Big Twist Scarf

LEVEL: Easy
BY: Kira K Designs

LEARN HOW:  cast on, knit/purl ribbing, slipped selvage, cable, bind off, and block the finished scarf.  

YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW HOW TO: knit, purl

Materials:

YARN:
Any super bulky yarn; we recommend Cedar House Yarns Windfall or Erika Knight Maxi Wool.
In your kit, we’ve included enough yarn to make a 54” long scarf.  
If you’re not using one of our kits, you will need at least 68 m (75 yds) of yarn.
Yarn amounts given are based on average requirements and are approximate.  

NEEDLES & NOTIONS:
Size 12 millimeter straight needles (or US size 17)
Jumbo cable needle, preferably the style shaped like the letter J
Tapestry needle for sewing in the ends
Scissors (not included in the kit)

GAUGE:
6.5 stitches to 4 inches in K1P1 rib, although matching gauge exactly isn’t necessary for this project

FINISHED DIMENSIONS:
2.75” Width, 54” Length

Getting started:

For all abbreviations please check the glossary at the end of the pattern.

Make a slipknot.  To learn to make a slip knot, CLICK HERE

Using knitted cast-on, cast on (“CO”) 10 stitches. To learn to cast on, CLICK HERE

ROWS 1-9:

Insert your right needle into the stitch on your left needle as if to knit, then slip that stitch to your right needle without knitting it. CLICK HERE for a video tutorial.  This is the Slipped Selvage Stitch, and will be the first stitch that you do at the beginning of every row.

*move the yarn to the front of the work, purl 1 stitch, move the yarn to the back of the work, knit 1 stitch, repeat from * three more times

Then move the yarn to the front of the work and purl the final stitch.

To learn how to move the yarn in ribbing, CLICK HERE

Slipped Selvage Stitch Slipping a stitch at the beginning of the row creates a smooth edge and is called a selvage stitch. This technique is best used on finished edges that will not be seamed together or have other finishing treatments later on, so it’s perfect for scarves. CLICK HERE for a video tutorial

ROW 10:
Insert your right needle into the stitch on your left needle as if to knit, then slip that stitch to your right needle without knitting it.  This is the Slipped Selvage Stitch, as before.

Move the yarn between the needles to the front of the work.

Slip the next 4 stitches purlwise onto the short end of your cable needle, and let the cable needle hang down in front of the work. CLICK HERE for a video tutorial

Now, working from your left knitting needle: purl 1 stitch, move the yarn to the back of the work, knit 1 stitch, move the yarn to the front of the work, purl 1 stitch, move the yarn to the back of the work, knit 1 stitch, move the yarn to the front of the work.

Row House Pro Tip You may find it more comfortable to slip the final stitch from the left knitting needle to the short end of the cable needle at this point so you can put the left needle down.

 

Now from the long end of the cable needle, purl 1 stitch, move the yarn to the back of the work, knit 1 stitch, move the yarn to the front of the work, purl 1 stitch, move the yarn to the back of the work, knit 1 stitch, move the yarn to the front of the work.

Purl the final stitch from your left needle (or from your cable needle if you moved it there).

Learning to read standard abbreviations Standard abbreviations are a shorthand way of writing knitting patterns, and are more common than paragraph form as above since they take up much less space, and are quicker to read once you get the hang of it. Here’s how the rows you just worked would be written in standard format: Rows 1-9: sl 1 knit-wise, [p1, k1] 4 times, p1 Row 10: sl 1 knit-wise, slip next 4 sts purl-wise to cable needle and hold to front of work, [p1, k1] twice from left knitting needle, [p1, k1] twice from cable needle, p1.

Repeat

Repeat Rows 1-10 until your scarf is about 4 inches shorter than your desired length or you are almost out of yarn (make sure you have enough yarn left to do 9 more rows, approximately 2 yards), then repeat rows 1-8 once more so that the scarf end will be symmetric.

Almost Done:

Bind off (“BO”) all stitches in pattern, following the knits and purls as you normally would CLICK HERE for a video tutorial

Finishing:

Weave in ends of all yarn using a tapestry needle.  You can see examples of how to weave in yarn ends by CLICKING HERE

Blocking:

Finally, you have to “block” the scarf.  This means that you wet the yarn and relax it a little bit, which will also help even out your stitches.  Because you’re knitting with wool, the yarn will stretch, so you want to gently lay it out so that you don’t stretch it too much, just enough that the scarf is as long as your desired measurements.

How do I block? Let the scarf sit in cool water for around 30 minutes.  Gently drain the water.  You can gently roll the scarf in a towel to remove excess water, or you can let it sit in the sink and drain for an hour or so.  Make sure that you handle the wet fabric gently and don’t wring it out. Once you have removed the excess water, lay the scarf out on fresh towels or on a blocking board (you need a surface that will allow the water to drain from the wool), and arrange the scarf in a rectangle of the measurements that you desire - keeping the rows even.  Let it dry before picking it up again. CLICK HERE for a video tutorial

 

Congratulations!

Once it is dry, you are done.  Stand back and admire your work.  You have knit cables.

We want to see your scarf, so please post a photo on Instagram and use the tag  #rowhouseknits

Glossary

BO: bind off
CO: cast on
k: knit
p: purl
sl: slip
st(s): stitch(es)