It’s hardly a pattern really… but here’s how I made it:

Start by collecting a bunch of scraps. Word your crafty friends up so that they can collect scraps for you too. That’s how my scarf came together – my friends saved their scraps from the bin, and passed them on to me.

Now I’m talking about absolute scraps.

Not partial balls, or anything like that.

Just the stuff that would otherwise be thrown out. All those little lengths. About 4-12 inches long. The leftover pieces you have after weaving the ends into a finished project. Save them from the bin!

I find that anything much less than about 4 inches is just too short to join… but I keep those pieces too… because I WILL find a use for them one day.

I save my ends in an old biscuit tin:

Then when I’m feeling industrious (or just want something to keep my hands busy with while watching a movie) I start joining them together. There’s a few closeup shots to show you what my joins look like. Just did a quick google, and discovered that it is called a one-sided overhand bend which makes it sound way more complicated than it actually is!

Okay.

Pieces are joined and it’s time to start knitting. You won’t need any fancy stitch patterns – the yarn is busy enough just as is.

Use a pair of 4.5mm needles. Or 4mm or 5mm. Or whatever you please – this is your scarf!
Cast on 15 stitches.
K every row until scarf measures 2 metres long.
Cast off.

That’s it! Easy, huh?

But I have a new favourite scarf:

And looky here – my hair is growing back!

Remember the big shave of 2009???

I love the idea of a curlique scarf…

Only problem is, that because you are generally increasing in every stitch… each row is longer and longer than the last. By the time you reach that final row… it seems to go on for an eternity!

I’ve made this one using a 4.0mm bamboo hook, and some reclaimed wool. The wool came from a top which had belonged to my mum… so the scarf now has sentimental value to me. I like to wrap it around my neck a couple of times, and it feels like a great big warm, reassuring hug.

This spiral scarf is a Lisa Gentry design, you can click here to buy the pattern. I did make a slight modification to the final round. I wanted a more ‘picotty’ edging, so instead of working 4sc, I worked (2sc, 3ch, 2sc) into each space.

I started this scarf in winter… but it’s now almost summer here! In fact, we have had quite the heat wave – so I don’t think I’ll be wearing it any time soon…

]]> http://laughingpurplegoldfish.com/2009/11/20/spirally-scarf/feed/ 0 http://laughingpurplegoldfish.com/2009/07/15/project-30a-floral-neck-warmer/ http://laughingpurplegoldfish.com/2009/07/15/project-30a-floral-neck-warmer/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:00:00 +0000 Sharon Maher http://laughingpurplegoldfish.com/2009/07/15/project-30a-floral-neck-warmer/

pattern used -

• Beadiful Accent by Lisa Gentry
• found in Hooked For 30 Days e-book

yarn used -

• 5ply/sports weight recycled wool

hook used -

• 4.0mm bamboo hook

comments -

• I made five of the motif flowers, joined in the last round of each, according to the pattern
• the pattern calls for the last flower to be beaded with about 60 small pearl beads… but I quite like it without the beads
• I also left off the buttons, and used my Grandmother’s old brooch to pin the scarf

pattern used -

• Sadie’s Lace by Lisa Gentry
• found in Hooked For 30 Days e-book

yarn used -

• black-white recycled wool, 8ply/DK weight

hook used -

• 4.0mm hook

thoughts -

• it took me a long time to get into the rhythm of this pattern, but once I mastered that, it was easy to work on
• the black and white yarn is surprisingly difficult to photograph
• if I make another scarf from this pattern, I will certainly make it much longer… I prefer longer scarves

It’s the first time I have knitted a scarf in a 4ply (fingering weight) yarn… and it seemed to take forever! For a while there, I wondered if it was ever going to be finished…

I do love the pattern though. As far as lace patterns go, it’s quite simple to follow and easy to remember. And I love the finished effect, too.

Now, get ready for the biggest surprise of all… I actually blocked this scarf!!!

Mind you… that just means that I laid it out nicely on the ironing board… gave it a spritz of water… put a cloth over the top… gave that a spritz of water… then carefully and lightly steamed it with my iron on the WOOL setting. Pretty fancy, hey!

You might recognize this pattern, as it is a scarf that I have made before. If you want to take a little stroll down memory lane with me, you can see other versions of the same scarf here and here and here.

The scarf pattern is not available online, but I did find instructions for a feather stitch pattern which you could use if you were interested in making something similar. Don’t be confused if the photo looks a little different… they have shown the RIGHT side of the work, whereas most of my photos show the WRONG side (which I find more interesting)

It was brilliant. The boys rode around until they were exhausted, and I got one of my scarves done!

