Scarf

Sizes

You will need

Yarn: A soft wool or wool blend that is kind to the neck: 4-ply / fingering on a standard machine, DK on mid gauge, worsted on bulky.

About 115 g in total for this size (an estimate from the area of the pieces; buy a little more).

Also: Tapestry needle, Waste yarn (single bed), Optional: a crochet hook for the fringe

Gauge swatch first

1. Cast on 40 needles with waste yarn and knit a few rows. Change to the main yarn and choose a tension that gives a fabric you like (see the starting points below).
2. Knit 60 rows. Tie a contrast thread to the 11th needle from each side at row 10 and row 50, so the marks are 20 needles and 40 rows apart.
3. Knit a few rows of waste yarn and take the swatch off. Steam or wash it the way you will treat the finished piece, and let it rest flat for a few hours.
4. Measure between the marks: stitches in 10 cm = 20 ÷ width in cm × 10, rows in 10 cm = 40 ÷ height in cm × 10. Type the two numbers into the gauge boxes above; that tension is your main tension (MT).

Pieces

Finishing

1. Weave in the ends and steam lightly, without pressing the iron down, so the scarf lies flat.
2. For a fringe, cut lengths of yarn about 20 cm long. Fold two or three strands in half, pull the loop through the end of the scarf with a crochet hook, and pull the tails through the loop. Repeat along both ends and trim to 8–10 cm.

Notes and changes

• The width and length are starting values from common machine-knit scarves, not rules: change them in the size boxes to suit the person.
• Plain stocking stitch curls at the long edges. Steaming helps, and a narrow border of stripes or a punch-card pattern on both sides keeps it flat.
• Check the width against your bed: 20 cm is 60 needles at a standard gauge.

What the words mean

Short rows (引返)

knitting only some of the needles for a few rows while the others wait. The middle grows taller than the sides, which makes a cup: that is how the heel and toe of a sock get their curve.

Hold

the needle position for short rows: a needle pushed all the way forward keeps its stitch and does not knit while the carriage is set to hold.

Turned hem

a neat double edge: knit a strip, then fold it up and hang its first row back on the needles, so the edge is a fold instead of a raw cast-on.

1×1 rib

one stitch on the main bed, one on the ribber, side by side: the stretchy edge of socks, cuffs and hat brims. Needs a ribber or a double bed.

Decrease / increase

making the piece one stitch narrower or wider at the edge. Fully fashioned means moving the 2 edge stitches in (or out) with a transfer tool, so the edge stays smooth for sewing.

Transfer tool

the small hook (1, 2 or 3 prongs) that lifts stitches off needles and puts them on others.

Waste yarn

a few rows in a spare colour knitted before or after the piece and pulled out later, leaving open loops to hang back or sew.

MT (main tension)

the tension dial number of your gauge swatch. MT−1 is one number tighter, MT+2 two numbers looser.

RC (row counter)

the counter on the carriage. Set it to 000 after casting on; every step says what it should read when the step is done.

L10 / R10

needle numbers, counted outwards from the middle (0) of the needle bed.

Mattress stitch

the usual way to sew knitted pieces together: you catch the bar between the first two stitches on each side, so the seam disappears.

Duplicate stitch

embroidery that follows a knitted stitch's V shape with a needle and a second colour, so the pattern looks knitted in.