl pattern (6 ch3 loops) and 16 rows (8 pattern repeats as the main pattern repeat is made up of 2 rows) for a 4 inch sample square. 

Abbreviations:
The pattern is written in US/[UK] terms.
ch- chain
sc- single crochet/[double crochet]
dc- double crochet/[treble crochet]
sk- skip
fpsc- front post single crochet/[front post double crochet]
YO- yarn over
hdsl - half double slip stitch

Some of these stitches may be new for some, so I found some video tutorials that are easy to follow (I haven't quite got around to filming my own!):

Front post single crochet video tutorial;

Half double slip stitch video tutorial;

1- Pockets: make 2 (my 2 pockets are actually slightly different from each other as I wasn't writing down what I was doing, variations are very forgiving, especially if using variegated yarn):

Ch 36;

Row 1: dc in 2nd ch from the hook, sc in each following ch across, turn (35 dc);  

Rows 2 & 3: ch3 (counts as 1 dc), dc in each following ch across, turn (35 dc);

Rows 4 & 5: ch2 (counts as 1 dc), dc in each following ch across (back loops only), turn (35 dc);

Rows 6, 7, 8 & 9: ch3 (counts as 1 dc), dc in each following ch across (both loops), turn (35 dc);

Rows 10 & 11: ch2 (counts as 1 dc), dc in each following ch across (back loops only), turn (35 dc);

Rows 12,13,14 & 15: ch3 (counts as 1 dc), dc in each following ch across (both loops), turn (35 dc);

Rows 16, 17 & 18: ch2 (counts as 1 sdc), dc in each following ch across (back loops only), turn (35 dc);

Rows 19, 20 & 21: ch3 (counts as 1 dc), dc in each following ch across (both loops), turn (35 dc);

Row 22: ch1, sc in each dc across (35 sc), fasten off.

I recommend either leaving a long enough tail in order to have enough yarn to attach the pockets when finishing the pocket shawl, or make sure you keep some yarn once you finish using this colour for the rest of the shawl.

2- Main part: 

Ch 434 (yes I know, but it will be worth it in the end);

Row 1: 1 sc in 2nd chain from hook, *(ch3, sk next 3 chs, 1sc in next ch), repeat from * across to end of row, turn (108 ch3 loops);

Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in same st as beginning ch3, sk next ch3 loop, *(3 dc in next sc, sk next ch3 loop), repeat from * across, finish this row with 2 dc instead of 3 in the last sc, turn (107 3dc groups with 2 dc on each end);

Row 3: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in same st as beginning ch1, *(ch 3, 1 fpsc around the middle dc of the next 3dc group), repeat from * across until you work a fpsc in the last 3dc group, ch3, 1 sc in last dc, turn (108 ch3 loops);

Row 4: Ch 3, 1 dc in same st as beginning ch3, sk next ch3 loop, *(3 dc in next fpsc, sk next ch3 loop), repeat from * across, finish this row with 2 dc instead of 3 in the last sc, turn (107 3dc groups with 2 dc on each end);

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until your work measures the desired width (mine measures 19 inches but you can do more, with a smaller border if you wish). Finish on a row 4, do not fasten off. 

3- Top Border:

Join your border yarn, if using a different yarn, or continue using the same yarn for the border; 

Ch1, 1 sc in each dc across;

Rows 2 to 11: (you can adjust the number of rows to your own preference): ch1(does not count as a stitch), hdsl in each st across (back loops only).

Fasten off.

4- Bottom Border:

For the second border, join the yarn at either end of the bottom of the shawl (for a more symetrical look, start on the WS.

Row 1: Ch1, work 1 sc in each sc from the first row of the shawl (including first and last stitch), and 2 sc in each ch3 loops

Rows 2 to 11: (you can adjust the number of rows to your own preference): ch1(does not count as a stitch), hdsl in each st across (back loops only).

Fasten off.

Assemble the pockets on each side of the shawl (you can sew or attach using slip stitches), don't forget to leave the top part of the pockets open (it would be typical of me to do something like sewing all 4 sides instead of 3 😅).

Et voilà: May Day Pocket Shawl finished!

*Free pattern means that you can use it for your own personal use and even sell your own finished items from it, but you are not authorised to sell the pattern, and if you use it for anything, please link back to this blog post.