My first Scarf

I can't knit or crochet. Well I can crochet a single line but I've never been able to hook them together. A few Christmases ago a co-worker tried to teach me, but after a few lunch sessions it became apparent I was bad at it. I haven't tried knitting, but I suspect that it will be much the same.

When I decided to start a teen craft series at the library I work at in January, I thought of the perfect January craft- a scarf. But not knowing how to knit or crochet, I went on a hunt for a scarf I could make and teach to teens without these skills. Once again Martha saved me on my craft hunt and I ran across this awesome scarf. Tonight, I set about making a practice run to see if I could use it for my first craft program.


Martha's instructions called for a bulky weight yarn which is apparently listed on the package (who knew?!) so I picked out this extra bulky weight yarn.


It was super soft and a pretty mix of blue and green.









I started out cutting 12 pieces of yarn that were 140 inches each. I didn't realize how huge that was until I had the tape measure stretched almost the entire length of my living room! I'm glad that I did the cutting at home where I had plenty of space (and have recently vacuumed).








Then you make four bunches of yarn with three strands in each. Tie two of these bunches together with a square knot with about 6 inches left at the end. Then do the same with the other two. Secure it somehow. Martha suggests tacking it to a piece of foam board, I didn't have that at home, so I just picked one of my heavier books and used it as a weight to hold the ends in place while I continued.



Take the two center bunches and tie them in a square knot about an inch down. An inch down from that center knot, tie the two left most bunches together with a square knot and then the two right most bunches with a square knot. You keep following this pattern until you get the the end and have about 6 inches of spare yarn and two knots like when you started. Simple!




I think I started out with wider intervals in the beginning and it definitely looked a lot better when I was keeping my knots closer together. I also wound up with uneven strands at the end and had to trim a little to make the scarf even. You wind up with a beautiful and simple scarf. It's very thin and long so is easily wrapped around the neck a few times as you see in Martha's picture.



This would make a great gift, and fairly inexpensive if you get a skein of yarn on sale or with a coupon. Give it a try!