(Untitled)

[primroseburrows]

I've fallen madly in love with this scarf and have decided I need desperately to make it. The problem is, I don't really know where and how to start. As generous as the designer is with her posting of the charts for the letters, she doesn't give a pattern for the scarf as a whole. So, knitters on my flist, I need your help

Comments

[alexisyael]

That is a pattern for the scarf as a whole, you just have to know how to read intarsia patterns :D

First, you need to print the pattern (blown up enough that you can read it -- I'm assuming when you download it, it will be big enough to read, since that's the whole point of an intarsia pattern) so you can count how many stitches there are. Then you follow it :D (Intarsia requires knitting with multiple colors of yarn, in this case three.)

This link might help: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTintarsiafun.html It's a simpler intarsia pattern that can give you the basics you need to learn how to do this.

I think going to a LYS is a good idea :D

(I personally don't know how to knit intarsia but also have no interest in it!)

[primroseburrows]

Do you think intarsia would be better than stranded knitting? The designer says she uses stranded knitting throughout most of it and only uses intarsia in a couple of areas.

I don't have much interest in colour knitting (I'm a cable addict myself) other than that it's really pretty, but this scarf is so beautiful I can't not at least try. Besides, a new skill is a new skill, and intarsia doesn't look that hard, just time-consuming with all the bobbins and such. Stranded knitting is pretty basic, it seems, except I'd imagine it takes up more yarn than does intarsia.

I think I'd like to make this in black with grey lettering, and then the red. I know red, white, and blue are symbolic and all, but I think black would make a classier scarf. And yeah, I'm definitely gonna check out the LYS. If I can find one close enough.

[alexisyael]

I have no idea of how difficult stranded vs intarsia would be! But I think you could do it!

[primroseburrows]

I think I could do it, but I probably will need a coach. If songdog didn't live so far away, I'd ask her. She can whip up a sweater without a pattern on impulse and thinks nothing of doing those intricate Norwegian colour workings. She's my knitting hero. :)

[newleaf31]

O_O! Well, I'm just dead over this, and I love you for posting it. ♥ Will start on this ASAP.

I can't give you better instructions than alexisyael's. Two bits of advice

[newleaf31]

Oh, and about the intarsia/stranded knitting question -- I think, at least for me, stranded makes more sense in this case. None of the distances between color changes is more than 5 stitches, it looks like, and stranded knitting can easily take that. I hate keeping up with all the little mini-skeins you need for intarsia unless I'm doing a whole big block of color. Just me, though.

[primroseburrows]

I'd much rather do stranded than intarsia, because I've done stranded and it's not nearly as futzy as intarsia looks like it would be. I agree with you about the mini-skeins. I HATE futzy. Now I just need to figure out how much/what weight of yarn and needle size and I'll be able to pick out colours. I'm thinking worsted/aran. Hmm...

And whee! You're going to make this? Ooh.

[newleaf31]

The yarn weight sort of depends on how long you want it to be. If you're like me and you like a scarf that you can actually wrap around your neck and still have long ends, I'd go with worsted-weight yarn. I'm thinking about using Patons Classic Merino, which is inexpensive but reliable wool available at Michael's or JoAnn's craft stores. I think two skeins of grey and two of black would PROBABLY be sufficient, and while you might only need one of red, I'd get two just to be sure. But if you'd like your scarf to be a little finer -- more like something you'd buy in a shop rather than something handmade -- you could do it in DK-weight yarn. You can get some really nice, relatively inexpensive DK-weight at www.knitpicks.com. Not sure how much to advise for that, though.

[peacey]

Isn't it gorgeous?

Ummmmm.......

[primroseburrows]

The cool thing is, you can put any quote you want on it. If you're good enough at that kind of thing. Which I'm generally not.