Hello! Do you ever order yarn online? If so, how do you choose? Have you had any disappointments? I find it tricky and prefer to purchase my yarns at brick-and-mortar shops – a far nicer experience anyway. But what if you don’t have any shops nearby or they don’t have what you’re looking for? What if you’ve read about, say, a gorgeous lace-weight tweed yarn (a rarity) that would be perfect for the scarf you want to knit? How do you find out which shade would be right for you? Screen images can be so deceptive.
I was thinking of pink. The yarn I had in mind had only one shade of pink, called Azalea, that looked very different on different websites. Looking at pictures of azalea gardens online was lovely, but didn’t really help – so many shades of pink azaleas!
In the end I took the risk and – phew – it was a kind of pink I liked. (I later found out that I could have returned the yarn if I hadn’t been happy with it.) The pink looks different in many of my own photos, too. This one comes closest to the real colour (at least on my screen):
It is almost like the pink of the flowers on the straggly little azalea bush in our garden, but slightly warmer (plus it has turquoise, yellow and orange tweed flecks).
In my experience the photos on yarn manufacturers’ websites are often the most reliable.
The scarf-in-progress accompanied me everywhere I went over the past five months or so and what a lovely, relaxing project it was. This is what it looks like finished (only the pink isn’t quite right):
It’s airy, floaty and very, very soft.
Project details:
Pattern: Polka Dot Scarf
Yarn: 6 x 25 g/175 m/191 yds Ito ‘Karei’, shade Azalea
Finished size: 56 cm/22” wide x 2.05 m/80¾” long
Needles: 3.75 mm/US 5 (and 4.5 mm/US 7 for bind-off)
I thought I’d briefly discuss several special techniques used for this scarf below. I realize not everyone will find the finer details of finishing as fascinating as I do. Or maybe these are things you already know as an experienced knitter. I quite understand that you may not feel like reading this to the end. So, before I move on to the techniques, I’m wishing you a lovely weekend, and hope to see you again next week!
Provisional cast-on with I-cord bind-off
The Polka Dot Scarf starts with a needle-and-hook provisional cast-on. I have described this technique in detail here. When the scarf is finished, it is bound off with a narrow I-cord (described clearly in the pattern). Then the provisional cast-on is unravelled and the stitches are put back on the needle:
This end of the scarf is also bound off with an I-cord. This isn’t absolutely necessary. It would be totally okay to use an ordinary cast-on and bind-off. But it just looks so much nicer to have both ends of the scarf exactly the same with a lovely little I-cord. Below the scarf is folded over so that you can see both ends with their I-cords:
Sewn yarn join
To start in a new skein, I’ve sewn the ends of the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ skein together like this. When you have about an arm’s length of the old yarn left, thread the tail through a darning needle. Now ‘sew’ the tail up and down back through the same yarn end for about 10 cm/4”:
Pull the needle and thread through, leaving a loop:
Now thread the beginning of the new yarn through the needle. Pass it through the loop of the old yarn and ‘sew’ the tail through the new yarn thread – you now have this:
Finally, carefully pull on both ends so that the loops almost disappear, smooth out the yarn and cut off the extra yarn ends. Tadaa! Can you see the join? It’ll be as good as invisible in the knitted fabric.
Blocking
In my humble opinion, blocking is absolutely essential for lace scarves. It makes all the difference between frumpy and floaty. You’ll need: no-rinse wool wash, blocking wires and (rustproof) T-pins. Blocking mats are nice, too, but you can also block on a (spare) bed.
Soak your scarf/shawl in the wool wash for about 20 minutes. Remove from water and squeeze out most moisture. Roll in a towel and squeeze to remove more moisture. (I have a separate spin dryer, put my scarf in a lingerie bag and spun it very briefly instead of using a towel.) Next, thread the blocking wires through your knitting along the edges, as if you are sewing a running stitch.
Stretch out your scarf and pin in place with T-pins.
Leave to dry (lace scarves will usually be dry within 12 hours), unpin and remove blocking wires. Blocking is soooo worth the effort!
I hope this all makes sense and is useful. If you ever have any questions, do let me know!
De shawl is prachtig geworden, na blocking zie je nog beter het patroon!
Dank je. De Polka Dots gaan inderdaad heel mooi open door het opspannen. Het is even een werkje, maar echt de moeite waard.
Lovely yarn and lovely shawl. I enjoyed reading the nerdy knitting part! I really must try your method of joining yarn, I haven’t seen this before. I usually knit one stitch with new and old yarn and weave in the ends when the project is finished.
Ha, that is so good to hear! I did wonder if I wasn’t going a bit too far with the nerdy knitting thing. This yarn join is great for fine yarns. For thicker yarns it may be less suitable.
It’s a lovely scarf, and I’m glad that you gave us the tech tips. I’ve bookmarked the page for future reference. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I love writing about these kind of things and it’s good to know that there are people out there interested in them.
I have to laugh at myself. When I saw the first picture with the one hole, I thought you were going to talk about how you fixed it. Oh, it’s the Polka Dot Scarf – you are supposed to have lots of holes!!!
Oh, that is so funny! That would be something, ‘fixing’ all those holes in this scarf!
So good to find you here. Loved the nerdy parts. Have used the same blocking surface now that most of our floors are wood and can be damp damaged. Have never seen this yarn join, will also try it down the road. Laughed out loud when I saw someone else thought you were going to talk about how to fix holes. 😁
Thank you, that’s good to hear! These blocks are great, aren’t they? I had them as a birthday present and am very happy wit them. This yarn join is great for fine yarns. With thicker yarns I expect the join will show in the knitted fabric, but I’ve never tried it out.