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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Merci, Michelle!

A couple weeks ago, local gal Michelle posted a brioche stitch infinity scarf she'd made.  I was immediately obsessed; I had to have my own Right Away.  At the earliest possible moment, I made my way to my LYS, intending to buy the very same yarn she'd used.  But alas, they didn't have any colors I liked.  I briefly considered ordering some, but in the end my impatience led me to shop my stash, where I found 3 balls of the discontinued RYC Soft Lux.  Not the color I had in mind, but it was at least on hand.  I cast on as soon as I dug it out of my stash box.

RYC Soft Lux in Sable

unfocused, to better show the metallic highlights

The pattern is a free one, really more of a recipe.  The designer recommends using a larger-than-usual needle for working the brioche stitch to make the scarf more cushy, and with that as a guideline you could use lots of different yarns to create this scarf.  For this worsted weight yarn I used a size 10 (6.0mm) needle, as I knit loosely.  My yardage ended up being about 30 yards short of the recommendation; however, my scarf is 46" long and I am short, so it's a good length for me.  The 40 stitches I cast on gave me a width of about 12" when relaxed.




I haven't blocked this scarf, and I don't think I will.  I don't want to lose any of the loft of the stitch, and this yarn is rather delicate, being basically a singles with a metallic strand wrapped around it.

The pattern says you can seam or graft your stitches together.  I started with a long-tail cast-on, so I chose to seam with mattress stitch at the end, giving the scarf one twist beforehand.  It's not a big deal for me to keep the seam at the back, and it's not very visible anyway.


Apart from the squishiness of the brioche stitch and the softness of the yarn, what I really love about this is that it can be worn a few different ways:

hanging

draped around the shoulders

doubled around the neck

Even though this scarf isn't a very versatile color (I really wanted off white) I just love how it turned out.  I'm pretty sure I'll be making more of these.  It took me about a week to make; I was working on other projects during that time but I'd say about 60% of my efforts went to this one.   So, a pretty quick make, and very enjoyable - the brioche stitch was so fun to do.

The only thing I might add to the recipe is instruction on how to do the cast-off row if you're going to seam (or the final row if you're going to graft):  in every row, you do *yo, s1 purlwise, k2tog* - where the yo from the previous row counts as a stitch.  In the final row, omit the yarn overs and instead of slipping one purlwise, purl that stitch, then knit the next 2 together.

Are any of you inspired to try out this pattern?  I think it's a great one for gifts and also for travel knitting.  For me, this was early-morning coffee-drinking knitting, waiting room knitting and coffee date knitting!  So thanks for the inspiration, Michelle!

27 comments:

  1. LOVE this! You may have just given me a case of starteritis. Now I feel I "need" this scarf. Maybe I can scout out some yarn and take it with me to Chicago as airplane knitting?

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    1. Hahaha! That's exactly how I felt when I saw Michelle's!! This will make perfect airplane knitting!

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  2. Just beautiful - but make it in off white too! And you are hilarious about the blocking. I never thought I'd be the wet-blocking advocate of the two of us but it seems I've gone all hardcore with that approach. I think it's cuz I secretly find it fun to wash the yarn and pin it out.

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    1. OK - you are just weird, LOL! I will always take less work over more!

      I am still planning on making an off-white one. Just need to find the perfect yarn :-)

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    2. It's really fun to watch it change as it dries - I swear! And you can fiddle with it endlessly. Key is to only work with wool that blocks well, whatever method you decide to use. I'm so over the soft, stretches to Australia and back stuff. BTW, I have bought 2 more skeins of Tosh - this time DK (Andrea recommended it.) I am sold on this yarn. Note: I think the Vintage has a better hand than the DK, though both are very nice.

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    3. It's also fun to watch the fabric change as you steam it - SUPER fun! I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this issue ;-) I still like you though :-)

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    4. Ha! FYI, in this spirit, I just steamed my latest Parisian Twist. And I think it's nice!

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    5. Haha! I'll convert you to my evil empire yet!

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  3. Oooh, this is so pretty! I love the drape! Really, really nice!

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  4. Pretty scarf. I think width is the key to give an infinity that look.

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    1. You're right; any narrower and I think the proportion would be off. That's the kind of thing I'm never aware of until after I've finished!

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  5. That is so pretty! I made a cardigan from Soft Lux and it so gorgeously soft, but I have to warn you has got rather pilly. Hopefully this won't pill as badly.

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    1. Yes, it's always a risk with these loosely spun yarns. I've made 2 pullovers, a vest and 2 hats with Soft Lux (did I mention I love this yarn?!) and none of them have pilled too much - BUT none of them have been worn a whole lot either. We'll have to see how this one does, as it's the loosest knit of all of them.

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  6. clever and pretty! you look smashing!

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  7. Beautiful drape, and I think it's just the right length. So cozy!

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    1. Thanks, Kelly! I was forced into this length by the amount of yarn I had, but I agree - it's just right for my size!

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    1. It is! I wore it on our walk today, and I was able to kind of fluff it up to my ears and chin and stay toasty warm!

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  9. Ohh.. this looks so soft and cozy, and I'm definitely a fan of the hint of shine.

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    1. The sparkle is great, isn't it? You can still score this stuff in a couple of Ravelry destashes!

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  10. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! This is so cool! I'm so glad you were able to recreate the cowl! You didn't waste any time getting this on and off the needles. I like the length you ended up with! I think it gives you much more options in terms off number of ways you can wear the cowl!

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    1. I really, really wanted one! You created a monster! I've now been to Loopy twice in the last couple weeks, hoping they'd have the Flicker you used in the color I want, but no such luck. One of these days though I will get some and then do it again! I think you're a saint for giving away the one you made!

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  11. Love it! It'll make an excellent Christmas gift... for myself!

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