A Tale of Two Scarves

If you might remember back to when I was at the ANWG conference in Spokane I bought a scarf kit from Just Our Yarn. I finally finished one of the patterns that came with the kit:

Beaded Bias Scarf

Begun: June 22, 2009

Completed: August 10, 2009

Yarn: Just Our Yarn: Aziza, 5/2s, 100% tencel, 525 yds (480m) per skein, colour TTF08-064 (yellow, gold, rust), used .5 of the skein.

Beads: size 6, beer bottle AB transparent.

Needle: 2 – 3.25mm Clover bamboo 7” dpns.

Hook: 1.15mm steel

Pattern:  Variations - Bias Scarf by Karen Joan Raz  (Ravelry link)

Comments: The whole thing (yarn, beads, crochet hook and 2 patterns) came in the kit that I bought from Just Our Yarn’s booth. The two owners were very helpful in choosing different beads to go with the yarn colours I picked out. At home I tried out several different needles before settling on the bamboo dpns. Everything else was either sticky or slippery or too long or too awkward. Even the crochet hook that came with the kit was too big so I substituted one of my own.

The yarn is very shiny and pretty but not very forgiving to knit with and the pattern was not as easy to follow as you might think! I made so many mistakes and had to frog often in the beaded area. It didn’t gel in my brain until I was almost finished. I think it has something to do with the rhythm for me. That’s probably why it took nearly 2 months to finish it. In the end it blocked out 4” wide and 6’ long, just about the size stated in the pattern. I used pins on my mats to block it because it just didn’t lend itself to the blocking wires. Too hard to thread them through solid garter st edgings.

I’m quite happy with the results even though it wasn’t the pricey cashmere version that I fell in love with. I already have wool/cashmere yarn that would work nicely if I decide to do it again.

And then I decided that I’d had enough of knitting this stuff and went hunting on Ravelry to see what others had done with it. I came across a crocheted scarf that I totally loved and although there wasn’t a pattern available there were notes that indicated the book she got the stitch from. Luckily it was in my library!

Skeletal Leaves Scarf

Begun:  August 10, 2009

Completed:  August 11, 2009

Yarn: Just Our Yarn: Aziza, 5/2s, 100% tencel, 525 yds (480m) per skein, colour TTF08-064 (yellow, gold, rust), used .5 of the skein.

Hook: Aero 3mm

Pattern:  The Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs by Linda P. Schapper, stitch pattern #493

Comments:  Instead of using the other pattern and beads supplied with the kit, I decided that I wasn’t that fond of the zigzag version nor with knitting this yarn. Crochet is much faster. I began with a chain around 2 yards long and in a number divisible by 16 + 2. Then I just followed the charted pattern stitch for 2 repeats of the 8 rows. I ended with a round of sc around the entire scarf. It was touch-and-go with only about 5 yards of yarn left at the end! A nail-biter. I didn’t bother to wet-block but just steam-pressed gently. It tends to scrunch up when wearing anyway.

Interestingly, I made a number of minor errors in crocheting the pattern but was able to fudge most of them saving me from having to frog many times. You can’t tell in the end and it just made it a little more “organic”. At least that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. ;)

I like the way the rusty fall colours go with the pattern which reminds me of leaf skeletons.

The two scarves show the hand-dyed colours quite differently and they make a nice complementary set. They both turned out nearly exactly the same length with the crocheted one just a wee bit narrower.