Colorful Crafting with Jen: Summer Shimmer Scarf
A few months ago we received Pearl from Lorna's Laces, a worsted weight blend of silk and bamboo that drapes and shimmers like water over river stones. As soon as it came in I picked out a skein in my favorite color, Envy, and added it to my "someday soon" project basket. I thought about what I wanted to make and decided that I wanted to make a summer scarf that took only one skein, something simple and lacy. While I've done a ton of yarn-overs in my knitting career I have never actually made anything that would truly be considered to be lace so I was pleased to find that not only was this Zig Zag Lace Trellis pattern pretty, it was also very easy! For those of you, who like me, have been wanting to stick your toe into lace knitting, this is the perfect introduction. The yarn is wonderful to work with, the pattern is simple, and you'll be done with your scarf in no time! --Jen
Materials
- 1 skein of Lorna's Laces, Pearl (I used Envy, top left, other colors are some of my other favorites, top right Vera, bottom left Tickled Pink, bottom right Black Purl).
- US size 9 needles (or size required to get gauge)
- Tapestry Needle for finishing
Finished Measurements
5 inches wide by 74 inches long, blocked.
Gauge
16 stitches and 20 rows = 4 inches in Zig Zag Lace stitch pattern
Note
This stitch pattern is worked on an even number of stitches
The Pattern
Cast on 20 stitches
Right leaning bias:
Row 1: K1 * yo, K2tog; rep from * to last stitch, end k1.
Row 2: Purl
Repeat these two rows 4 more times, for a total of 5 repeats.
Left leaning bias:
Row 1: K1, * ssk, yo; rep from * to last stitch, end k1.
Row 2: Purl
Repeat these two rows 4 more times, for a total of 5 repeats
Repeat from Right leaning bias 16 times more for a total of 17 repeats.
Bind of loosely in knit. Weave in ends and block.
June 25, 2009
Reader Comments (36)
If you look at the scarf you'll notice that it goes in a vertical zig zag. Right leaning is the part where the scarf leans to the right and left leaning is the part where the scarf leans to the left. Just follow the pattern and disregard the "leaning" if it doesn't make sense, once you get through it once you'll see how it works. Good luck!
but that is more than I wanted to pay for yarn. What do you have that would be a little less expensive.
Betty
You should try Bonnie's Bamboo from Farmhouse yarns which is 100% Bamboo. The skein is a little shorter but the drape and hand are very similar.
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/yarndetail/3871
Hope this helps!
"SSK" means "Slip, Slip, Knit" which is a left slanting decrease. Here is a link to our SSK tutorial
http://www.purlbee.com/decrease-tutorial/
Hope this explains it for you.
If you need further help, we highly recommend that you check out KnittingHelp.com, they've got excellent tutorials with videos for all kinds of techniques. Here is a link to their decreases page:
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/decreases
The first I made as the pattern is written and the second, I made the long way. I casted on 170 sts on a long circular needle and followed the pattern for two repeats. It made a nice scarf and I had long bouts of purling that I could just speed through.
DO block it. It's critical. Get it wet, run it through a spin cycle or a lettuce spinner. Then, lay it out on your ironing board or blocking board and PIN the points. Let dry. Just wonderful.
You can soak it and lay it out flat and pin it, or you can pin it out and spray it, either way will work. Don't know about the yarn from Patons, just check the gauge, if its the same you can use it by just following the pattern, if not, you can adjust the amount of stitches appropriately.
This pattern would be beautiful in lace weight cashmere! You will probably want to cast on more stitches than recommended since the cashmere is so much thinner than this yarn. If you are using the Jade Sapphire 2 ply cashmere or the Lobster Pot 2 ply cashmere, we would recommend no larger than a US size 5 or 6 needle. Cast on an even amount of stitches and follow the pattern as written.
Good luck!
There's really no trick to taking out this stitch, but I can offer you some"unknitting" tips! When you get to a yarn over from the previous row, just drop it, let it go! And when you get to a decrease (a k2tog or an ssk), make sure you put your needle through both stitches so you don't lose one.
I hope this helps. Be brave and good luck!
Whitney
The best way to print our patterns is to copy and paste the text of the pattern into a Text or Word document. We know this isn't ideal but it's the easiest way to do it as of this time. It is something we are working to address, so thank you for writing in and voicing your concern.
Thanks!- Molly
Each knit row in the pattern contains equal amounts of increases and decreases. For the right leaning section the increase is a yarn over (yo) and the decrease is a k2tog (knit 2 together). For the left leaning section the increase is a yarn over (yo) and the decrease is a slip, slip, knit (ssk). This means that after each row you should have the same amount of stitches as when you started.
I suspect that something is going wrong with the yarn overs in the left leaning section. Make sure that after you do each slip slip knit and yarn over pair that you have 2 stitches. If you need help with yarn overs you might want to check out this videa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI4rbwC3dqI
Hope this helps. Thanks for your question!
Molly
To figure this out you'll need to do a gauge swatch in this pattern with the yarn and needles you want to use. Once you figure out how many stitches you're getting per inch you can multiple that number by your desired width (in this case 16). Make sure that you cast on an even number. If you want more info about knitting a gauge swatch please check out our tutorial here.
http://www.purlbee.com/swatch-tutorial/
Thanks for writing in!
Molly
Whether a scarf curls or not does not depend on the yarn, but rather the stitch. This stitch will curl slightly but you can reduce the curling by blocking it. Here is a blocking tutorial: http://www.purlbee.com/blocking-tutorial/
Thank you for your question!
Molly
Should i have been doing the Right leaning bias first for 5 repeats and then the Left leaning bias for 5 repeats and so on? Thank you so much for your help.
Sharon
the pattern is actually to repeat the right leaning bias for 5 repeats and then the left leaning bias for 5 repeats:
Right leaning bias:
Row 1: K1 * yo, K2tog; rep from * to last stitch, end k1.
Row 2: Purl
Repeat these two rows 4 more times, for a total of 5 repeats.
Left leaning bias:
Row 1: K1, * ssk, yo; rep from * to last stitch, end k1.
Row 2: Purl
Repeat these two rows 4 more times, for a total of 5 repeats
Repeat from Right leaning bias 16 times more for a total of 17 repeats.
Hope this helps. Let us know if you have any more questions. Thanks! -Laura
In response to the comment left by "thekatalist" The pattern states to repeat FROM the right leaning bias for a total of 16 times. So, you'll go through the right leaning bias and then the left 16 more times.
Hope that helps!
Thanks,
Jen
This pattern does curl but we wouldn't suggest adding a boarder. Instead we would suggest blocking it every so often.
Thank you for your question!
Molly