Knit an Easy Scarf Using Helical Knitting

Last month I shared a collection of helical knitting patterns and mentioned that I was learning more about helical knitting this year and had been working on a scarf using the technique that wasn’t ready yet.

It took me a full six weeks to knit the six foot long (1.8 meter) scarf, but it was so satisfying I didn’t even mind it that much.

I decided that I wanted it to be a stash-busting project and that each section would be in rainbow color order, using various oddballs and changing yarn whenever needed within that color section.

For the “second” color I chose black, a skein of Big Twist that was one of the last things I bought at Joann. I like the contrast between the black and the other colors, and it’s nice to have one harmonious secondary color throughout, though of course you could use odd balls for both colors to make it even more scrappy.

I didn’t pay a ton of attention to yarn weight on this project, though most of it is worsted/medium weight. There’s a little bit of heavier yarn in there, too, and maybe a bit that’s a little lighter, too. This scarf can take all kinds.

And despite it taking kind of a long time to knit, it’s actually pretty fun and easy to do. It was good TV knitting, which you might not expect when first learning helical knitting, but as long as you put a stitch marker where you need to slip your stitches you don’t really need to pay attention otherwise.

You can find the pattern for the helical scarf on my website, as well as a tutorial for how I do helical knitting. If you try this technique I’d love to hear about how it goes for you! I really enjoyed it and expect more projects of this sort coming in the future.

This is a project that kind of stopped me in my tracks when I saw it while scrolling Ravelry. It’s such a fun contrast of a semisolid color worked in stockinette stitch and a more tonal yarn worked in a feather and fan variation.

(See more about feather and fan in this post on my blog; I also have a feather and fan scarf if you want to practice.)

The Nitty Wrap from Renate Dziedataja is worked in fingering weight yarn from a Finnish mill, and the name is the Finnish word for meadow. You of course can use whatever yarn you have handy.

It’s even more interesting because the project is worked from one short end across to make a long rectangle, and the two different sections are joined using intarsia. Generally we think of intarsia as being used for colorwork, so this is a fun different use of it. The lace section is charted in the pattern but it’s pretty easy to follow.

And of course it’s totally optional but to add a little more interest and tie the two colors of yarn together the designer also added some embroidery along the short edges on the stockinette side. A drawing of what she did is included but you can also add different designs if you’d rather.

The shawl has I-cord edgings to give it a nice finished look that doesn’t take away from the organic simplicity of the design.

As shown, the shawl measures about 22.5 inches/57 cm wide and 59 inches/150 cm long. You can of course adjust this according to your preference, the amount of yarn you have and the gauge you are getting. Try a thicker yarn to make a wider shawl if you like.

This pattern is available in English and Latvian for free on Ravelry.

Photo: Renate Dziedataja

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