Spinsjal Organic Scarf (Free Pattern!)

I do very little pattern writing but here's a little thing that I came up with. It uses my handspun and hand dyed silk. I will also put up a link in the "Free Patterns" section.  Try it and let me know how it turns out!

Organic Scarf

from

Spinsjal Designs

This is a “recipe” pattern for a garter stitch scarf that can be as wide and as long as you like.  The sample uses handspun silk that was hand dyed with eucalyptus. 

Materials

Yarn: I used 100 yards of handspun silk which was 11 wpi (wraps per inch) and a bit “thick and thin.” My gauge was 4 stitches per inch. You can use whatever yarn at whatever gauge you like, but be mindful of drape and softness.

Needles: Pick some needles and knit a sample that creates a nice “fabric” for your scarf, adjusting needle size as needed. I used size 4 straight needles.

Dyeing: My yarn was dyed with eucalyptus. Silk takes dyes well and has a lovely tone to it. If you would like to dye your own, see the general instructions in this post at my blog: http://spinsjal.blogspot.com/2014/03/eucalyptus-dyepot.html.  Some prior experience with natural dyeing is recommended before you use a precious yarn as dyeing is always an experiment, and results can vary. I did NOT mordant this yarn, so I expect that the color of this scarf will fade with time.

Knitting

Cast on 30 stitches. Knit 10 rows or 5 garter ribs. Next row: k 2 tog in each stitch. 15 stitches remain.

Knit to the length that you would like your scarf, minus the ruffle border.  

I had a limited amount of yarn and wanted to use it all. I calculated how much I would need for the last 10 rows of the scarf (the ruffle end) in this way: I needed 5 times the length of a row of knitting to actually knit the row.  I measured out enough for the last 10 rows by measuring out the yarn based on the width of the beginning ruffle. 

When you are ready to knit the end ruffle, do an invisible increase in each stitch in this way: pick up the stitch below your stitch and place it on the needle. Then, knit each stitch. Here’s a good website for pictures of this technique: http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/05/very-nearly-invisible-increase.html.

At the end of the row you will have 30 stitches. Continue knitting in garter stitch for 10 more rows then bind off loosely.