Menokreatikkul; Saturday Stitches

I battle on with the cottons...

Here is a glimpse of a larger WIP that could be a month away from completion - mainly because I keep getting distracted by smaller inter-WIPs...

I mainly took that image because it was in a sunpuddle, and they are as precious as the gold represented here!

Anyhoo... I'll tell you that cotton story at a later date. Once I laid that down a little over a week ago, I was determined to use up more of the stash in some mini-scarves.

First, a knit in the basic popular stitching, but adding a central panel with basket weave patterning. I could have made this a tad longer, but that said, as you'll see in another photo below, it works well as a headscarf, and is the better for not having too long wings. At the neck, it could be worn single, but then the pattern would be at the back, losing impact.

This is, once again, a mercerised cotton, but so different from the light blue stuff used earlier. Much more silky and way easier to work with. A little finer, too. I worked this on 3mm needles. For the knitters among you, this is really no great challenge: cast on two stitches, work seven rows garter, then increase by knit front then back (kfb demo vid) of the second (or fourth) stitch from the start of the eighth row. I used a stitch marker at each increase row to keep track.

If you desire the I-cord look to the edges, then slip the last three stitches on each row purl-wise. You can vary this by only slipping one, or up to five, though I'd only do the wider one on fingering or lace yarns. 

For all garter stitch, keep increasing until you have the length/width that you desire - for longer wings and a more gentle angle, increase at every tenth or twelfth instead. At that full point (I opted for thirty-six stitches, but I don't have a long neck...), start then to decrease on each eighth (or your chosen number) row, working down to two stitches. 

The centre decorative panel was worked without any inc/dec stitching: knit first three of each row and slip-purl at end of each row to maintain the I-cord, but make patches of ten stitches each of knit and purl stocking stitch for ten rows each.

Using the same yarn, I then worked a longer item in single crochet (UKdc). For this, the inc/dec for the wings were made every fourth row. No I-cord made, and the increase was made by working two stitches into the first stitch of the inc row. Decreases were worked by lifting the front bar of one stitch, then both bars of the next stitch, pulling the yarn, and completing as a single stitch. A long, straight central panel was made - about a hundred rows I think - wasn't counting! More done by measuring against myself. Very free form... It could be worn in the summer as an alternative to my ubiquitous beanies, but I think I prefer it as a collar... What do you say? A little bit too pirate? (The colour is actually very turquoise, nowhere near the blue it looks here. Neither am I rose pink, but yet..)

I really like this collar and will make more like this, no doubt experimenting with stitch patterns! Working with a 3.5mm hook, the stitching was kept quite tight, resulting in the cute twist on the wings. I could, of course, press/block those out, but I like them, so I won't. 

Having tried the head wrap with this, I thought about using the first one in a similar manner and found it was perfect for this, so it will be used more on the head than the round neck... What have you all been up to with your hooks and pins, I wonder? (Or other crafty ways...)