Purple Mystery Scarf

Recently, I met my friend Diana for lunch and she mentioned how much she loved the knitted gifts that I had given her. Cowls, scarves and socks, she told me that she uses them every year and that any time I need a gift I can always give her socks. Hmm! That gave me an idea! I needed a gift for my friend Cindy but couldn't think of anything. Cindy is an avid Baltimore Ravens fan. She wears purple to the office on Fridays, during football season and she has season tickets to the games. She probably gets really cold sitting in the stadium in the winter and I'm sure that she owns all of the Ravens' cold weather gear (hats, gloves, etc.). This year for Christmas, Cindy will be getting purple knits--socks and a scarf--to combat the cold weather. The great thing about the scarf is that it can also be used for occasions where she wants to show her "colors" but doesn't necessarily want a team piece with a logo.

After perusing through the volumes of commercial scarf patterns I couldn't find what I was looking for ( a worsted weight scarf with a tight weave to block the wind).  That means I am going to have to design the scarf.  I grabbed my knitting stitch dictionaries and spent the next several days choosing patterns and knitting swatches. After several days of knitting swatches, frustration finally set in. I have a beautiful merino wool (Malabrigo Worsted) but none of the patterns that I chose seem to work with the yarn. The wool is soft and luxurious and it needs a textured pattern to highlight those characteristics. Finally I decided on the Little Boxes pattern in the Knit Stitch Pattern Handbook by Melissa Leapman (available from Amazon) and was happy with the result.

Scarf in progress.

I wrapped the scarf around Mozart to show the drape.

I love everything about this scarf!  It's soft, warm, drapes well and the color is an amazing rich, deep purple. I keep telling myself that this is Cindy's scarf and I can always knit another for me.


Directions For Purple Mystery Scarf:

The Knit Stitch Pattern Handbook by Melissa Leapman (available on Amazon)- Little Boxes pattern- pg. 25
2 skeins Malabrigo Worsted in Purple Mystery-skeins are 100 grams and approximately 210 yards
Size 7 (US) Knitting needles- I used Addi Clicks Lace with a 24 inch cable
Yarn needles

1.  Cast on 36 stitches using your favorite cast-on method. I used the long tail cast-on.

2.  Follow the pattern beginning with Row 1. This is the right side of the scarf.

3.  Repeat Rows 1 to 4 of the pattern until the scarf measures approximately 70 inches or the desired length. End the pattern with Row 4 (wrong side).  I chose 70 inches because I want Cindy to be able to wrap the scarf a couple of times around her neck and then tie it for warmth. 

4.   Knit Row 1 one more time (right side) and then loosely bind off all stitches.

5.  With dark colors I like to set the dye so that the wool doesn't bleed when the garment is washed.  The thought of the color bleeding out the first time the garment is washed makes me cringe, especially when it's a gift.
To set the dye, soak the garment in 1 cup of white vinegar and luke warm water for 10 to 15 minutes. Don't use hot water or it will shrink the wool and felt it.  Gently squeeze out the excess water. Do Not Wring or Twist The Garment! 
Fill a basin with cool water and a mild detergent, preferably one made for wool knits. Soak the garment in the detergent for about 5 minutes and then gently swish it around in the water with your hands. Rinse the garment in cool water, then add 1/4 cup of vinegar  to a basin of cool water and place the garment in the basin and swish the garment around in the water to remove the final trace of soap. Gently squeeze out the water. Do Not Wring the Garment!
At this point I like to place a large bath towel on the floor (tile floor) and lay the knitted garment on the towel. Starting at end, I slowly roll the towel and the garment, pressing down with the palm of my hands to squeeze out the excess water as I roll the towel up. After the towel has been rolled, press down on the towel a few more times to remove the excess water. At this point the towel should start to feel wet. Gently unroll the towel and remove the garment and place it on a dry towel. Avoid stretching the garment during the transfer. Dry the garment away from any heat source.   

6.  Lightly steam the scarf with a steam iron to relax the yarn so that the scarf will lay flat. Hold the iron a few inches above the surface of the scarf while steaming so that the iron doesn't flatten the stitches.

Silk/Camel Hair Scarf

The yarn from the Woolen Rabbit has finally arrived! After having one of those, Why did I even bother to get out of bed this morning?, days it was a pleasant surprise to open my mailbox and find the yarn. I wound the yarn into a ball and started to knit with the pattern that I had chosen. After knitting 10 rows I hated the result, so I chose another pattern. I kept knitting, ripping out and starting over until I finally found a pattern that gave me the results I was looking for. Woolen Rabbit Oasis is a beautiful soft yarn (70% silk and 30% camel). The high silk content gives the yarn a lot of drape which was not suitable for the patterns that I originally chose. I finally settled on a lacy pattern that isn't very open and works well with this yarn.

Woolen Rabbit Oasis yarn-Moroccan Spice color

It's always so hard to come up with unique gifts for family and friends. Two years ago, I decided to give handmade items as gifts (paintings, knitted items). I was really nervous when the recipients opened their presents. Would they like it, what if they don't? The response was overwhelmingly positive. Not only did the recipients like their gifts but they sent thank you cards telling me how much they liked them. Since it's been so cold lately, I plan to give a lot of knitted gifts.

Brittany is living in Connecticut and gets so cold there. She really could use a knitted scarf. Brittany loves camels and has a collection of stuffed camels.  I thought that she might like a camel hair scarf. I found Woolen Rabbit Oasis yarn a blend of silk and camel hair in beautiful custom dyed colors.  I chose the Moroccan Spice, a deep rich Persian red with hints of gold for the scarf. When ordering from Woolen Rabbit, you must consider dye lots (the yarn is dyed for each order) and order enough yarn to complete your project. Oasis yarn has 375 yards to 100 gram skein. I wanted to make the scarf approximately 72 inches long and 7 inches wide, so I ordered 2 skeins of yarn to be one the safe side.

Work in progress.

 Like most of my projects, this one is beginner friendly. Beginners who know how to knit, purl and do yarn overs will be able to knit this scarf with no trouble. Woolen Rabbit Oasis has good yardage, so I only needed one skein of yarn for the scarf.

Marrakesh Scarf Directions:

1 skein Woolen Rabbit Oasis yarn (70% silk/30% camel)-Moroccan Spice

Size 5 knitting needles- I am using Addi Clicks

Gauge: 5 sts = 1 inch/ 20 sts = 4 inches  The gauge doesn't have to be exact since this is a scarf.

Using size 5 knitting needles cast on 38 stitches.

Row 1 (right side of scarf): Knit all stitches.
Row 2 : Purl all stitches
Row 3:  K1 (edge stitch), * K2 together, K2, yarn over, K1, yarn over, K2, slip one stitch knit-wise onto right needle, knit the next stitch on the left needle and pass the slipped stitch over the one that you just knit *; Repeat from * to * to last stitch, K1 (edge stitch).
Row 4:  Purl all stitches
Row 5:  K1 (edge), * K1, K2 together, yarn over, K3, yarn over, slip one stitch, K1 pass slipped stitch over, K1 *; repeat from * to * to last stitch K1 (edge).
Row 6:  Purl all stitches

Repeat rows 1-6 for pattern until desired length. Bind off stitches loosely. Lightly block the scarf with steam.

Note: My finished scarf ended up being 60 inches in length. I used one skein of Woolen Rabbit Oasis and knit until I was almost out of yarn, ending on Row 6 of the pattern.