Perfecting the Puff Stitch

 Last weekend I took a hiatus from needlework as I had the chance to go to the Computer Using Educator's Conference (CUE) in Palm Springs.  Although I took a project with me, there was just too much going on to work on it. If you're an educator that uses technology in your classroom, you will want to check out this conference next March!  It is worth it! If you can't make the Palm Springs one, there is a Fall conference in Napa in October.

When I returned, I was able to finish it - an ivory colored crochet scarf that uses the dreaded "puff" stitch!  I say "dreaded" because I've always heard that the puff stitch is a difficult one to do - time consuming, at the very least.  But, I actually enjoyed doing it, probably because I really liked how the stitch looks.

The pattern for the crochet scarf that I used was from the label of a skein of Loops & Threads Impeccable.  I thought the crocheted scarf was pretty and a different design from what I've been doing, so I grabbed my hook and Aran colored yarn and off I went.  It wasn't until I read the fine print (and believe me, the print on the backs of these labels is tiny!!) that I realized it incorporated the puff stitch.  Rather than throwing in the towel, I decided to give it a try and really enjoyed making this scarf. The crochet pattern was easy to follow and worked the same row repeatedly, so it was quick to get into a sequence.

The only thing that I don't care for about the scarf is that it isn't completely "square", meaning that the left side curves slightly to the left and the right side follows, but seems more straight.  I am not sure if I just missed a very important stitch, or if this is how it is supposed to be.  It's hard to tell from the photo since it is actually being warn by a model.  Regardless, I like it and may get around to doing some more of these, if nothing else than to test to see if it's the crochet pattern or if it's me. For now, I will probably wear it instead of adding it to my inventory, at least until I have time to do another, and I will revisit an afghan pattern that I really like that uses the puff stitch.