Rainbow love – free Tunisian crochet lace shawl pattern

If you’ve been wondering if you can make Tunisian crochet lace shawls that look like the elegant knit ones, the answer is yes.

As someone who grew up in a country where both knitting and crochet are equally loved, I am always happy to try new things. One of these things was learning to translate knit patterns into crochet.

Regular crochet isn’t as close to knitting as Tunisian crochet is, so I decided to rather focus on exploring knit lace motifs in Tunisian crochet.

One result of this exploration is a simple, but very elegant pattern of chevrons made up of eyelets, divided by columns of stitches that look like wheat stalks. You can use this stitch pattern to create anything, be it rectangular shawls, skinny lace scarves, or even wearables.

If you are interested in a wearable that uses a similar stitch pattern, check out the Mulberry summer top or dress pattern that I wrote in detail about.

Now let’s explore what you need in order to make a Tunisian crochet lace shawl of your own. But first, a little background of the pattern itself.

About this Tunisian crochet lace shawl pattern

This pattern was inspired by the beautiful rainbow yarn that really wanted to be a flag. Make your wrap in a rainbow colorway for a Pride celebration and use it as a flag, or use a plain gradient for an elegant wrap.

Choose a single-colored lace-weight or fingering weight yarn in wool or a wool blend, then block it well, if you want to really show off the laciness of this pattern.

Or choose a heavier yarn and a thicker hook to make a cozy winter wrap that you can use as an oversized scarf. For a flag, the number of repeats in the pattern is just right, but if you want to make a wrap that is long enough to wear without any ties, you will need to add at least 4-6 pattern repeats.

Call it a rectangle shawl or a wrap, it’s simple and easy to work. The return pass might be a bit tricky because you really need to pay attention, but you will get used to it quickly.

The lace panels are divided by little columns that look like narrow braids.

You can work up this pattern in many kinds of yarn, many widths and lengths. You can make a long wrap on a long Tunisian crochet hook by working in the other direction, so the arrows created by the eyelets point from one end to the other, instead of down.

To create this pattern, I was inspired by lace knitting patterns and I experimented several times until I got a satisfactory layout of stitches.

It’s not as simple as just using the equivalent in Tunisian crochet stitches, as you need to pay attention where you put your hook to make each type of stitch. This is why I call this pattern intermediate. I wrote a whole article about using knitting patterns for Tunisian crochet.

You can use the videos to see exactly where you need to place the hook to make the stitches, but I also simplified the pattern as much as I could so you wouldn’t have to wonder whether the loop you are working around is the right one.

In the PDF pattern, you will also get a chart, which I cannot post publicly on the blog because people have been known to steal my charts and post them everywhere…

Where to find the PDF pattern

You can find the pattern in my shop, on Ravelry, on Etsy, Payhip or Lovecrafts.

Notions

• Yarn: one cake of fingering weight yarn at 1000 meters per 250g; sample made in YarnArt Flowers; substitute with any other gradient cake (Hobbii Sultan Deluxe, Scheepjes Whirl); add more yarn for a wider/longer wrap;
• Hook: Tunisian crochet hook – hook with a cable – 5 mm or hook appropriate for your yarn;
• Scissors and tapestry needle for binding off.

Skill level

Intermediate – you will be working with Tunisian crochet lace stitches – check out the video to learn how to make the specific stitch combinations used in this pattern.

Crochet terminology

This pattern uses Tunisian crochet terminology. All abbreviations are explained below. There is no difference between US and UK terminology in this case.

Size

If you follow either of the instructions and the recommended yarn and get gauge, you’ll make a rectangle of 130 cm by 55 cm or 51″ by 21.5″.

If you want to make the wrap longer and narrower, you should add chains to the first row. You will increase by 16, adding one more pattern repeat for each increase.

Observations

• The wrap is worked in Tunisian crochet, which means you will be working on only one side of the wrap (the front/right side), with a forward pass and a return pass for each row.
• Use loose tension when working this pattern. Do not pull tightly on the yarn after picking up the loops. Keep the loops slightly loose, so they can glide on the hook and the cable.
• Use a high-quality Tunisian crochet hook. It is essential that the hook and cable join are smooth, as this kind of yarn snags easily on the tiniest splinter.
• Follow the chart if you are more comfortable with symbols. The 2F in the chart legend corresponds to “1F, Sk1, 1F” in the written instructions.
• Instructions in [square brackets] will be repeated the number of times mentioned after the brackets.
• Change the number of repeats in the pattern based on your starting chain.
• When working in eyelets, insert the hook through the eyelet and pull up a loop. In the pattern, these stitches are considered Tss.

Stitch abbreviations

Reverse direction if you are left-handed.

• Ch – Chain;
• F – Tunisian full stitch – insert the hook in the next space between stitches, pull up a loop;
• K – Tunisian knit stitch – insert the hook between the two vertical bars of the next stitch, pull up a loop;
• Ls – Tunisian last stitch – put hook behind the 2 vertical loops at the end of the row, YO and pull up a loop;
• R – regular Tunisian return: Ch1, repeat {YO and pull through 2 loops} until 1 loop left on hook;
• SpR – special return: Ch1, YO and pull through 2 loops twice, repeat [YO and pull through 3 loops, YO and pull through 2 loops 15 times] until you are left with 4 loops on the hook, YO and pull through 3 loops, YO and pull through 2 loops.
• Sk – skip a stitch;
• Sl St – slip stitch;
• St – stitch;
• Tss – Tunisian simple stitch – insert hook from right to left behind the next vertical bar, YO and pull up a loop;
• Tss2Tog – 2 Tunisian simple stitches together – insert hook from right to left behind the next 2 vertical bars, YO and pull up a loop;
• YO – yarn over.

Gauge

Use the gauge pattern to get a 10 cm by 10 cm square. If the gauge swatch is too large, switch to a smaller hook; if it’s too small, try a bigger hook. You want a fabric that has drape, so it’s not too compact, nor too loose.

Here’s a video on how to make the swatch. The full stitches that are mentioned in the video are considered Tss in this pattern. You’ll also get used to making yarn overs.

Start with a slip knot on your hook.

Instructions

Binding off

Bind off the top using slip stitches. Weave in the two ends.

Block the wrap gently, on a flat surface, using pins and blocking wires to spread out and open the eyelets.

Chart

In the PDF version of the pattern, you also have a chart with the full pattern repeat and the return pass. If you want to use the chart, please check out the links above to get the PDF.

Video tutorials

As for most of my patterns, I’ve prepared two video tutorials for this Tunisian crochet lace shawl pattern.

In the video, I show you the materials and then demonstrate how to make one pattern repeat, including the first and last stitches that you need to add to make the wrap.

Right-handed video

Left-handed video

Final remarks

I hope you enjoyed this pattern and that you will get the PDF to support me in making more patterns.

Here are some more free patterns on the blog from the Tunisian crochet category. Or you could explore all the free crochet patterns on the blog if you’re into discovering something new.

Free pattern for sideways Tunisian crochet beanie with elastic brim

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The most elastic Tunisian crochet ribbing

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Tunisian reverse purl knit stitch – the opposite of the Tunisian knit stitch

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Tunisian knit stitch detailed tutorial with video

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Advanced Tunisian crochet mosaic tutorial

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Ultimate guide to Tunisian Crochet hooks

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3 quick methods to weave in ends in Tunisian crochet

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Tunisian simple stitch detailed tutorial

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Deep forest baby blanket free Tunisian crochet pattern

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Free Tunisian crochet summer top pattern – Honeydew tank top

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Hugs,

Andrea