October 12, 2006

One row handspun scarf

( If you're not a spinner and you don't want to be and you don't want to wade through this, the recipe for the scarf is at the end.)

I'm sure that this is a subtle element of my personality and that nobody has really noticed, so I'll point out to you that I may be just a smidge on the obsessive side. This wee quirk occasionally pays off, and my fixation over the last 24 hours with the Grafton Fiber batt has totally encouraged this trait. I loved the progression of colours, and I was determined to have a project at the end of it that reflected that.

This can be sort of tricky with spinning. How you pull something off the batt, whether you spin woollen or worsted, pre-draft or not...they all effect the result you get, with occasionally unpredictable results. (I actually have to credit Deb Menz with helping me to figure this out. Her book Color in Spinning really helped me learn how I could spin to get what I want, instead of spinning the way I like to and learning how to enjoy the element of surprise. I recommend it.) It totally worked. I took strips off the batt, working from one side to the other, spun singles 1/3 the grist of the final yarn (or what I thought would be the grist of the final yarn), navajo plied it as one continuous yarn, and knit.
Batt:

Rovingunfoldgr11-1

Yarn:

Ballof-Graftonyrn11-1

Scarf:

Gfribscarf12

(I feel so clever I can hardly stand it.) It totally worked, and I couldn't be more thrilled with the end product. Wanna make one?

Scarfribgf12

Yarn: About 12 wraps per inch, or roughly a worsted weight.
Needles: 5mm
Gauge: I got 20 stitches to 10cm in pattern.
Size: Mine is about 13cm (5 inches) wide, and about 135cm (53 inches) long. That's pretty little, but it's enough to go round my neck, knot in the front and tuck into my coat. If I had more yarn I would have gone on for another 15-20cms (6-8 inches).

Start: Cast on 26 stitches (to make it wider or narrower add or remove stitches in groups of 4 )

Row 1: *knit 2, knit into the back of the next stitch, purl 1. Repeat from * till there are 2 stitches left. Knit 2.

Repeat that one row every row until you can stand it no longer, your scarf is long enough or you run out of yarn, whatever comes first.

Gribgfscco12

Cast off.

This pattern is quick, easy, has only one row to learn, is reversible, looks good in any gauge, is easy to make wider or narrower (making it awesome for handspun) and looks (I believe) fabulous.

Final step?

Ribscarfspgf12-1

Put it on, note how nicely it goes with your fall coat and go walk around Bloor West Village (or some neighbourhood near you if you don't live here) pretending to buy vegetables while waiting for someone to ask you where you bought your scarf.
Gloat. (Nicely)

Posted by Stephanie at October 12, 2006 2:00 PM