Crochet Bell Sleeve Mesh Shrug Tutorial | The Manic Pixie Bolero Pattern

Hi all, my name is Stephanie, and welcome to my channel. Today we will be working on the Manic Pixie Shrug, a very quick and easy project. These are the materials and measurements that you will need before starting, so I recommend pausing your screen on that section to read carefully. I personally will be using weight 4 yarn and between a 5 and 6 millimeter hook. I recommend two hooks because when you work on the sleeves, I prefer more of a flare and kind of flow, so the larger hook size helps with that. A measuring tape is definitely needed as well for your three measurements, your shoulder to shoulder underarm, and also your sleeve length, especially if you are making this for someone else. Let's get started. Okay, we're going to start by making our rectangle torso panel. This is going to be the front, back, and head opening. It is worked continuously without fastening off, so your stitch count should not change between rows. We're going to start by making a chain that matches your shoulder to shoulder measurement, and make sure it is an even stitch count. You can refer to the chart that I posted before. My chain is going to be about 17 inches long when stretched, and I'm going to do about 48 stitches, so make sure your chain is an even stitch count. Okay, so I have met my chain measurement. You can also hold your chain across your chest and make sure it meets both ends of your shoulders. At the end, you're going to chain an additional four. This will count as your first double crochet. Now you're going to insert one double crochet in the fourth chain from the hook, and one double crochet in each remaining chain down to the end of the row. At the end of this row, you should now have an odd stitch count, which is important for our next row. So go ahead and work your way down by inserting one double crochet in each chain to the end. Okay, I am making my way down to the end of row one, and regrettably, I should not have used black yarn, but I have an odd stitch count with a double crochet in each chain. Now to start row two, you're going to chain four. This counts as your first double crochet in a chain one. Turn your work, skip one stitch, and insert one double crochet into the next stitch. Chain one, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next stitch. Chain one, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next. We're going to repeat this all the way down to the end of the row, and if you have an odd stitch count, you should end with one double crochet into the last stitch to square it off. Okay, I am making my way to the end. I'm going to chain one and insert one double crochet in that last stitch. It can be a little tricky to see because it's probably your chain three, but make sure you end with a double crochet in that last stitch. For row three, you're going to chain three, turn your work. This counts as your first double crochet. You're going to insert one double crochet in each chain space and one double crochet in each stitch. So this is our solid double crochet row. One double crochet in each chain space and one double crochet in each stitch until the end of your row. Okay, I am nearing the end of my row. Make sure you do not forget to put a double crochet in that last stitch, the top of that chain three. This is important, and if you need to count your stitches each row to help, then go ahead and do that. Basically, we're going to be alternating rows two and three until you reach the size that you measured for your armhole. This is going to be the height of our torso panel, and you must end with a solid double crochet row. So keep repeating the mesh and solid rows until it covers from your shoulder to below your armpit. Now you want it to be below your armpit and not anything above, otherwise your armhole will be too tight. And don't worry about your torso being too short or not having enough coverage because we're going to extend the length of our shrug at the end, but I'm going to keep repeating these rows until I get about seven inches from my armhole. And if you need a reminder for how to start row four, you're going to chain four, counts as first double crochet and chain one, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next, chain one, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next, and repeat this all the way down. Your next row will be a solid crochet row, so keep alternating those two. Okay, I went ahead and finished this panel off camera, and I ended with a solid double crochet row. I have met my shoulder to shoulder measurement and my underarm measurement, so mine is 17 inches by 8 inches. Be careful that you don't add too much height for your torso panel because this will also make looser sleeves. I did end up adding an extra inch, so my sleeve opening will be a little bit looser. Now we're going to work on our shoulders and our head opening, and this part requires some math, so pay attention. Okay, so I have a specific calculation that I like to use for the shoulders and head opening, but you can switch this around as you need. Take your stitch count from your previous row and subtract 16 from it, okay? This will leave eight stitches for both shoulders and a head opening. My