Whit's Knits: The Eleventh Hour Scarf
I wanted to come up with an idea that would answer the pressing need of the last minute gift without sacrificing quality, a gift that we can give without sheepishness or apologies. In fact, one that will be given with pride and received with gratitude, and one that, not insignificantly, you can start at the beginning of a movie and finish before the final credits roll! -Whitney
Materials
- 3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky, 50% alpaca and 50% wool. This color is "Grasshopper" #1212. (Alternatively, you can use 1 skein of Cascade's Magnum, 100% wool.)
- Skacel's US size 36 knitting needles, either 32 inch circular or 14 inch straight
The Pattern
Gauge
3/4 stitch = 1 inch in seed stitch
Finished Size
5 inches x 70 inches
Note
The yarn is doubled throughout this pattern. For the first two balls, just pull one strand from each ball. For the third ball, you have a couple of options. One is to pull one strand from the center of the ball and one strand from the outside of the ball (my preferred method). The other is to wind the one ball into two balls as evenly as possible.
The How To
Cast on 7 stitches.
Row 1: Slip 1 knitwise, *p1, k1; repeat from * two times.
Repeat Row 1 for every row.
Bind off loosely in pattern.
Weave in the ends. (It's neater to weave each strand in separately rather than keeping the ends doubled.)
December 19, 2008
Reader Comments (41)
You've totally saved me from insanity. (VBG)
The US size 36 needles from Skacel (circulars and straights too) are sparkly, and yes, we sell them! You can find them at this link:
http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/needlelist/company,16
If the directions say:
Cast on 7 stitches.
Row 1: Slip 1 knitwise, [p1, k1] three times.
**If you do row 1 three times then don't you need to cast on 9 instead of 7??
Please help!
Thanks
The pattern should say, "[p1, k1] two times". Thanks for pointing this out! I'll change it now. It seems like you're catching on to knitting quite well!
is the first row: SL1K, p1, k1 then SL1K, p1, k1, SL1K
and I follow that pattern on the next row? If so, mine is not coming out very well...
Thank you for your help!
Every row should be knit as follows:
SL1K, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1
you are only repeating the part in the brackets.
Hope this helps.
Thank You very much for sharing with us!
May I ask if I wanted to adapt the pattern with a less chunky yarn (anyone tried before?), how can I add the number of cast-on stitches (multiple of 7)? Any inputs or suggestion on how to work on the pattern using different yarn maybe?
Anyways, awesome job! =D
As long as you have an odd number of cast on stitches the pattern will work. The stitch is called Seed Stitch and Whitney has included a nice detail to make the edge look tidy which is to slip the first stitch as if to knit. To adapt the pattern, cast on any odd number of stitches and work as follows:
Slip 1 knitwise, *p1, k1; repeat from * to end of row.
thank you!
Sounds like your gauge might be a little tight which would cause the scarf to be smaller overall. You might want to try blocking it to see if it will relax a little and get a bit bigger.
Row 1: Slip 1 knitwise, [p1, k1] three times.
to consume the 7 stitches that are cast on.
Its funny because it used to say that and then we changed it. I think you're right, but I'm going to change it to say
Row 1: Slip 1 knitwise, *p1, k1; repeat from * 2 times.
I think that should solve the problem!
I got Merino Wool from Manos del Uruguay and started the scarf to gift a friend!!!
Thank you so much for so beautiful things you produce and show to us!
I’m writing with 2 questions about the 11th Hour scarf pattern.
Your pattern calls for size 36 needles….
1. I had a hard time finding needles this size. I bought size 35 instead. Even though they are a size smaller than what is called for, they look so much bigger than the needles shown in the photo on your page. Do I have the right needles?
2. I used yarn that I thought was pretty thick, but the weave was still pretty loose, whereas the scarf in the picture looks light a nice tight weave. Did I just use yarn that was too thin?
Thank you for any advice you can offer!!
Susan
Size 35 should be fine, they are very close to 36's.
If your weave is still very loose then either your yarn is too thin compared to the yarn that Whitney used here, or you forgot to double it through the pattern.
Please let us know if you need more help!
I finished this scarf (my first!). Like Sleepy, though, my scarf came out much shorter...55". I tend to knit with a tight tension...I sort of pulled the yarn a bit to pick up the slack after every stitch. This probably explains it... But, when I tired knitting without doing that, the scarf looked much looser and "holier" than in the photo so I thought I should tighten the slack...
Thoughts?
S
I think I just realized why my scarf is shorter:
I skein of Cascade Magnum is only 123 yards. 3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca is 135. The difference of 12 yards is a likely explanation for the shorter scarf!
Mary-Alice...I just doubled the Cascade using each end of the yarn after the yarn store wound it into a ball for me.
The hat isn't knit, it's a hat that Whitney bought years ago and it's sewn from plush material.
Thank you for your nice comment!
*if there was an award for failures in knitting, I'd surely deserve it.
Yes, you do cast on with the yarn doubled. And, no, the first row isn't garter stitch. You just start right in with seed stitch!
Thanks for your questions and welcome back to knitting!
Whitney