pattern © 2010 by Jennifer L. Jones

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I really need to stop impulse-buying yarn. Once again I had to come up with a plan for one skein, this time a gorgeous ball of silk/wool DK. A yarn this soft and lovely—and expensive—is made to be shown off, and a little scarf/neckwarmer is a great solution. The sparse yardage could be stretched a bit with a lace pattern, and I elected to use a bow-knot-style keyhole rather than have to hunt for buttons to go with it, or have to use a pin.

The lace stitch is a modified ostrich plume, I reduced the length of the repeat to work at a smaller overall size. If you have a bit more yardage you could make a slightly longer scarf, at 109 yards I used every bit of the ball that I had.

It's really tough to give a gauge for this. The alternating stitch pattern creates a wavy edge, which ranges from about 20–24 st per 4 inches. My recommendation: start knitting the scarf as your gauge swatch, when you get to the keyhole section, stretch it slightly to flatten it while you measure (you could even lightly wet-block it). It should measure about 4.25 inches long by 5.25 inches wide. If you're worried about hitting gauge, use something that gives you a bit more yardage, then it won't be as crucial.

Finished Size

approx. 27.25 x 5 inches

Yarn

DK weight, approx. 109 yds.—sample knit with one ball of Rowan Silk Wool DK Geranium 310 Yarn (using every single bit of that yardage)

Needle Size

8 US / 5mm

Notes

The pattern is written so that the scalloped ends are reversed; if you want them to match, work through row 13 of the pattern instead of stopping at row 5 (this will require a little more yardage).The chart shows only one repeat of the lace stitch, the entire scarf is two repeats wide plus two edging stitches on each side.

Abbreviations

st = stitch

K = knit

P = purl

yo = yarn over (increase)

k2tog = knit 2 st together (decrease)

ssk = slip, slip, knit—slip st knitwise, slip 2nd st knitwise, put left needle back through st and knit them both together (decrease)

Pattern

Cast on 28 st.

Knit 2 rows.

Lace pattern

Row 1 (right side): K2, *k2tog twice, (yo, k1) 4 times, ssk twice; repeat from * once more, k2.

Row 2 (and all wrong side rows): K2, p to last 2 st, k2.

Row 3: Knit.

Rows 5–8: Repeat rows 1–4.

Row 9: K2, *(yo, k1) twice, ssk twice, k2tog twice, (yo, k1) twice; repeat from * once more, k2.

Row 11: Knit.

Rows 13–16: Repeat rows 9–12.

Repeat rows 1–8.

Keyhole

Divide st: slip first st to needle, slip second st to a stitch holder (or spare needle); continue across for all st.

On one set of divided st, work 1x1 ribbing (k1, p1 across) for 12 rows.

Break yarn, then work 1x1 ribbing on second set of divided st.

Rejoin (with right side facing): k1 from one needle, k1 from second needle, continue alternating back and forth until all st are on 1 needle again.

Continue lace pattern

Work a wrong side row (k2, p to last 2 st, k2), then start again with row 1 of the lace pattern.

Work 6 more repeats (or until desired length, or until you nearly run out of yarn), then rows 1–5 once more.

Knit 2 rows.

Bind off. Weave in yarn ends, handwash and block.