stitch count was 47. Minus 16 is 31. This number is the chain that you will make and the amount of stitches you will skip for your head opening. So you're going to chain three, turn your work, insert one double crochet in the next seven stitches. This will count as your shoulder. I am going to make a loose chain of 31, and I'm going to skip 31 stitches. Now yours may be way different, but the math should still be there. Take your stitch count, subtract 16 from it, eight stitches on the shoulders, make a chain with that number, and skip that many stitches. So like I said, I'm going to make a loose chain of 31, and I'm going to skip 31 stitches. With this math, you should be able to insert eight double crochet on your opposite shoulder. Okay, once you get your chain length, insert one double crochet into that eighth stitch, and one double crochet in the next seven stitches. Now your shoulders should match with eight double crochet, and you should have an even chain that skips the correct amount of stitches. Also make sure your chain is not twisted when you make that first double crochet. Okay, you can try on your shrug at this point and see if you need to adjust the shoulder coverage and create a different head opening, but if not, we're going to go ahead and start the opposite side of the panel, which will match the first side. You will start by chaining three, and we're going to make another solid double crochet row. So insert one double crochet in each stitch, and one double crochet in each chain. If your math was correct for the head opening, you should have the exact same stitch count as you did on the opposite side. So this is just a solid double crochet row, one double crochet in each chain, and each stitch all the way down to the end. Okay, and now that that is done, it is time to go ahead and repeat alternating your mesh and solid rows. So start with a chain four, turn your work, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next, chain one, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next, chain one, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next. You're going to repeat this all the way down until the end, and then you're going to keep alternating these mesh and solid rows until it matches your front panel. Okay, I went ahead and finished my opposite panel off camera, and as you can see, we now have a front and back shrug panel, and a shoulder and head opening. Now, if you're not changing colors, go ahead and keep your yarn attached, and we're going to continue working in a um, yeah, like a continuous pattern. So there's no wrong or right side. You will just fold your panel in half, and you're going to seam one of your armholes closed. As you can see, we now have an armhole that we can turn our work and start working on that side. Okay, we're going to start with a solid double crochet round. This part can get a little tricky, so pay close attention. You're going to chain three, counts as your first double crochet. You're going to insert two double crochet in the side of each row. So two double crochet will complete that first row. You're going to insert two double crochet in the side of that mesh row, and then two double crochet in the side of the solid row, and you're going to repeat this all the way around with two double crochet in each row. Okay, and at the end, you're going to slip stitch the beginning chain three to close your round, and as you can see, we now have a nice solid double crochet round to start our sleeves. Now, in the description below, I'm going to leave the written pattern for the sleeves, so if you get a little lost or confused along the way, there is a written pattern below in the description. To start round two, you're going to chain four. We're going to do meshes again, and you're going to skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next, chain one, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next, chain one, and repeat this all the way around. Okay, and once I get to the end, you're going to chain one and slip stitch to the beginning chain three to close off that round. We're going to repeat this double crochet mesh round two more times. So chain four, skip the chain space, one double crochet into that stitch, chain one, skip the chain space, one double crochet into that stitch, and repeat this for a total of three mesh rounds, and I will meet you at the end. Okay, I went ahead and completed my three mesh rounds off camera, and I am now going to increase my hook size by at least half a millimeter. This next round, we're just going to repeat with a solid double crochet round. So chain three, insert one double crochet in each chain space, and one double crochet in each stitch all the way around. Once you are done with this round, we are going to repeat rounds two and five all over again. So after this solid double crochet round, repeat three mesh rounds and one more solid double crochet round. If you need written instructions, I have wrote them in the description below in case I'm moving too fast. So yes, repeat after the solid double crochet round, three more meshes, and one more solid round, and I will meet you there. Okay, I went ahead and repeated those rounds off camera, and now we should have a total of nine rounds. To start