Thursday, January 20, 2011

Sqwishy Infinity Scarf / Cowl



Since infinity scarfs are all the rage right now, I figured it was time that I made one. I made the Stockholm scarf for my sister for Christmas, but I found that there was a lot of stitches and it took a lot of knitting to complete. So this pattern was my compromise: a sqwishy scarf that will keep you plenty warm, but with not a lot of stitches.
It is knit in one long piece and then sewn together. I used Loops and Threads' Charisma yarn. It is amazingly soft and great to work with.
The blue scarf was knit in the electric blue yarn, it is 60 in. long and 9.5 in. wide. I used 4 balls of yarn to complete this one.
The white scarf was knit with white yarn, it is 50 in. long and 8 in. wide. Only 3 balls of yarn were needed.

Using 2 strands of yarn held together and size 15 needles (10.0mm) CO 17 stitches (for the smaller one) or 19 sts (for the larger one). Leave a long tail so that you can use it at the end when you are sewing the ends together. You can cast on any uneven number of sts, I started one with 21 sts, but I thought it was too big so I went down to 19 sts.

Row 1:*K1,P1* repeat until the end of the row.

Repeat row 1 until you just have enough yarn left to bind off. Sew the ends together (I left a twist in the scarf so that it would not be as bulky when you put it on) and weave in all the ends.

And there you go! A beautiful infinity scarf that will keep you warm and fashionable this winter!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A New Simple Pattern



A friend from work asked me to knit a simple scarf for her grandson. I couldn't find any appropriate knit patterns for what I had in my mind so I made it up as I went along.
I knew I didn't just want it in garter stitch, but I didn't want it just ribbed either. So I settled on a combination of the two that makes it slightly different then just a rib pattern. I used a pattern that (I find) makes the scarf hold its shape better.



Pattern:
Row 1 (ws): *k1,p1* repeat all the way to the end
Row 2 (rs): knit all sts

Using those 2 simple rows I was able to make this scarf and I am very pleased with the results.

I used Vanna's Choice yarn and I needed one ball of each color (you will probably need a second ball of the MC if you make the scarf bigger then what I did):
MC= 110 Navy
SC= 180 Cranberry
CO 24 sts with MC (you can make it bigger, just make sure it is a multiple of 2)and size 8 needles (5mm):

Repeat rows 1&2 12 times (scarf should measures about 4 inches from beginning),
Switch to SC and repeat rows 1&2 once,
Switch back to MC and repeat rows 1&2 twice,
Switch to SC and repeat rows 1&2 twice,
Switch back to MC and repeat rows 1&2 twice,
Switch to SC and repeat rows 1&2 three times,
Switch back to MC and repeat rows 1&2 twice,
Switch to SC and repeat rows 1&2 five times,

Switch back to MC and repeat rows 1&2 until scarf measures approximately 47 inches from the beginning.

Switch to SC and repeat rows 1&2 five times,
Switch back to MC and repeat rows 1&2 twice,
Switch to SC and repeat rows 1&2 three times,
Switch back to MC and repeat rows 1&2 twice,
Switch to SC and repeat rows 1&2 twice,
Switch back to MC and repeat rows 1&2 twice,
Switch to SC and repeat rows 1&2 once,
Switching back to MC repeat rows 1&2 12 more times.

Weave in ends and block (I used my steamer to make it nice and flat).

The finished scarf (after blocking) measures 56 inches long and has a width of 4.75 inches. I think it's perfect for a little boy to wear in this cold weather!

That is what the scarf looks like from the WS: