Lily Chin has crocheted a simple pattern in the round for the upper part of this sophisticated capelet. Midway down, she switches to working back and forth in rows to create an enticing opening. A drawstring closure keeps the capelet in place, whether you wear it loosely around the shoulders as shown here, or—as Lily suggests—around the hips as a beach skirt. For a touch of subtle sparkle, Lily adds frosted beads around the edges. Although the piece shown here is relatively short, you can lengthen it by working more rows. Just remember to purchase more yarn if you do.
44 (48, 52, 56, 60)" (112 [122, 132, 142, 152.5] cm) circumference and 13" (33 cm) long, including beaded top and lower trim. Capelet shown measures 48" (122 cm).
About 675 (675, 900, 900, 900) yd (617 [617, 823, 823, 823] m) sport-weight (Fine #2) yarn.
We used: Gems Merino Opal (100% merino superwash; 225 yd [206 m]/100 g): #36 linen gray, 3 (3, 4, 4, 4) skeins.
Size H/6 (4.75 mm). Adjust hook size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
About 775 (825, 875, 930, 975) size 6 glass seed beads (beads shown are #10 FAB 6° from Bead World); beading needle (or Big Eye needle) for threading beads onto yarn; tapestry needle.
6 V-sts and 9 V-st rows = 4" (10 cm) in V-st patt.
Beaded Single Crochet (bsc): Draw up loop in next st, bring a bead up close to hook (bead lies behind sc), yarn around hook and draw through both loops on hook to complete st. Bead lies on the yarn strand behind the st.
Beaded Chain (bch): Bring a bead up close to hook (bead lies behind ch), yarn around hook and draw through loop on hook to complete st. Bead lies on the “bump” on the back side of the chain.
Very loosely ch 198 (216, 234, 252, 270) sts. Use a slip st to join into a ring, being careful not to twist sts. Cont as foll, joining into a ring at the end of each rnd:
Row 1: (WS) Ch 1, work 1 sc in each ch to end, join with sl st to first sc—198 (216, 234, 252, 270) sc total.
Row 2: (RS) Ch 4 and turn (counts as first dc and ch-1 of first V-st of row), dc in first sc (completes first V-st), skip next 2 sc, *(dc, ch 1, dc) all in next sc, skip next 2 sc; rep from * across, join with sl st to third ch of beg turning ch—66 (72, 78, 84, 90) V-sts total.
Row 3: Sl st into first ch-1-space of first V-st, ch 4 and turn (counts as first dc and ch-1 of first V-st), dc into same ch-1 space (complete first V-st), skip next 2 dc, *(dc, ch 1, dc) all in next ch-1 space, skip next 2 dc; rep from *, join with sl st to third ch of beg turning ch.
Rep Row 3 only until there are a total of 9 V-st rows, ending with a WS row—piece should measure about 4¼" (11 cm) from beg.
Divide for slit: Change to working back and forth in rows without joining as foll: Next row: (RS) Sl st into first ch-1 space of first V-st, ch 3 and turn (counts as 1 dc), skip next 2 dc, *(dc, ch 1, dc) all in next ch-1 space, skip next 2 dc; rep from * to last V-st, dc in last ch-1 space of last V-st. Next row: Ch 3 and turn (counts as 1 dc), skip first dc, *skip next dc, (dc, ch 1, dc) all in next ch-1 space, skip next dc; rep from * to last st, dc in top of turning ch—64 (70, 76, 82, 88) complete V-sts; 1 partial V-st at each side. Rep the last row only until a total of 27 V-st rows have been worked from beg, ending with a RS row—piece should measure about 12¼" (31 cm) from beg.
Slit edging: With RS still facing, rotate piece and work up one side of the slit as foll: work 2 sc in each dc/V-st row to beg of slit, sc in each of 2 dc where slit divides, rotate work and work down other side of slit, working 2 sc in each dc/V-st as before. Next row: Turn work so that WS is facing and loosely sl st into each sc around slit opening. Fasten off yarn, leaving a tail about 18 (20, 22, 24, 26) yd (16.5 [18, 20, 22, 24] m) long for working beaded lower trim.
Beaded lower trim: With beading needle, string 320 (350, 380, 410, 440) beads onto yarn tail from slit edging. Push beads forward to space them about 2" (5 cm) apart. Cont as foll: Ch 1, sc in first dc, *work 5 bch (see Stitch Guide), sc in next dc, sc in next ch-1 space, sc in next dc; rep from * across, join with sl st to beg slit edging row. Fasten off.
Beaded top trim: String 99 (108, 117, 126, 135) beads onto working yarn. With WS facing, join to top edge of piece directly above the slit. Ch 1, working into underside of beg ch, bsc in same ch as join, *sc in next ch, bsc in foll ch; rep from * around, join with sl st to first sc, fasten off.
String beads onto the working yarn before you begin, then slide the beads into place between stitches as desired.
Weave in loose ends.
Tie: String about 350 (360, 375, 390, 400) beads onto working yarn (about 6 beads per desired inch of tie). Work bch until piece measures about 58 (60, 62, 64, 66)" (147.5 [152.5, 157.5, 162.5, 167.5] cm) from beg, or desired length. Fasten off. Beg above slit, weave tie through first row of V-sts all the way around the neck edge, gather fabric, and tie in a bow to secure.
