Tuesday 29 January 2008

Truly Scrumptious Scarf

Truly, truly scrumptious!

The yarn is Fyberspates Scrumptious DK. 220 metres per 100g. 45% silk, 55% Blue Faced Leicester and is hand dyed in Wales by Jeni!

Without any exaggeration at all, this yarn is lovely to handle. I have no idea how it wears over time but after my recent Noro disappointment, it seems quite wonderful, as it:
- is lustruous
- is soft enough for me to wear happily against my skin (now that is saying something)
- is rich in colour, even in this muted colourway
- leaps off the needles, knit-o-matic style
- has lots of bounce once knitted.

I have seen photos of this yarn showing some colour pooling? I did not have this problem and I suspect that the two ball knit method would prevent this from happening on a larger garment?


Oddly, my camera cannot read this yarn colour at all well - it looks a lot more washed out in these photos than it does in real life.

To my human eye, the leaf colour in this photo was quite close to the yarn colour, just at its tip. Yet not in this photo!

I worked this scarf up in the same way I made the Noro scarf. It is not really a pattern but I have written it up below, just in case you are interested in making something like this for yourself.


Yarn
4 balls of itchy, prickly Noro Silk Garden*
or
2 skeins of glorious, soft Fyberspates Scrumptious DK

Needles
8mm

Dimensions
Width: approx 8-8.5 inches
Length: approx 60 inches

Destructions
Using yarn double, cast on 25 stitches.
Work 10 rows of garter stitch.
Row 11: knit
Row 12: purl
Row 13: purl
Row 14: knit

Repeat rows 11 - 14, until you think that you might start to run short of yarn to do the other end of the scarf. Stop.

Knit 10 rows of garter stitch.

Cast off (if you are British). Bind off (if you are not).

Weave in ends.

Wrap around neck and either:

  • look cosy but itch horribly unless you have a cast iron neck (Noro)
  • look cosy and smug (Fyberspates).
I am happy. All that is left to do is weave the ends in. I hope that my gift recipient likes it.

















This scarf was a quick knit - I worked it up at I Knit (film night) last Friday evening and during coffee and meal breaks from sport admin over the weekend.

I'll see if I can secure any happy ending photos of my two recent scarf knits in simultaneous action at some point in February!



Personal Reflections on photos

Man, I mus' get me a tripod.
Damn, just how badly do I need to get my roots done?! (booked on Friday 18:30 GMT, phew!)
Good grief I look tired...!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*Suggestion 1, if using Noro: wind all 4 balls into yarn cakes using a ball winder before you start work. in this way, you can see what colours you really have in your balls of yarn and where the colours occur - in this way, you can decide which balls you want to work together.

*Suggestion 2, if using Noro: if the colours at the end of Balls 1 and 2, do not match the colours at the start of balls 3 and four, then I recommend that you interleaf the yarns in a ball change over section of about 6-8 rows. Leave me a comment if you aren't sure what I mean and I'll try to find a moment to whip up a swatch to explain what I am getting at.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yummy color in the last few photos. You can really get a sense of the green. :)

Anonymous said...

Gosh finished aleady. It looks really fab. Love the colours and they really work in this pattern too. Don't be too harsh on the Noro it did feel much better after you had treated it. I think your gift recipients are going to be very pleased and grateful for your efforts.