knitwits, please hope me!

June 11, 2008 6:35 AM

Help me find an interesting knit scarf pattern.

I'm about to relocate for a couple years to a colder climate than I am used to, and by a stroke of good fortune, I also came across some beautiful heather grey bulky weight wool and mohair yarn (about 185 yards of it). To help with the nervousness of relocating, I want a knitting project that will calm me, and keep me a bit focused on the task at hand.

I tried searching but was not able to find a pattern I really liked. So, I turn to metafilter once again. I want a scarf that is not of the standard knit-every-row variety. I don't think I want pain ribbing either. Something with dropped stitches or cables are fine. Nothing with pom poms, and I'm not sure how I feel about tassels. I have a fairly wide variety of needle and crochet hook sizes at my disposal. Sorry for any fussiness in my desires.

posted by piratebowling to clothing, beauty, & fashion (13 answers total)

I've been meaning to make the pattern here, which I think would be nice and warm, but it may be a bit too simple/plain for your purposes.

I like this one (pdf) a lot too.

Are you on Ravelry? It's a great place to search for patterns (both of these came from there) and you can search by yarn type/brand to see what other people have made, search for scarf patterns by yarn weight, etc.
posted by leesh at 6:44 AM on June 11, 2008

Cabled scarfs tend to be really wide and require more yarn than you have (300-400yds).

I think this simple dropped stitch pattern is ridiculously great looking. Asymmetrical, casual, hip.
posted by cowbellemoo at 6:52 AM on June 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

I must offer up a garter-stitch shawl that I think is the most comforting thing I've ever knitted; it was my woobie while I was administering my father's estate. Easy enough not to have to pay too much attention while stressy, but the edging was really fun to knit.

Also, have you looked at Knitty yet? Lots of wraps and scarves to choose from. I've wanted to make the Tri-Aran-Angle for a while.
posted by catlet at 6:52 AM on June 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

D'oh - I see you have yardage limitations. Ignore my shawl-lust!
posted by catlet at 6:54 AM on June 11, 2008

Wow, cowbellmoo, that may be just right considering all my limitations. Simple, but not boring and it looks like it will still be warm. Excellent.
posted by piratebowling at 6:59 AM on June 11, 2008

This one is made with two skeins of Manos Del Uruguay (137 yards each), so you could just make it narrower.

My So-Called Scarf

I've done it in solid colors and it turns out quite pretty.
posted by Lucinda at 7:00 AM on June 11, 2008

Yep, I was going to recommend My So-Called Scarf as well.

If you can find a similar yarn in complementary colors, you could add some yardage on either end and not be quite so constrained by the amount of yarn you have.
posted by Madamina at 7:07 AM on June 11, 2008

I knitted this wavy scarf recently, and love it. It was interesting but easy to knit, and turned out really, really nice.
posted by sarcasticah at 7:09 AM on June 11, 2008

This is one of my favorite scarf patterns. It's super-nice with a multi-color yarn, but I think the texture of it would make a solid color interesting too. Here is a picture with a solid color (and multi-color for reference).
posted by stefnet at 7:24 AM on June 11, 2008

:D Join Ravelry! Best pattern browsing/search/thing anywhere.
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:10 AM on June 11, 2008

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the Clapotis! It's super easy once you get into the groove, full of dropped-stitch fun, and can be easily adjusted for width, length, and gauge. I love mine and will make many more.
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:13 AM on June 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

If you don't mind charts, I really enjoy knitting this one:

http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/scarves/matthewshepard.htm

It's a beautiful scarf and unusual. I did find an error in the chart though. If you want the corrected chart, let me know and I'll send it to you.

--
Glad I found this thread, I'll have to try out the single dropped stitch scarf. So simple and interesting. Love that!
posted by i_love_squirrels at 1:09 PM on June 11, 2008

Entrelac looks really cool, is fun to knit, and is not nearly as hard as it looks.
posted by ottereroticist at 9:05 PM on June 11, 2008