Saturday 12 Jan 2008

Oh No Scarf

Last Tuesday was the 4th anniversary of our Stitch ‘n Bitch group. Laurie, who started the group, has a great post about the festivities here. As part of the fun, we held a one-skein swap.

The premise of the swap was to knit something from one skein of yarn; that was the only parameter. In other words, you could make any item you wanted and use any amount or weight of yarn. All the yarn, though, had to be put up in just one skein or hank (or cone if you were really ambitious).

I considered and rejected several projects, purchased several different skeins of yarn, and swatched a couple of scarf patterns from books I own but I was never really happy with the result.

Finally, I grabbed a 50g skein of Knit Picks Suri Dream from the stash and tried a variation of the bee stitch.

I liked the finished scarf but so did my daughter!

3

So, I gave it to her and made this felted bag for the swap.

In the end, it was best that I didn’t contribute the scarf. The yarn was green and a notorious green-hater ended up with my contribution. She was much happier with the purple/pink in the bag.

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Oh No Scarf

4

Yarn: 1 skein, Knit Picks Suri Dream

Needle: U.S. #15

Gauge: not important

Finished Size: approximately 7 inches wide and 70 inches long

Instructions:

  • CO 15 sts.
  • Knit 2 rows.
  • Row 1: Slip 1 wyif (see notes), *knit into the st below, k1; repeat from * to end of row.
    Row 2: Slip 1 wyif, k1, *knit into the st below, k1; repeat from * until 1 st remains, k1.
  • Repeat Rows 1 & 2 until you are almost out of yarn.
  • Knit 2 rows.
  • Bind off.
  • Block. It’s your choice whether to block lightly to keep some of the texture from the stitch pattern, or to block it severely so it looks more lacey.

Notes: The slipped stitches will give you nice, smooth edges. Slip them purlwise with the yarn in front. Then move the yarn to the back of your work and continue with the rest of the row.

You may be wondering why I’m calling it the “Oh No Scarf.”

On knitting charts, yarnovers are represented by a circle or “O.” This stitch pattern gives a lacy look without any yarnovers. Get it? The chart would have no Os.

There are lots of reasons why I love this stitch pattern for a scarf. Among them:

  1. It’s nice and smooshy, almost like thermal underwear, so it’ll trap lots of air to keep you really warm.

    2. 5

  2. There are no purl stitches! What, you didn’t know that I hate to purl?
  3. It’s mindless, but not boring.
  4. It’s reversible and it looks the same upside-down as it does right-side-up.
  5. You can use it to make a scarf of any width. Just cast on an odd number of stitches and follow the instructions.
  6. It looks good in all colors and weights of yarns. Use a needle about 2 sizes larger than the size recommended on the ball band. Experiment!

View blog reactions
33 comments | designing, knitting, patterns, scarves

33 Responses to “Oh No Scarf”

  1. # Lisa on 12 Jan 2008 at 9:10 pm

    wow, wow, wow. now I must make a scarf; what a fun pattern. p.s. daughter is gor-gee-ous (but you knew that)! sparkly eyes & most glamorous show of braces I’ve seen for many moons.

  2. # Alarming Female on 12 Jan 2008 at 11:49 pm

    That bag is great! Love the way the wool felted and the color is distributed.

  3. # Carole on 13 Jan 2008 at 5:57 am

    But the question is: has she lost the scarf yet?

  4. # margene on 13 Jan 2008 at 7:01 am

    I love my bag;-)

  5. # Kathy on 13 Jan 2008 at 7:06 am

    Same as Carole!

  6. # marie in florida on 13 Jan 2008 at 7:27 am

    oh no is really oh heck yeah! i love the squooshie.

  7. # Marcia on 13 Jan 2008 at 7:33 am

    Love that bag! I need to do some felting.

  8. # Beth on 13 Jan 2008 at 7:44 am

    Gorgeous scarf! And it looks like she’s this>

  9. # Beth on 13 Jan 2008 at 7:44 am

    Let me try that again:
    She’s “this close” to giving spinning a try.. (silly html characters)

  10. # Teresa C on 13 Jan 2008 at 7:51 am

    Great scarf, but did she ever find the last one you made her?