round 10, we will now be working on treble stitches. So if you haven't done a treble stitch before, it's very similar to a double crochet, except you're making another chain and an extra yarn over. So chain five, this is going to count as one treble and a chain one. You're going to skip one stitch, insert one treble into the next stitch, chain one, skip one stitch, insert one treble into the next stitch. And we're going to repeat these treble mesh rounds for a total of three rounds, just like we did before, and I will meet you at the end of this round. Okay, once you get to the end of the round, chain one, skip that last stitch, and slip stitch into the chain four to close this round. Now repeat this round two more times for a total of three treble meshes. So chain five, skip one stitch, one treble into the next stitch, chain one, skip one stitch, one treble into the next, and I will meet you after these three rounds are complete. Okay, I am finished with round 12, and we are now going to create a solid treble round. So you're going to chain four, counts as your first treble, one treble into the next chain, one treble into the next stitch, and repeat this all the way around with a treble in each chain and stitch. Once you get to the beginning, slip stitch to that starting chain four. Okay, I am done with round 13, that's solid treble. You're going to go ahead and repeat the mesh treble three times. So for rounds 14, 15, and 16, repeat your treble meshes three times. All right, now that I'm finished with my three mesh treble rounds, we are going to start working on our flare sleeves. If you do not want flare sleeves, just continue repeating those treble meshes for a straight sleeve, but if you would like a flare, we're going to continue with meshes, but we're going to increase our chain. And this is where your sleeve length comes into hand so you know exactly when to stop making these rounds. Now my sleeve length is typically about 20 inches because I like it to go to my fingertips. Okay, to start our first increase flare, you're going to chain six, this counts as a treble and a chain two, skip the space, insert one treble into the next stitch, chain two, skip the space, one treble into the next stitch, chain two, and we're going to repeat this all the way around. Once you get to the beginning, you will slip stitch to the beginning chain four to close that round. Okay, I'm at the end of my first increase round, I'm going to chain two and slip stitch to the beginning chain four. For this next increase round, you're going to chain seven, counts as a treble and a chain three, skip the space, and insert one treble into the next stitch. You're going to chain three, skip the space, one treble into the next stitch, chain three, and repeat this process all the way around. When you get to the beginning, chain three, and slip stitch to the beginning chain four to close. Okay, closing this round by slip stitching to the chain four, and for our next increase round, you're going to chain eight, this counts as a treble and a chain four. You're going to skip one space, insert a treble into the next stitch, chain four, skip one space, and then one treble into the next stitch, and you're going to repeat this process all the way around. Now, I personally like to end my flare with these chain fours. If you would like to continue flaring out your sleeve more, then chain five between stitches on the next round, but if not, we're just going to keep repeating these chain four treble rounds until you reach the end of your sleeve length, your preferred sleeve length. Okay, so like I said, just continue repeating that previous round until you get your desired sleeve length, and then we're going to work on a border round. All right, so I did complete my border round off camera, but you can either do a solid single crochet round or a solid double crochet round, and just insert one double crochet or single crochet into each stitch at the end of your sleeve. I'm going to repeat this process again off camera for the opposite sleeve. Basically, you will just have to take your yarn and hook and slip stitch to close that armhole, and then just repeat those rounds one to twenty something on this next sleeve and make sure that they are identical. Okay, for this last part, if you find that your shrug is a little too cropped to your liking, you can add some length to your torso. This is pretty easy. You'll just need to insert your yarn and hook into the seam and alternate your mesh and solid double crochet rounds. I'm not going to do this on camera, but I will give you a really quick run through. You will need to make sure that your stitch counts are pretty even. It can get tricky at the seam area, but go ahead and start with a mesh round, which is a chain four, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next, chain one, skip one stitch, one double crochet into the next, and repeat this around. I do not personally want to add any more length to my shrug. I like it to be ultra cropped, and this is just based on personal preference, but yeah, that is it. Okay, this is my final design. I preferred mine to be ultra cropped, but you guys can add length if you'd like. I hope that this was a quick and easy tutorial, and thanks for tuning in!