Pink ruffle scarf

We're so excited about all the great crafts being shared at our very first Wayward Weekend! It's not too late to join in!

Yesterday was the end of an era (a short one) in this Wayward household. I was released as the president of the Primary (the children's Sunday school at church). Since I had a week notice, I tried to make some quick gifts for the ladies who worked closest with me. I thought about everything I'd seen them wear and what their styles seemed to be, what they liked. The first one I knit was actually the last one I came up with: a pink ruffled scarf.

A day or two after I'd settled on what I wanted to make for my friend, Interweave Knitting's Knitting Daily blog featured a free pattern for a ruffle scarf: exactly what I was looking for, and easy, too!

I had a hard time finding the right type of yarn. I knew I wanted something with a nice "halo" of fluff coming off it, but I didn't have time to go to the nearest yarn shop for something like angora (aka rabbit fur!), which the pattern called for. I settled on Jo-Ann Sensations brand Angel Hair Boucle. It's very soft, and even though it had a big potential for splitting (it's made of a fuzzy, bumpy yarn loosely twisted with another fiber that almost looks like embroidery floss), it wasn't too difficult to work with.

To make ruffles in a knit garment, we use kind of the opposite method we would in a sewn garment. When we're sewing, we take a much longer piece of fabric and gather it. When we're knitting (or at least in this pattern), we start with a shorter edge and increase a lot to make the ruffles. This pattern went from 96 stitches to 320 stitches in two rows. For just a little extra ruffle, I also started with smaller needles and moved to a larger size to make the ruffle even more dramatic.

This scarf started with a central spine down the length of the scarf (most, but not all, scarfs are knit the other way, going back and forth across the short edge). You make the ruffle by increasing on one side, then add length to the ruffle. You repeat this on the other side, starting over along the spine.

And the finished ruffles:

It was very soft and very warm, but I think it turned out a tiny bit short, and maybe a tad heavy. But all in all, I was very pleased with the result—and so was my friend!

Would you like to learn to knit? If there's enough interest, I'd be happy to make a short video showing how to make the four basic stitches that are the foundation of knitting.