Mr Goldfish was out doing some Christmas shopping last night, so after the kids were in bed, I had the place to myself. Instead of fussing about with chores, I indulged in my crochet and got the second scarf completed!

I feel a bit cheeky calling this a pattern… more like instructions, really…

I’ve used a 5.0mm hook, and mostly 8ply yarn… although the red was a 12ply… the green and violet were 4ply, so I worked them with two strands held together… the indigo was even finer, so I held three strands of that together as I worked

basically, you can use whatever you like!

my yarn types were varied, too… the red is wool, the orange is acrylic, the yellow is wool, the green is cotton, the blue is something hairy, the indigo is a novelty ribbon yarn, and the violet is wool

again, this is YOUR scarf… so use whatever you like!

the scarf is worked sideways in sc (US)

just chain the length you want the scarf to be. I pop it around my neck to check the length. I usually like this type of scarf to sit an inch or two below my waist line… so I use that as a rough guide for my chain length… bearing in mind that there will be a tassel added also. Keep the chain loose for two reasons… 1. it is easier to work into the chain on your first row if they are not too tight, and 2. your scarf will tend to twist on itself if the chains are too tight

sc into the 2nd chain from hook, and every chain after that until you reach the end

leave a tail of a couple of inches and fasten off

turn work and add the next colour… continue working in rows of sc, leaving long tails at each end

I’ve worked 13 rows in total

red – orange – yellow – green – blue – indigo – violet – indigo – blue – green – yellow – orange – red

on the second scarf I worked the colours in reverse order

violet – indigo – blue – green – yellow – orange – red – orange – yellow – green – blue – indigo – violet

when the rows are completed, firmly knot each ‘tail’ to the one next to it… these will form the tassel… I chose to add a little extra to add some bulk, but it all comes down to personal preference

then I just trimmed the tails to an even length, and blocked the scarf lightly using a steam iron

Little Miss Four only has one more session left at pre-school for the year. So it was time to organise the Christmas gifts for the staff there. I thought I could involve my daughter by allowing her to choose a bag for each of them.

I have so many bags already completed here, that she was spoiled for choice.

But things didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped, and the outcome is that she would like her ‘teachers’ to have a rainbow scarf each. I should have stood my ground and encouraged her to choose a bag instead. But instead… I’m thinking… “Oooohhh… rainbow scarves… they sound like fun… haven’t made them before”

I love a new challenge… so the plans are set for rainbow scarves… yarn is organised, and off we go!

Of course they will be QUICK, SIMPLE and BRIGHT. I have until tuesday, but hopefully they will be done by tomorrow.

This one is for those of you who love the idea of the one hour scarf, but don’t crochet.

(click here to see the original crochet version)

There’s only one problem… it takes two hours!

Well, it took me two hours… and I am an experienced knitter. However, even at two hours it is still a speedy option. My finished scarf is approximately 160cm x 9cm

I have used 8.0mm needles and three strands of yarn worked together

cast on 160 stitches

row 1 – slip 1, (K1, P1) to last stitch, K1

row 2 – slip 1, (P1, K1) to last stitch, P1

repeat these two rows, until work measures 9cm

cast off (loosely)

You might prefer to work flat using circular needles for this project, given the number of stitches you will be working with. My preference is for straight needles, but if you use them.. be prepared for your needles to be full up like these ones.

Many of you loved the original scrap happy scarf - except for the minor detail of it involving crochet! Well, this is my knitted version.

I’ve decided that when using a multitude of colours like this, it it best to keep the pattern as simple as possible. And what could be more simple for knitters than garter stitch?

These scarves are worked sideways. I’m an old fashioned kind of girl, and prefer to use straight needles, but there are a lot of stitches here, so to accommodate them all you might want to work the scarf flat using those ‘new fangled’ circulars.

The yarn being used here is crazy yarn. Click here to see what that is all about.

At the end of each row I have left a tail, and joined on a new colour. If you use a firm knot to join in the new yarns, then those tails can just become the tassel of the scarf. Yes… I know you’ve always been taught not to join with knots… blah, blah, blah… forget about all that… this is LOW STRESS knitting!

I’ve experimented with a number of different needle sizes, and these are the results:

^^ scarf #1 – my absolute favourite! ^^
worked on 4.0mm needles
cast on 250 stitches and then worked about 35 rows in garter stitch
(this gave me an approximate length of 180cm and a width of 9cm)

^^ scarf #2 ^^
worked on 8.0mm needles
cast on 200 stitches and then worked about 20 rows in garter stitch
(this gave me an approximate length of 200cm and a width of 9cm)

^^ scarf #3 ^^
worked on 15.0mm needles
cast on 125 stitches and then worked about 12 rows in garter stitch
(this gave me an approximate length of 200cm and a width of 9cm)