To celebrate Leap Year, I’m offering a terrific knitting pattern at no cost! You’ll be able to download it here by copying this post; later there will be a PDF for sale here, at my Etsy shop, and my Ravelry store. This is a thank you to all of you who have followed the development of my site and have followed my designs online over the last few years.
ALL 85 GLORIOUS INCHES OF NON-POOLING GLORY
Thank you!!
Vanishing Act Skinny Scarf (part of the Sherlock Collection)
by Eve Starr Knits
Watch your painted yarn, a ‘pretty problem’, morph into a work of art worthy of an
IT'S OBVIOUS WHICH STITCH PATTERN BLENDS THE COLORS
Impressionist painting. Guaranteed to break up even the most stubborn “pooling” problem! Even the most bold colors and contrasts will blend beautifully if you use this stitch pattern.
This was a serendipitous “unvention” of a stitch that was new to me (but may have existed somewhere, some time). I wanted to design a pattern that even beginners could tackle right out of the gate, with professional results the very first time. I also wanted the same effect you get with slipped stitches (slipping some stitches from the working needle without working them; they are worked on a later row, causing them to stretch and blend, breaking up any long streaks of color and adding texture). I found that I only needed a “pattern row” every third row to achieve the effect I was after.
Other Tips: My favorite edge treatment for scarves, a chain-stitch edge, is used here to add to the professional look of the finished scarf, without blocking! You will also be using a stretchy bind-off to retain the ribbed sideways stretch.
Materials: there is room for a wide variety of yarn weights and amounts; I’ve given what I used for the scarf you see here. Mine is 4.25” wide and 85” long. (If you’re gifting, make the scarf at least as long as the recipient is tall, then add another foot. It’s better to err on the side of a bit too long than too short.)
yarn used here: Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend, three skeins
Size 8 U.S./5.0mm needles (I used Signature Needle Arts straight 7” needles with the stiletto points. You can see them in the photos.) Beginners: use wood or bamboo; the extra “grab” will help prevent your stitches from sliding off.
Size: width of scarf can be as little as 3” and as wide as 5” (of course this will affect the amount of yarn you will need) If your yarn is a heavy worsted or bulky weight, try a swatch with an even number of stitches between 12 and 16. Measure your swatch to make sure the width is what you’re after (mine is 4.25”).
Note: you will be slipping the first stitch in every row knitwise with the yarn in back (abbreviated: kwise wyib) and purling the last stitch in every row. This includes the ribbed row, which begins with a “knit 1”. That first stitch will be slipped as usual, and will count as your first pattern stitch as well, so the next stitch of that row will be a purl. This will produce an elongated chain, or “V”, because the edge stitches will have been worked just once for every two rows. This prevents the edge from having too much yarn fed into it, which results in a loopy, loose look that isn’t as neat or finished.
PATTERN DIRECTIONS:
Cast on 20 stitches, or a multiple of 2. I used a Knitted Cast-On, which is firm but stretchy: make a slipknot, insert the other needle knitwise, yarn over needle, and make a stitch. Use the right hand needle to place the stitch you just made on the left hand needle. Now use the working needle to insert into this new stitch, kwise, yo, and complete a third stitch, placing it on the left hand needle. Continue this way until you have 20 stitches (or your desired even number).
Row 1: Slip first stitch knitwise with yarn in back of the work, then knit all of the stitches until the last one. Purl last stitch of the row.
Row 2: Slip first stitch kwise wyib, (as in row one), knit all stitches until you reach the last stitch, purl.
Row 3: (pattern row) Slip first stitch kwise wyib, purl next stitch, (k1, p1) to end of row.
Repeat the above three rows until your scarf is the desired length and/or you run out of yarn. You’ll notice that there are 6 rows on the chart. It’s really just two repeats of the three-row pattern. You began with two garter stitch rows, so end the same way.
Narrow scarves can be very long, up to 7 feet long, to accommodate multiple wraps and long ends hanging down.
Bind off loosely. You can use the following “stretchy bind-off” if you’re concerned about your bind-off being too tight:
Knit first two stitches. Replace these two stitches back onto the left-hand needle. Knit two together (k2tog) through their back loops (tbl). Knit next stitch in row, replace these two stitches onto the left-hand needle, k2tog tbl. Repeat to the end. Cut yarn, leaving a tail of at least 6 to 8″. Weave in loosely with tapestry needle.
See the page on my website for tips on wearing scarves, twenty-first century style!
EVE STARR FIBER ARTS STUDIO
