Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit a Stunning Scarf for Summer

by

This lovely summer scarf highlights self-striping yarn in a new wayI know summer and scarf don’t usually go together, but hear me out. This lovely scarf from Classic Elite Yarns uses a blend of linen, viscose and cotton yarn, which is perfect for summer knitting.

The yarn itself is quite the stunner, too, and the long stripes worked on the diagonal are what make this scarf so great.

There’s a bit of texture to the pattern (designed by Susan Mills), as it is worked in alternating bands of stockinette and reverse stockinette. You can leave it bumpy and textured or block it out to a smooth, open consistency that’s a really great look for summer. This is the scarf you will always want to have in your bag for evenings and over-air-conditioned buildings.

I love it! What do you think?

[Photo via Classic Elite Yarns.]

Comments

  1. I love it! The yarn is just gorgeous and like you said, the pattern really shows it off. Definitely adding this to my knitting list!

Have you read?

Book Review: The Wandering Knitter

Knitting and travel are two hobbies that are highly compatible. Travel often involves waiting or time spent on planes, trains, boats, etc., time that can easily be filled by knitting, a portable and productive craft you can do most anywhere (and yes, you can take your knitting on a plane most of the time). 

Krista Ann combines knitting and traveling regularly and ended up visiting every continent in 2022 with her knitting needles along for the ride. The Wandering Knitter explores travel, knitting and learning new knitting skills no matter where you are. 

This isn’t a book for beginners, but if you’ve wanted to learn techniques like brioche, cables, lace, colorwork, mitered squares and short rows, there’s a set of more beginner level patterns followed by ones that are bigger, more detailed or required a little more skill. For example a brioche washcloth is the beginner pattern, while a brioche sweater (with unexplained exceptionally long sleeves) is the stepped up project. A basic mesh lace scarf becomes a more complex lace kerchief. A giant mitered square cowl graduates to a mitered square tote bag. 

Interspersed among the patterns are essays about traveling to different continents and what she saw there. There are also tips for traveling with your knitting and tips for reading charts, but no tutorials for knitting skills (other than a written explanation of how mosaic knitting works). 

Some of the projects would be useful to have when traveling, such as fingerless gloves, a warm headband or a colorwork hat. The travel angle is an interesting hook for a book, but I would have enjoyed essays more about specific incidents or shopping for yarn in a different country or something more than the general essays about things she’s liked and places she’d like to go back to. 

Still, if you’re looking for a skill building book that doesn’t focus on the basics but gives you some wearable, attractive accessories, this book is a good one to check out. Just maybe make the sleeves shorter if you knit the sweater. 

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 20 patterns. Published 2026 by Quarry Books. Suggested retail price $24.99.