It's March here, so it may be a little out of season for a scarf. But it's cold somewhere, right? If you are a knitter it doesn't matter where you live or what the season, there is always a reason to knit. My mom requested a scarf from me at least a year ago. She even gave me the yarn but a year later I still hadn't started it. I was pregnant for a good chunk of that time so she forgave my procrastination. Though it took me a while to knit, I finally finished it. This is not a difficult pattern by any means but there is something about knitting scarves that just seems foreign to me. I taught myself to knit probably 6 years ago and my first project happened to be a pair of baby slippers. I have been hooked ever since. Knitting a scarf is so simple even with a cable or lace pattern that anyone can do it. If you just learn how to knit, purl, and cast on you are set for most patterns. This scarf is a combination of only the knit stitch and a slipped stitch which will be explained later.

Here is what you need.

Yarn of your choice
Corresponding needle size (I like bamboo circulars.)
Yarn needle

Abbreviations

CO  Cast on
k      Knit
sl     Slip stitch purlwise
BO   Bind off
sts    Stitches


If you practice good technique than you always swatch but I am lazy and never do. Sometimes that is to my detriment but it is usually on fitted garments like a sweater. When it comes to a scarf I find that I can just estimate how wide I am going to want it and then I just stop there. I know, lazy. But it works for me.

My mom wanted a wide scarf, about 10" but you can easily adjust this pattern simply by stopping.

CO an even number of sts.
Row 1: k
Row 2: *k1, sl 1 repeat from * to end of row
Row 3:k
Row 4: k2, *sl 1, k1 repeat from * to last stitch, k1

That's it. Easy peasy. Just follow the pattern to your desired length then BO and weave in your ends. It may be necessary to block your scarf. This ensures that your scarf lays flat and doesn't curl. During the blocking process you can also adjust the garment to the proper dimensions. Eunny Jang has a tutorial on blocking (as do others,) that can be helpful to the beginner knitter.

Gift it to a friend, family member or to yourself. This is easy and depending on your yarn, cheap. My mom found her wool yarn at Tuesday Morning for about $3 a hank but I've gotten yarn even cheaper. One thing to consider when using yarn is to make sure that the dye lots are the same. What looks the same in hank, skein or ball form will not look the same in your finished garment. Trust me. At the end you will have a handmade, inexpensive garment.


                                  Eve