Emily’s Scarf

  So, the scarf is finally finished.  Completely and totally done.  And the final verdict is… undecided.  I honestly can’t figure out if I like this scarf or not.  I like a lot, if it were for me, but I’m not sure if it’s the right scarf to give as a present.  Is it too plain?  Should I have gone with something lacier?  Something cabled?  Does this scarf look like something you could pick up at Target, I wonder?  I wanted to use luxury fibers at first, but had trouble finding the right colors.  Cascade 220 is a great yarn and it feels just fine against the face as a scarf.  But maybe I should have gone with the alpaca?…

 

Argh.  That’s just a small insight into my mind for the last few weeks.  Every stitch has been second-guessed and questioned and analyzed.  I guess I’ll know the answer when I give my sister the scarf at the end of the month.  If I get that face- you know the one, the “oh, it’s… knitted” face- then maybe next time I’ll, well, I don’t know what I’ll do. Of course, there’s always the chance that she’ll love it.  My sister is an artist, so she really appreciates handmade items.  But appreciating a handmade item and really liking the pattern I created are different things, eh?  Lowell thinks it’s a cool scarf, but then he’s neither a knitter nor a teenage girl (thank goodness!)  What do you guys think about the scarf?  Yea or nay?

 

On a more technical note, the scarf is pretty easy to make.  The Herringbone Stitch that’s used for the majority of the scarf is very easy to memorize and pretty fun to do.  The scarf doesn’t curl and the wrong side doesn’t look half bad either!  The beginning and ending have a slight chevron edge as well as a pretty snowflake lace pattern.  The lace pattern may seem daunting in the written instructions, but it’s really not that bad.  By the end of the lace section, you’ll probably have the pattern memorized, then completely forget it by the time you get to the ending section.  The stripes, of course, can be made any length you want if you’d like a longer or shorter scarf.  If you make the scarf about 6″ shorter or make the blue stripes or lace sections longer, you can make this scarf with only 1 skein of brown instead of 2.

 

     

Emily’s Scarf

Download the PDF: Emily’s Scarf

 

• Finished Size: 62”x 5”
• Needles: Size 9 (5.50mm) straights or circular, Size 10 1/2 (6.50mm) straights or circular
• Yarn: Cascade 220, Brown (8686) 2 skeins/280 yds; Natural (8010) 1 skein/ 100 yds; Summer Sky Blue (7815) 1 skein/100 yds
• Gauge:  19 sts x 17.5 rows = 4 inches in Herringbone Stitch
• Extras: Tapestry needle

 

Special Stitches

Herringbone Stitch

Row 1 (RS): Sl 1, *YO, sl 1, k2, psso* to the end.

Row 2 (WS): Sl 1, *YO, sl1, p2, psso* to the end.

Optional: slip the first stitch of every row (counts as the first stitch) for a neater edge.

 

With smaller needles, CO 31 sts in Natural.

Knit 1 row (WS).

Chevron Row 1: Sl 1, YO, k3, sl 1, k2tog, psso, *k3, YO, k1, YO, k3, sl 1, k2tog, psso,* to the last 4 sts, k3, YO, k1.

Chevron Row 2: Purl.

Repeat the last two rows once more.

Snowflake Lace

Row 1 (RS): K5, ssk, YO, k1, YO, k2tog, *k3, ssk, YO, k1, YO, k2tog,* to the last 5 sts, k5.

Row 2 and all even rows: Purl.

Row 3: K6, YO, sl 1, k2tog, psso, YO, *k5, YO, sl 1, k2tog, psso, YO,* to the last 6 sts, k6.

Row 5: Repeat Row 1.

Row 7: K1, ssk, YO, k1, YO, k2tog, *k3, ssk, YO, k1, YO, k2tog,* to the last st, k1.

Row 9: K2, YO, sl 1, k2tog, psso, YO, *k5, YO, sl 1, k2tog, psso, YO,* to the last 2 sts, k2.

Row 11: Repeat Row 7.

Row 12: Purl.

Repeat Rows 1-12 2 more times, for a total of 6 rows of snowflakes.

Knit 1 row and then switch to Brown. Purl 1 row. Switch to larger needles.

Work Herringbone Stitch in Brown for 14 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Blue. Work Herringbone Stitch for 2 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Brown. Work Herringbone Stitch for 9 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Blue. Work Herringbone Stitch for 1 inch, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Brown. Work Herringbone Stitch for 4 1/4 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Blue. Work Herringbone Stitch for 1 1/4 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Brown. Work Herringbone Stitch for 4 1/4 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Blue. Work Herringbone Stitch for 1 inch, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Brown. Work Herringbone Stitch for 9 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Blue. Work Herringbone Stitch for 2 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to Brown. Work Herringbone Stitch in Brown for 14 inches, ending with a WS row.

Switch to smaller needles. Knit 1 row, knitting each YO through the back loop. Join Natural and purl 1 row.

Beginning on Row 7, work Snowflake Lace three times through (total of 6 rows of snowflakes).

Ripple Row 1: Sl 1, YO, k3, sl 1, k2tog, psso, *k3, YO, k1, YO, k3, sl 1, k2tog, psso,* to the last 4 sts, k3, YO, k1.

Ripple Row 2: Purl.

Repeat the Ripple Row 1 once more.

Knit 2 rows.

BO all stitches.

Weave in ends.  Block lace sections, pinning the peaks at the beginning and end to keep them pointy.

  

 

Please Note: I post my patterns as soon as I’ve completed them because I’m excited to share them with you. They have not been fully tested, but they are free. I’ve made every effort to make sure that the instructions are clear and error-free. There may be typos or pattern mistakes and if you find them or have any questions, please let me know by posting a comment or emailing me, dailyskein at gmail.com.

 

This work by Cailyn Meyer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.