Thursday, April 17, 2008

Charlotte Scarf

Sometimes people pay me to knit stuff for them. They see things they like, they ask me to recreate them, and then they give me money.

It's a good arrangement--the money part is certainly nice for me--and it forces me to learn; how this garment is constructed, how this technique is performed, etc.

Charlotte in my office is a good customer. She saw this scarf in the window of a snazzy Soho shop, balked at the $475 price tag, and asked if I could make it for her.

(The scarf disappeared from the window soon after, so I don't feel too bad--the designer obviously found someone willing to spend that much on a scarf).


Materials:

--Around150 yards worsted weight wool.
--Every spare remnant you have, including whatever novelty yarns you may have purchased in a fit of insanity.
--Size 10 needles
--crochet hook

Pattern:

Cast on 8 stitches, or whatever your tension gives you around 2.5 inches. (Perfection is not important).

Knit in garter stitch until scarf measures 5 feet, or desired length (but be aware that it will stretch as the fringe is added).

Lay out your remnants, and cut many, many pieces of yarn, 7 inches in length.

Starting at one end of the scarf, attach fringe using the crochet hook as follows: fold length of yarn in half, insert crochet hook into a loop on the scarf, pull the loop of the remnant through. Pull the strands of the remnant through this loop, and tighten.

Repeat one zillion times, until entire scarf is covered.

Try, of course, to scatter the colors and textures of your remnants evenly, and make sure that the neck and ends of the scarf are extra thick.

(Dave very kindly posed for these, before the scarf was delivered to Charlotte (who elected not to be photographed). If he looks a little demented, forgive him. He is, after all, wearing a muppet.)

3 comments:

murdo said...

Kudos to Dave for being such a good sport and what a wonderful scarf!!!!

Gale Bulkley said...

This scarf is fantastic! And Dave must be too.

Anonymous said...

I wish there was a thought bubble over Dave's head that we could put comments in. I have a bunch. Half involve bathroom humor.