Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Lace Scarf and a Contest

Okay everyone, I am ready to try a lace scarf, though I don't know why i want to punish myself. :-) I am looking for suggestions for something not tooo difficult that can be worn in the summertime to dress up an outfit. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I want to start it this weekend when I have nothing (right. . .) to do.

Darcy is having another contest, she must really like them. Go here to enter and please tell her I sent you. :-)

Have a wonderful day!

15 comments:

smariek said...

I think my very first lace scarf was Branching Out. It seemed like a good beginner scarf.

I have a few (3?) lace scarf patterns on my blog, my favorite one is the Petra Scarf. It's not too difficult.

"Feather and Fan" makes a nice lace scarf in a variegated yarn. I imagine this would be lovely in Noro colorways. The F&F pattern is very easy. There are variations of F&F, I could type up one basic flavor for you:

Cast on a multiple of 18 stitches, (plus any extra border/edge stitches you want).

Feather & Fan stitch (From BW 1, pg 205):
Row 1 & 4 (RS): Knit.
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: * (K2Tog) three times, (YO, K1) six times, (K2Tog) three times *

Repeat Rows 1 to 4 for pattern.

You'll most likely want to add border rows at the beginning and end of the scarf before starting the F&F pattern. Something like a few rows of garter stitch.

Number of stitches you cast on will depend on how thick your yarn is and how wide you want your scarf. :-) You'll probably want to use a needle size 1 or 2 sizes larger than the yarn ballband recommendation.

LilChickadee said...

A summer scarf? Hmm... I've never actually made one. Just winter ones. But if I see a pattern for one that might work I will let you know!

Elaine said...

The things we do for extra entries - but I do have a suggestion for an easy lace scarf that can be worn anytime - feather and fan. Make it out of nice cotton blend. Elann has some really pretty yarn - Nilo which I just knit with and that would be lovely.

sheep#100 said...

Twisted Vine is very nice. You could probably knit it with a light, airy yarn for summer usage.

Unknown said...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/leaf-lace-scarf

How about this one? It might be a tiny bit challenging for a first lace scarf...but I don't think it would push you too much. ^.^

vickie said...

http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html i like the branching out from knitty easy peasey and it doesnt take forever

Tally Knits said...

Ribbon Lace Scarf. VERY easy lace pattern and perfect for summer.

Darcys Knotty Knitter said...

The Easy Flame Scarf by knit and tonic you only need one skein of malabrigo lace weight yarn I knit it as my first lace scarf and it is a gorgeous beginners pattern here is a link to the one I did:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnottyKnitter40/easy-flame-lace-scarf
Darcy

Unknown said...

First things first. Elaine sent me over (elaine-knitting.blogspot.com)

Here is my advice to a new lace knitter: DON"T USE LACEWEIGHT YARN. It will kill you and ruin lace knitting for all time. Start with a heavier weight yarn (even a fingering will make all the difference). There are lots of beautiful cotton, bamboo, silk yarns now that would be fabulous any time of year. As for patterns, look through Elann's free pattern section and you'll surely find something you love

Unknown said...

As long as lace advice is being dispensed, let me suggest that you use a lifeline. It can be a sanity-saver if/when you make a mistake and even the most experienced knitter can do that on even simple patterns.

And I agree - go look at the free pattern section on the Elann website and pick out something you love, although I agree that feather and fan is always a crowd-pleaser.

purple-power said...

I'd suggest the leafy lace scarf pattern which is free at:
http://knitlet.typepad.com/knitlet/files/leaflacescarf.pdf

Very pretty and easy. And for the summer, I'd pick a nice non-wool and non-alpaca yarn. Maybe something like a cotton/bamboo blend. That will give you nice drape and not too expensive like silk.

Oh yeah, and make it purple :-)

Unknown said...

My first lace anything was:
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/70336AD.html

It's easy, designed for cotton so good for summer or any time and free.

I made mine longer though. Looked nicer, I thought and you could wear it not wound around, just hanging, if it's hot.

Sharon Rose said...

Check out the Party Lace scarf (on Ravelry:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/party-lace-scarf

It's free, you purl on the back side, and the TWO lines of pattern are basically identical. You'll memorize it rapidly. I'm making one now and loving it. :) Good luck!

Unknown said...

Try this one - it's easy and elegant
http://www.plymouthyarn.com/index.php?nav=cPatterns.freePatterns&pattern_id=000029

(and, of course, free)

Unknown said...

I agree with Jersey, don't use lace weight yarn. I use a fingering weight and my favorite pattern is similar to what smariek posted, but there is no purling.

Row 1 (Pattern row):
K2
K2 TOG (twice)
YO, K1 (four times)
K2 TOG (four times)
YO, K1 (four times)
K2 TOG (four times)
YO, K1 (four times)
K2 TOG (four times)
YO, K1 (four times)
K2 TOG (twice)
K2

Rows 2, 3 and 4: KNIT

Repeat Rows 1 through 4 until desired length.

The fun thing with this is that it easily memorized, looks good and you can add beads or whatever you want. Right now I am making a shawl by adding several more YOs and K2togs.

I made a scarf for my daughter with a knitpicks bare, fingering weight. She loves it. You can see it on Ravelry (I'm mlj1954).