A Net with Teeth?

Not sure how to describe this scarf, but I'm enormously pleased with it.

It started with a lucky juxtaposition of yarns, as I was adding new yarns to my stash.

I had to make something with these colors! So I made one of those start-from-the-middle scarves, with the wide net as the middle (instead of the ruffle edge), the carry-along tufted yarn as the outside, and the nubbed yarn as the edging.

I cut up the nubbed yarn into bits with two nubs, and then knitted them in as I cast off.

It hangs beautifully.

It makes me think of Where the Wild Things Are.

But how does it look on?

Fabulous!

Darn Good Scarves

I've shown these types of scarves before, but here are the latest two.

They both have multicolor silk ribbon yarn from Darn Good Yarn as the center, and then stitches picked up around the edge, with a yarnover between each middle arm.

The middle yarn does the talking, so I make the hairpin lace wide and just edge it with a couple of rows of knitting on large needles.

For the end parts, I picked up some stitches for the edge, and then increased before and after each corner stitch on every other row (the 'right side' of the garter).

These scarves are rather long, at least 6 feet. The ribbon yarn works up fast when doing the hairpin lace part. These are best suited to be worn doubled.

The edged hairpin lace scarf is now one of my go-to patterns.

Let Us Join Together

Here is another start-from-the-middle scarf, with a narrow row of hairpin lace as the start.

The colors were actually inspired by a lucky juxtaposition of yarns after a shopping trip. That is a yardstick, for size.

Here is a handy tip, shared with me by the very clever owner of The Knitting Patch. When I finished the edging the first time, I didn't know how to elegantly join the flat tube yarn, so I just hobbled it together.

Here is the trick she told me: unravel some of the yarn from the end of the tube, and use it to kitchener stitch the tubes together. How genius is that!

I thought it would be really fiddly to do, but it wasn't bad at all. For one thing, you need to keep the stitches very loose, and that helps for seeing what you are doing.

And this one looks like a cat on a surfboard.

Start-in-the-Middle Scarves

I've been playing around with an idea which got started from the super-easy cast-on of picking up along the side of one of the new ruffle yarns. What if you could pick up from both sides of the ruffle yarn?

But most of those yarns are made so each side is different, and that was going to take some thought. In the meantime, I looked through my stash and found this.

Using one of my magic balls of yarn, I picked up every other loop on one side with a size 11 needle, and then picked up the remaining loops on the other side with another size 11 needle, placing two markers at each end. Then I just continued knitting one entire round, and then purling the next so I had a garter effect, and continued in this fashion until it was wide enough.

At each end, I increased on either side of the markers on each knit round, which is what squared off the ends.

Here's one more look at the center. By picking up every other loop, it ended up looking like a bit of lace in the middle.

All in all, a success! And this made me brave.

So I went to JoAnn's (a craft and fabric store) looking for some lace to use the same way. I found this.

I took another magic ball, this one from all whites and beiges, and made another scarf the same way.

I rounded off the ends of this one instead of squaring them by adding 4 stitches roughly evenly spaced between the end markers on each knit round.

Here are some other looks, although note that I haven't blocked this one yet.

Another success. 

I think of the yarn at JoAnn's as being on the cheap and less interesting side, so I was astonished at how beautiful much of it was--my, how yarn choices have grown! I bought these while I was there.

And these inspired me to return to my original idea, and begin in the center with the ruffle yarn. I solved the sides-not-matching issue by doubling it and then using the other yarn to crochet a join up the middle, before picking up and starting around and around the sides. 

Here's the result.

I tried to match the ruffle yarn in the middle so that the same shade was on either side of the join. The middle was unexpectantly large, so I only had to knit a few rounds (using the rounded corners again) before casting off, pulling in some of the same ruffle yarn in each cast-off stitch.

It looks very glamorous in real life. Here are some closer pictures.

I'm very pleased with all the scarves, and they couldn't be easier to make. I'm going to have to try a few more variations.

Oh, and those glimpses of tabby tails? They belong to him.

The inspector.

Bloop Scarf Tips

Width: if you are getting near the end (e.g. there are very few markers left), and the scarf seems too narrow, start adding extra plain rows between the bloop rows. They will blend in with the rest of the scarf because of the flow of the design.

If you still have a lot of markers left but the scarf seems to be getting too wide, start doing two bloops in each row, not next to each other, and don’t use any plain rows between the bloop rows.

Similarly, the flow of the design will make this just seem part of the pattern.


Markers: Because you are slipping the markers, it helps to have a tail of yarn on them, which ends up being woven in and out as you knit back and forth. This tail will keep the marker from jumping off the needle as you move it or slip it.

Also, if you find you have trouble remembering which marker is the SM and which is the MM, you could use a small clip, broken-ring marker, or even an extra and distinctive second marker on one of them to remind you which it is, but just remember to do it consistently for each bloop (write it down, if you need to), so it helps you instead of confuses you more.

This pattern describes the way I use markers to make my bloops, but if you think of a method that makes more sense to you, then go for it!

