Meghan's Scarf Finished

Used: 5 Skeins Jade Sapphire’s Daisany in Lilac (Colorway #31); 55gm / 106 yds;
100% silk boucle. Variagated slightly. Used 4 ¾ of the five.
Price: $22.00 - $24.25 (online 2/09 – don’t remember what I paid)
Equipment: Needles: #7 wooden; 7 stitch markers
Size: 94” x 9”
Gauge: on K2P2 on #7 needles 54 sts = 9” (not stretched out)

I began by knitting a large swatch on various size needles to get a feel for the yarn: Stocking Stitch on #5, #6 & #7 needles. #7 needles gave the right feel and drape so I tried a few more stitches: K3P2, K2P2, Basketweave, Garter and K1P1. The swatch can be seen on Liza’s Fibers (www.lizasfibers.blogspot.com) December 8, 2008. I liked the way the silk rounded up in the K2P2 rib so decided on that. The yarn was lovely to work with and created contemporary yet classic fabric.

Body of Scarf: Cast on 54 stitches with provisional cast on. 54 = (13 x 4 [k2p2] + 2 sts -- so the edges match. Decide which side is the front; I chose the side with k2 edges. Put stitch markers on the side chosen as RS. Knit until ½ to ¾ of a skein is left. Put these stitches on a stitch holder, thread or large needle if planning to make edging for cast on edge first.

(I didn’t use a provisional cast on and therefore spent 2 hours + (All of the Saturday Metropolitan Opera’s broadcast of Lucia di Lammermoor) unpicking the cast-on edge and picking up 54 stitches in K2P2!). It was quite a chore but well worth it. Originally I cast off in K2P2 and was planning to add a fringe. But, the boucle yarn unravels so fringes wouldn’t age well. Silk spun so loosely doesn’t wear particularly well. Because the cast off and cast-on edges fanned out a little so I decided to add a decorative finish instead and undid the cast off. The number of stitches – 54 – presented a challenge so I designed my own edge, with inspiration from Nicky’s Epstein’s Knitting on the Edge: Ribs, Ruffles, Lace, Fringes, Floral, Points & Picots: The Essential Collection of 350 Decorative Borders. Although I liked a lot of the borders, I didn’t want to sacrifice length for furbelows. It was important to continue the rib stitching in the edge to prevent fanning out of the fabric..

Edges Cast off edge – continue with 54 stitches. Cast on edge: from the provisional cast on, pick up 54 stitches, keeping the rib stitches in line.
With stitch markers, divide the stitches into 5 groups of 10, 10, 14, 10 and 10. Working individually on each group, continue the K2P2 pattern while decreasing 1 st at each edge every other row, starting with right side row. Decrease 1 st in from edge, using the chain edge to keep the edges tidy. When 2 sts left, start bobble.

Bobbles (based on Nicky Epstein’s directions): Use this for the 10-stitch sections. The middle, 14-stitch section will have three bobbles.
(WS) K2 together; (RS) make 5 stitches [k1,p1,k1,p1,k1] in the stitch, making sure to pull the yarn tightly to prevent a large loop from developing. If a loop does develop, don’t panic, just twist it later on. Starting with a purl row, work these 5 stitches in stocking st for 8 rows. The purl is the back, the knit stitch is the front.
Row 9 (WS): p2tog, p1, p2tog.
Row 10 (RS) slip 1 st, k2tog, slip slipped stitch over the two knit together. Fold up the work, RS out (reverse st st inside). Knit this st tog with the original stitch that 5 were made.
Single bobble sections: break off yarn with a 6” tail and secure to point.
Triple Bobble: Make two more bobbles before breaking off the yarn with a 6” tail. Secure to point.