A Great Scarf You Can Knit in a Day (Really)

I’m not saying I recommend this course of action, but I did recently learn that it is possible to knit a scarf — not even with bulky yarn! — in a day.

These are the things you do when a friend suddenly announces they are moving to Iowa.

I had this pattern I had printed out a long time ago, the Malabrigo Waffles Scarf from Yarn Dreams, which looked squishy and fun and fast to knit.

I used some wool and camel blend from my stash and I knit all. day. long. As much as I could. I cast off right before we headed out to goodbye dinner. I actually made mine a little narrower to speed along the knitting, and I think it came out just fine.

I’m not sure how long mine ended up, but it was at least five feet, and it was squishy and warm and pretty and the perfect way to send love 500-some miles away.

While the moral of the story should be that you shouldn’t try to knit a scarf in a day (at least a worsted weight one), I hope this lets you know you still have plenty of time to do some serious knitting for gifts or otherwise.

I’d love to know what’s on your needles!

[Photo: Yarn Dreams]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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