Rectangular Crochet Shawl Pattern Free

Using easy crochet stitches, this rectangular crochet shawl pattern features a patchwork of colorful circles resembling an heirloom yo-yo quilt.

Since the striping is made with the yarn itself, you don’t have to worry about cutting off and reattaching the yarn. This allows you to simply crochet away and you can have this finished in no time at all.

“Rainbow Gumballs Shawl” free crochet pattern by Kim Guzman © Mar. 2023. All rights reserved.
Technique: Regular Crochet.
Skill Level: Easy.

This free shawl pattern would normally be rated as Beginner level because it’s made in all shells throughout. There’s a little bit of something new to beginners with every third row working a stitch in one of the rows below. I’ve moved it up to #2 skill level because of that little extra learning curve.

Crochet Pattern At A Glance

This is a free crochet pattern and the written instructions are below. If you prefer a printable download, a PDF is also available for purchase.

My Crochet Pattern Notes

This lacy shawl is made in a rectangle from short edge to short edge. The stitch multiple is provided so you could make it wider or, if you prefer to work from long edge to long edge.

Working with Multicolor Cake Yarn

The color striping in this shawl is made by the yarn rather than using many colors with cutting off and reattaching. I’m a fan of letting the yarn stripe naturally. I love to see the random striping and how it will turn out.

The only thing I did differently here is, with the first cake of yarn, I pulled the yarn from the center. With the second cake, I pulled the yarn from the outside. This way, both short edges of the shawl ended with the same color.

Sometimes, I’ve reversed the cake with a ball winder. This is definitely handy. It allows you to pull the yarn from the inside, just like you do normally. The colors will just be in the opposite direction.

This time, though, I put the yarn in a half gallon canning jar and pulled the yarn from the outside of the cake. This kept the cake from bouncing around and getting tangled. I have a yarn bowl, but that works better when the yarn is in a ball rather than a cake.

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Finished Size

15″ wide, 62″ long.

Yarn

“Curiosity” by King Cole yarns, 100% premium acrylic, approx. 524 yds (480m) per 150g, 2 cakes used for a total of 1048 yds, color Merlin.

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Yarn Substitution

Since this is a self-striping yarn, there are lots of choices available right now since self-striping cakes are so popular. Just look for DK Size 3 weight, or adjust your stitch count for a different yarn weight.

An excellent substitution is Lion Brand Mandala Yarn. It’s currently available in 27 shades. For me, the main difference between these two yarns is that the Curiosity yarn has a more “rugged” appearance. It has the look of wool so I was surprised to find that it was all acrylic.

Other Materials

Suggested Crochet Hook Size H-8 (5mm) or hook needed to meet gauge.
Yarn Needle for weaving ends.

Gauge

Due to the way this stitch pattern is created, it’s more difficult to measure gauge. Each motif measures a little under 1.5″ across and a little over 1.5″ high.

Special Stitches

Shell (sh): Work: [3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc] in indicated ch-1 sp.

Long Single Crochet (long sc): Reach down below the lowest chain space indicated, yarn over and pull a loop through, complete the single crochet normally. This pulls together the indicated chain spaces and wraps them in the single crochet. For most of the project, you’re simply working the single crochet around two ch-2 spaces and pulling them together.

The first long sc is a little more tricky since you have to pull together the foundation ch-5 space at the same time, meaning all 3 chain spaces. It takes a little practice. You’ll need to hold the surrounding stitches steady with your non-hook hand in order to accomplish it.

Other Abbreviations

This crochet lace shawl is written in US crochet terminology.

beg=beginning; ch=chain; dc=double crochet; rep=repeat; sk=skip; sp(s)=space(s).

All numbers after the colon at the end of an instruction are stitch counts. Use the stitch count to check your work.

Stitch Multiple

To change the width, make your initial chain any multiple of 7, then add 11.

Free Crochet Pattern Instructions

There is no right or wrong side. Both are the same since this is a 3-row repeat.

Row 1: Ch 67, sk 3 ch, 3 dc in next ch, *ch 2, sk 5 ch, 3 dc in next ch, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch, rep from * to last 7 ch, ch 2, sk 5 ch, 3 dc in next ch, dc in last ch, turn.

Note: When the instruction states to work into a ch-1 sp, it is accepted that all the extra stitches leading up to the ch-1 sp will be skipped.

Row 2: Ch 3, sk first dc, 3 dc in next dc, *ch 2, sh (see Special Stitches above) in next ch-1 sp, rep from * to last ch-2 sp, sk 2 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in top of beg ch 3, turn: 8 sh.

Row 3: Ch 3, sk first dc, 3 dc in next dc, *ch 1, long sc (see Special Stitches above) around ch-5 foundation ch and both ch-2 sps below, ch 1, sh in next ch-1 sp of sh, rep from * to last ch-2 sp, ch 1, long sc around ch-5 foundation ch and both ch-2 sps below, ch 1, sk 2 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in top of beg ch 3, turn: 8 sh.

Row 4: Ch 3, sk first dc, 3 dc in next dc, *ch 2, sh in next ch-1 sp of sh, rep from * to last 3 dc, ch 2, sk 2 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in top of beg ch 3, turn: 8 sh.

Row 5: Ch 3, sk first dc, 3 dc in next dc, *ch 2, sh in next ch-1 sp of sh, rep from * to last ch-2 sp, ch 2, sk 2 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in top of beg ch 3, turn: 8 sh.

Row 6: Ch 3, sk first dc, 3 dc in next dc, *ch 1, long sc around both ch-2 sps below, ch 1, sh in next ch-1 sp of sh, rep from * to last ch-2 sp, ch 1, long sc around both ch-2 sps below, ch 1, sk 2 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in top of beg ch 3, turn: 8 sh.

Rows 7-111: Rep rows 3-6. Fasten off after final row.

Finishing

Weave in ends with yarn needle. Block lightly, if desired.

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