Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Survivor's Ribbon Shawl - Free Charity Pattern

crochet pattern in pdf format is hosted by Crochetville


 

How the Survivor's Ribbon Shawl came to be:

I was at church one Wednesday evening and another parishioner brought a friend in with her.  The friend was going for a double mastectomy the next week.  This woman hadn't been in church in a very long time but facing such a frightening surgery brought her face to face with her fears and mortality.

She was blessed and prayed over and spoke with the pastors.  Her courage was truly inspiring.  This poor thing was just barely holding it all together - but she was holding it.  I was so touched that the pattern was born that night.

I spent the next morning creating the graph for the pattern and by that afternoon I started working on the shawl.  We had such a busy weekend planned but I was determined to finish it by Sunday so I could bring it to church at evening service so that it could be delivered to her before the surgery.

I crocheted in the car, all the way to Orlando.  We went to see the Black Sabbath reunion tour with Ronnie James Dio (RIP) singing vocals.  I crocheted in the hotel room before the show, I crocheted in the morning before we left, I crocheted in the car all the way home and somehow I got it done.

I didn't normally go to the evening services but I did that Sunday to deliver the shawl.  It was blessed and anointed and given to the woman who had brought her friend with her.  She was so surprised.

Several weeks later I received the most beautiful and touching thank you card.  She didn't get the shawl until the day she woke up from surgery and her friend was sitting there waiting patiently.  I cried when I read the thank you card.  I never knew how deeply someone could be touched by a prayer shawl until that moment.

I had made her the shawl with the crosses.  It wasn't until after I received the thank you card that I went back in and created the shawl with just the ribbons.  I wanted everyone - regardless of denomination or belief system - to be able to use this pattern.  

I've seen many shawls that've been made for individuals needing comfort, for auctions raising money for different charities and for family members.  My hope is that whomever you make this for - receives whatever comfort possible.

***********************


About the Pattern
There are 2 charts in this pattern.  You can make this shawl
with crosses (as shown) or without.  I did this so anyone - 
regardless of denomination or religion can use this pattern.

This shawl measures approx. 20x60 inches when made with 
an I or J hook (depending on tension and preference) 
and 4ply WW acrylic yarn

The shawl can be worked in either dc or edc.

This 6 page pattern is available in PDF format free
for anyone who has a need for it.

The pattern includes charts and instructions for both shawls, 
Prayer Shawl Ministry Information and Prayer & Care Instructions 
that can be printed out to be given with the Prayer Shawl.

These shawls can be worked in any color.
Awareness Ribbon colors are listed 
in the pattern for your convenience.


**********************
Copyright 2007~Michele Shirley

This pattern is copyrighted for personal & charitable use only.
This pattern may be freely distributed in it's entirety in any format
This pattern and it's derivative works are not to be sold for personal profit.
Use for fund-raising is encouraged.

**********************

11 comments:

Jocelyn said...

Awesome! I've been looking for a pattern for the ribbons and this should work perfectly. THANK YOU for sharing it.

Michele Shirley said...

You're very welcome.

Donna Burnett said...

Getting ready to start the pattern (it is so lovely), but, got caught up in the math. Start is to ch 76, but at the end of the first row you are to have 24 solid blocks and a block is made up of 4 edc (4 X 24 is 96) I think you should chain 96 at the beginning, not 76. Am I nuts or what?

Donna Burnett said...

Another comment, a chain 3 at the beginning of a row is normally a substitue for a dc, so wouldn't an edc be a chain 4? I'm working on this pattern and don't want to have a mess. Thanx for your help.

Michele Shirley said...

No, I don't think you're nuts. I think it's a good think to ask your questions before starting any pattern.

Math: While each block contains 4 sts you only count 3 of them because the 1st/last stitch is shared by each block. There's an excellent TUT with videos here http://www.hassdesign.com/BasicFiletTechniques/

So, the math is:
24 blocks x 3 = 72
+ 1 shared st = 73
+ 3 chs to begin Row 1 = 76

Turning chain: I find a ch3 to be much too tall for dcs. I personally use a ch2 for dcs. I use a ch3 for edc and trc.

No one likes to hear this but make a swatch. See if a ch3 or ch4 works better for you. It doesn't need to be very big - just 5 stitches across and 4 or 5 rows of each so that you can see how it lays.

If you make your chs really tight then you may need to ch4.

This is the wonderful thing about crochet. Once you know what your personal preferences are you can deviate from the pattern. If you really like doing a ch4 better then do a ch4 but do it consistently on every single row.

I hope this helps clear up your question. If you have any more - I'll be here.

~Michele

Michele Shirley said...

I forgot to add - if you do decide to go with a ch4 turning chain the you'll need to ch 77 to begin.

simplymzdivine said...

This is absolutely beautiful! While I currently have no one in my life with Breast Cancer, there are other situations with friends and family where a particular ribbon color demonstrates support. I better get busy! I have quite a few to make and will definately give all the credit to you for dreaming up this amazing pattern. Thank you!!

Donna Burnett said...

I have since found that planety of patterns call for a chain 2 (in place of a chain 3) for a double crochet. I did make the pattern, using Caron's Simply Soft and a "J" hook and only got 3 ribbons due to the size difference. My shawl is gorgeous. Thanx for the help.

Michele Shirley said...

I'm so glad to hear that your shawl came out beautiful!

There's a long list of what colors correspond to different illnesses.

Thank you both.

Jocelyn said...

I took the pattern for the ribbon, copied it onto graph paper, turned it 90*, and made it into a scarf instead. I used a series of SC stitches for both the ribbon and background. Next time, I would do HDC or DC instead, as it was a little squished.

Michele Shirley said...

It sounds as if you did this in a 'graph ghan' style. I'd love to see a picture of it!

I don't have much experience with graph crochet (too many single crochets for my hands). I have heard other people say that they prefer doing graphs in hdc because it makes each square a little more square.

If you're counting 1 block for 1 stitch then dc is going to distort the picture in the other direction.