Pretty Little Things

My friend Vicky got me started on these pretty little things and boy, these are almost as addictive to make as washcloths. The pattern is horrifically simple so I will type it out after the pictures. I am working on #4 already (when I finish that is when I go back to the shawl for me - see previous post). The three shown here were done with Chinchilla yarn which is a fluffy kind of almost-like fun fur kind of novelty yarn. And yarn snobs, if you're here, trust me - you ever get one of these soft little things on you, you just might change your mind about some of the more novelty stuff. I had used Chinchilla once before to make a really beautiful cream colored garter stitch scarf for my mom. She loved it because it was soft and warm. These are just, well, fast and pretty and I am still thinking about how I can alter the pattern to make long scarves. These are called "scarflets". I am going to offer my mother the choice of these two but I think she'll take the purple. These were made with regular Chinchilla.

So then I decided to make one for me. I had purchased bulky Chinchilla and so it required more yarn to make than the regular. I altered the pattern so I would have enough yarn. I knit tightly and so of course I still had yarn left when I probably shouldn't have. So I've tried making them a bit longer and looser. We'll see how this final one turns out. Especially since I am using Paton's Divine yarn. Here's the pink bulky one I made for me:

Here's how these are made.

1. I used size 11 needles
2. I have used Chinchilla regular, bulky and now Divine. You should be able to use any kind of bulky yarn (Homespun, for instance)
3. For the basic scarf, cast on 21 stitches. For skinnier ones, try 15, 17 or 19.
4. Knit in garter stitch (knit every row) for 27 inches.
5. Knit 11 (8, 9, 10). Place remaining stitches on a stitch holder.
6. Knit for 4 inches. I suggest use a row counter and that way when you do the other side, you know exactly how many rows to knit. At the end of 4 inches, put stitches on another stitch holder and cut yarn. I find that 4 inches is usually 10 or 12 rows. End on an even number of rows to make it easier to join both sets of stitches later.
7. Join yarn and knit stitches off holder onto the needle. This counts as row 1. Knit 4 inches. If you did even rows at the end of your 4 inches you should be able to just knit the stitches from the stitch holder back onto the needle and your original number of stitches is back on the needle.
8. Knit another 4 inches. Bind off loosely.

The nice part about this is no binding off and casting on to make the slit and rejoining to finish the scarf is easy. They don't take a lot of time to make. When done just put it around your neck, slip the opposite end through the slot and you have a nice warm, neck hugging scarf that won't fall off. Enjoy! I know I love mine!