Friday, February 4, 2011

My Marathon Scarf

I know I should start a second blog for all this knitting stuff, but frankly I'm too lazy. So you, dear reader looking for updates on Topher, will have to endure the occasional knitting exposure. I found a pattern for a scarf I wanted to try, but ended up altering it so that the pattern would be enlarged and more obvious. The resulting texture turned out to be a large waffle-weave. Even though it's not at all complex, it was my hardest scarf yet. At one point I put it down to measure it, and Topher thought that I made him "tracks" for his cars. I had to backtrack several times when I would let my mind wander and I would realize that I had done an entire row in the wrong stitch. Around the time it was about 36 inches long, I wanted to quit. By the time I had reached the end, it looked...all scrunched up. This is when I learned what blocking was. Usually reserved for wool yarn, it is a way to shape a knitted piece using water or steam. I found a blog that insisted you could block acrylic yarn and decided to try it. Since I don't own a blocking board, I pinned my scarf down to the carpet and used my clothing steamer. Holding the steamer a few inches above the scarf, I slowly moved down the length of the scarf until it was damp from steam. (You cannot get acrylic yarn too hot or it will melt. This scared me very much.) Then I let it dry in place, still pinned down flat. The result was a perfectly un-scrunched scarf. Thank goodness. Package it up with a couple home-made pom-poms and ta-da! I broke the marathon tape. Phew. Here is my altered pattern: Yarn: 4-ply worsted acrylic Needles: US #6 (4 mm) CO 26 sts Row 1 & 3: *k2, p2 repeat from * to end of row, ending on a k2 Row 2 & 4: *p2, k2 repeat from * to end of row, ending on a p2 Row 5 & 7: knit across Row 6 & 8: purl across Repeat rows 1-8 until scarf measures 60 inches long Bind off, weave in ends Now what to make next? --KC

4 comments:

  1. It is absolutely beautiful! congrats on a job well done and enduring to the end!

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  2. dang girl! you are such a fast learner! I seriously think you need to start an Etsy page. :)

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  3. p.s. i love how you packaged it. :)

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  4. Goodness sakes you are getting good at this FAST. How are you doing this?? How are you finding all these magical tutorials? You're awesome!

    luvs, aby

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