Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Drift Scarf: how to make it

As promised, today I show you how to make the Drift Scarf point. I have to say it's really easy, and if you can get thick yarn, like in Betz White original project, it's really quick to make.

I found the pictures I took right at the beginning, which will make my life easier! ;-)

The pattern is quite simple: cast on the number of stitches enough to make a rib stitch 6x6, in a way you start with purl and end with knit. In my case, it's 8 times 6, adding up to 48 stitches. After that, knit 10 rows in rib stitch 6x6 - 6 purl stitches, 6 knit stitches. On the back, follow the stitches (knit over knit, purl over purl).

On the 11th row starts the scarf motif: in the beginning of your left needle you'll have six purl stitches. Count 6 rows on the back:


Look at another angle:


Now, on this 6th row, grab a few stitches (to keep the pattern uniform, I always grab the first, third and fourth stitches on the back):


I find it more practical to use a double pointed needle, which I already had because of the set of 5 I used for the socks. It's small and fits the pocket in my Tricoteiras tote, but you can use any other needle - just try to use one with a lower number than the one you're using to knit the scarf, so it doesn't make the stitches stand out. After grabbing the stitches, knit as usual, but also grab the stitches on the smaller needle when you knit the first 3 stitches:


The remaining 3 stitches are purled as usual, as well as the 6 following stitches are knit. Do the same and grab stitches 6 rows below every time you have to knit stitches on this row.

After you finish this row, make another 10 rows like in the beginning and keep going, making the pattern I described until the scarf is long enough for you.

A great advantage of this pattern is that the scarf doesn't have a wrong side - which makes it very charming!

Right side Wrong side

Like I said, the original pattern uses yarn and needles much thicker, but hard to find in a tropical country like Brazil - so I'm using Sedificada, which is a very smooth and relatively thick yarn.

If you decide to make a Drift Scarf too, don't forget to tell me! ;-)

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