A simple increase and decrease turns a stodgy striped scarf into a sinuous infinity scarf. Knit it long and skinny so it can be worn long or wrapped twice, or knit it wide as shown with the free pattern. Use a sophisticated palette or red and white stripes for a Christmas scarf. Make several with variations in color and stitches to go with every outfit. Hand knitted scarves make great Christmas and birthday gifts.
Advice for Beginning Knitters
The pattern starts with a provisional cast on and ends by joining the ends using Kitchener stitch. While this makes an invisible, perfect join, the techniques can be time consuming and frustrating for beginners. A regular cast on and bind off can be used, and the edges sewn together. While this looks okay, it's not quite as nice as as joining the ends with Kitchener stitch. Just wear the scarf with the seam at the back of your neck.
Changing the number of stitches to make the scarf requires a change in the number of purl stitches on the wrong side (row 2). Rather than counting the number of purl stitches, simply purl to the last 3 stitches, knit 2, and increase in the last stitch by knitting in the back of the stitch without removing the stitch from the left needle, then knit through the front of the stitch to make 2 stitches and remove from the left needle.
Choose the needle size to fit the yarn used. In order for the scarf to drape nicely, this is best knitted on larger needles than recommended for the yarn. Recommendations for needle size are based on making garments. This is a good way to experiment with different weight yarns and needle sizes.
Variations on the Pattern
Click the pictures below to see larger images. The red and white stripes are 6 rows of each color. On the first row of each color, every other stitch is slipped without knitting so that the row has both red and white alternating stitches. This gives the stripes feathered edges.
When knitting a narrow scarf, the 4 knitted stitches at the edges of the purl side can be reduced to 3 stitches so the edges don't overwhelm the rest of the scarf.
Another variation can be to work with a single color and yarn overs to form eyelets rather than changing colors. Alternate stockinette stitch with rows of other stitches. The bias of this scarf provides not only good drape, but also a lot of visual interest for a minimum of effort.
This simple variation on a classic striped scarf has enough possible variations to keep a knitter going all winter. Add your thanks to the creator of this free pattern.
Corinne Shibley - Corinne Shibley studied sculpture in art history and created her own sculpture on the way to a B.A. in Studio Art. "There's something ...
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