  11. # Jean on 13 Jan 2008 at 8:47 am

    Both the scarf and bag are gorgeous! Thank you for posting the pattern. I’m thinking Christmas gifts next year!

  12. # Heather Joins the Round on 13 Jan 2008 at 8:57 am

    I dig it! It looks great and sounds fun to knit.

  13. # Jennifer on 13 Jan 2008 at 9:05 am

    Oooo, that scarf looks so soft and squooshy!

  14. # Cheryl S. on 13 Jan 2008 at 9:08 am

    Cute scarf, but good thing it did not go to Margene!

  15. # Jenni on 13 Jan 2008 at 9:26 am

    I really like the scarf! It looks so warm and cuddly! But more importantly, what does your daughter use in her hair? Its so shiny and pretty!

  16. # Dorothy on 13 Jan 2008 at 9:29 am

    Thanks so much for sharing your scarf pattern. And your daughter is absolutely gorgeous!

  17. # Batty on 13 Jan 2008 at 10:37 am

    That worked out very nicely! Two happy people instead of one, perfect.

  18. # Birdsong on 13 Jan 2008 at 11:03 am

    I can see that you made the best choices in gift-giving… both will get more use from their recipients:) I will have to try this pattern very soon, thanks!

  19. # Tracey on 13 Jan 2008 at 12:24 pm

    I love both the scarf and the bag! And you have a very pretty daughter :)

  20. # julia fc on 13 Jan 2008 at 1:45 pm

    Nice scarf. And in return she’s doing all your plying, right?

  21. # Jennifer on 13 Jan 2008 at 6:47 pm

    Great story – great scarf – great felted bag – and best of all – GREAT PHOTO!! Thanks for the pattern

  22. # Anne on 14 Jan 2008 at 6:49 am

    Very nice! I’m sure the bag is happily being loved at its new home – complete with the chocolate gifts inside. :)

  23. # Hillary on 14 Jan 2008 at 8:48 am

    Oh yes. I just bought yarn to make myself a scarf and I think this is going to be the one. Thanks!

  24. # Carol on 14 Jan 2008 at 10:36 am

    Oh No Is fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing. Love the bag too!

  25. # Susanne on 15 Jan 2008 at 10:40 am

    I love the scarf, thank you for sharing the pattern. And your daughter models it beautifully.

  26. # Laurie on 16 Jan 2008 at 4:30 am

    I like this!

  27. # Wanda on 16 Jan 2008 at 8:08 pm

    Wow, another scarf for DD. Does she still have the other one you knitted, the white one? Teeheehee.

    The scarf is really pretty. I guess since a certain someone is a green hater, it turned out well you knit her a bag instead.

  28. # Beth S. on 18 Jan 2008 at 12:11 pm

    One day we will teach that green-hater to appreciate this lovely color! A stripe here, a sock there… ;-)

  29. # Sedruola N Maruska on 20 Jan 2008 at 7:43 am

    Nice! Very nice! Looks like an easy project to do on the train going to work. I’ll have to dig into my stash and get started soon. (beautiful daughter!)

  30. # shawn on 20 Jan 2008 at 2:51 pm

    This scarf looks amazing! I’m having trouble with the pattern though. I seem to off on Row 2. My “v” stitches don’t line up. Yours is beautiful and mine looks like #%*&@!! Any suggestions? Thanks, Shawn

  31. # shawn on 21 Jan 2008 at 5:36 am

    My Bad! I got way too excited about no purls and the perfect yarn in my stash! If I’d read the pattern more carefully, it would have been fine!!! It’s beautiful! Thanks

  32. # TheAmpuT on 26 Jan 2008 at 8:23 am

    You actually got me turning my head way over sideways to see if looked the same upside down LOL.

    Great pattern, thanks for giving it. Looks so warm!

  33. # Paula on 21 Nov 2009 at 10:59 am

    Thanks for sharing – I love it!