Here are some pictures of markers with tails and how to add the tail:

Memory Helpers


Stationary Marker (SM)

• You are always slipping it, not taking it off.
• It is always closer to the end of the scarf than the MM
• You are always knitting past it and wrapping into the previous color

Movable Marker (MM)

• You are always taking it off, wrapping and turning, and knitting one or two stitches before replacing it
• It is always closer to the beginning of the scarf than the SM
• You are always knitting and wrapping into the same yarn you are knitting with

Bloop Scarf Pattern

I use size 13 needles and cast on 104 stitches, because I like the open look—if you use a smaller needle or like short scarves, adjust your length accordingly. (However, it’s a scarf, so no matter what the length, someone will like it.)

• Cast on 4 stitches, place marker, then place a marker after every 8 stitches 12 times (you have 100 stitches at this point), place a marker, cast on 4 stitches, and that’s the end.
• Turn and knit back to start.

The easiest way to knit this scarf is:

• Start with the First Bit Bloop (see below)
• After that bloop, continue knitting across the entire scarf and then turn and knit back (finishing first garter ridge)
• Change color, knit to the first marker and do a regular bloop
• Finish knitting across and back
• Change color and make a bloop at the next marker, and continue in this fashion until you complete the Last Bit Bloop (you are always knitting to the first remaining marker to do your bloop, then knitting across and then back--you are removing the marker for the one bloop in each ridge, so you should always be starting a bloop a little past the last one)
• What makes this method easy is that you will never need a temporary marker, and it should always be easy to know which side you started from (the side with fewer markers)

But who needs easy? Okay, all of us, but here's how I like to do it more often:

• I make two bloops which aren't near each other in each ridge, making it somewhat random
• I like to knit a plain row between the bloop rows – and sometimes two plain rows – and sometimes I use a row of yarn-overs
• Don’t forget to do the First Bit Bloop (which doesn't have a marker to remind you, so you just have to remember)

With either method, when all of the markers have been removed and you've knit back to the beginning, change the color for the last time and bind off.

How to Knit a Bloop:

(See the Notes if you don’t know how to wrap and turn.)

(I keep the 1, 2, 1, bloop in the pattern just to show you how it works, but you could change the directions to read, knit 1, then on the next row, knit 3, then on the next row, knit 4, if you want.)

• Knit to the marker where you want to start a bloop. This is your **moveable marker** (MM) 
• (Row 1) Knit 8 stitches to next marker. This is your **stationary marker**  (SM) (if no marker is there because you removed it earlier, add one—I find it helps to use one that is very different from the others, to remind me it is only temporary)
• (2) Slip SM, wrap and turn, knit back to MM
• (3) Take off MM, wrap and turn, knit 1, replace MM, knit to SM
• Slip SM, knit 1
• (4) Wrap and turn, knit past SM back to MM
• (5) Take off MM, wrap and turn, knit 2, replace MM, knit to SM
• Slip SM, knit 1, knit 2
• (6) wrap and turn, knit past SM back to MM
• (7) Take off MM, wrap and turn, knit 1, replace MM, knit to SM
• Slip SM, knit 1, knit 2, knit 1
• (8) Wrap and turn, knit past SM back to MM
• Take MM off entirely and put aside, wrap and turn, knit past MM [removing it if you put a temporary marker there] to next place you want to bloop, or to end of row

End of bloop

Here's the same thing in diagram form:

• [knit to another marker and repeat bloop if desired]
• At the end of the row, turn and knit all the way back to the beginning, then change color.

For First and Last Bits – these are only partial bloops

First Bit Bloop – for the beginning 4-stitch area: 

• Knit 4 to first SM [place temporary SM if needed], slip SM, wrap and turn, knit back to start. 
• Knit to SM, slip SM, knit 1, wrap and turn, knit back to start.
• Knit to SM, slip SM, knit 1, knit 2, wrap and turn, knit back to start.
• Knit to SM, slip SM, knit 1, knit 2, knit 1, wrap and turn, knit back to start.
• Knit to the next place you want to do a bloop, or to the end of the row, and then knit back to the beginning.
• [If you had to use a temporary SM, take it off as you go past.]

Last Bit Bloop – for the ending 4-stitch area:

• From the final marker, which is the MM, knit 4 stitches to the end
• Turn and knit back to MM
• Take off MM, wrap and turn, knit 1, replace MM, knit 3 stitches to end
• Turn and knit back to MM
• Take off MM, wrap and turn, knit 2, replace MM, knit 1 stitch to end
• Turn and knit back to MM
• Take off MM and put aside, wrap and turn, knit 1 to end
• Knit back to the beginning

Notes

Wrap and turn: slip the next stitch, bring the yarn between the needles to the front, turn the knitting so you are knitting back the way you came, slip the stitch back and continue knitting.

What you have done is slip the yarn around the next stitch like a tiny lasso, and turned the knitting around so you are knitting in the other direction. This keeps a hole from forming where you turn. It helps if you make sure your lasso isn’t too tight, so the stitches keep the proper distance from each other.

There are other ways to prevent a hole, so use your favorite, but this method works for me for bloop knitting.

Next post: hints and tricks for this pattern and bloop knitting in general.