Noro Capelet Crochet Pattern

Noro Capelet: Crochet Lace Cape

What Is Being Made

The Noro Capelet is a lightweight crochet cape designed to drape elegantly from the neck and shoulders. This intermediate-level project creates a garment with a fitted neckline and a gracefully flared silhouette that widens significantly from neck to hem. The finished capelet measures 28 inches (71 centimeters) around the neck edge and expands to 54 inches (137 centimeters) around the lower edge, with a depth of 9¼ inches (23.5 centimeters), making it an ideal layering piece for adding dimension and style to any outfit.

Construction Method and Techniques

This capelet is constructed using a top-down, seamless approach, beginning at the neck edge and working downward in rounds. The garment is worked in the round with a unique construction method: rounds are joined and turned, then worked back and forth alternating between right-side and wrong-side rows. This technique creates a structured yet flexible fabric that maintains its shape while allowing for the dramatic increase in circumference from neck to hem.

The design incorporates lace and stripe techniques throughout. The lace pattern is created using repeating fan stitch motifs that expand as you progress through the rounds, contributing both to the visual interest and the natural widening of the garment. The striping effect emerges from the alternating pattern rows and color variations in the yarn used.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Noro Capelet employs a sophisticated fan stitch pattern as its primary design element. The fan stitch consists of six double crochet stitches worked into a single space, creating the characteristic fan or shell shape. These fan motifs are separated by single crochet stitches and chain spaces, which provide structure and definition to each fan unit.

The stitch pattern includes:

• Double crochet (dc) stitches forming the body of each fan
• Single crochet (sc) stitches used as connectors and transition points between fan units
• Chain stitches (ch) in various lengths (ch-1, ch-2, ch-3, ch-4, and ch-7) creating the openwork spaces that define the lace structure
• Slip stitch (sl st) used for joining rounds and positioning the yarn for the next section

The gauge for this pattern is established as 3 fan patterns (4-double crochet fans) and 13 rounds equaling 5 inches (12.5 centimeters) when worked over rounds 1 through 8 of the yoke fan pattern using the specified hook size. Achieving proper gauge is essential for obtaining the correct finished measurements.

Materials and Tools

The Noro Capelet is designed to be worked with 3 balls of Noro Silk Garden Lite yarn in colorway #2088. This yarn choice provides a luxurious, lightweight fabric suitable for a delicate lace capelet. The pattern calls for one size G/6 (4 millimeter) crochet hook, or the appropriate size needed to obtain the specified gauge. The combination of yarn and hook size creates the proper fabric drape and stitch definition necessary for the fan lace pattern to display beautifully.