Lace Scarves to Knit for Spring

The other day I mentioned how much I don’t want to be knitting a sweater when the weather starts getting warm, but I also need a little help staying warm because I’m always cold.

Lace scarves are another fun answer to that problem, and there are lots of relatively easy lace and eyelet scarf knitting patterns you can try even if you’ve never knit lace before.

The Sailor Scarf by Knitleybay has a 20 row repeat, but there are big chunks of stockinette stitch in there are you’ll easily memorize the floral eyelet pattern. This project uses fingering weight yarn and it is stockinette based, so it will curl, but it’s cute that way (or you can add a border). Find the pattern on Ravelry.

The spring lace scarf from Palmeri Arts and Crafts is the one to knit if its still cold where you are (or you’re fighting overly aggressive early season air conditioning). This one is worked in worsted weight yarn with an allover design that looks sort of like butterflies. You could of course make it smaller and lighter with a lighter weight yarn if you want.

I also like the lace scarf from The Feminine Touch, because it shows you what happens to stockinette stitch when you knit it on needles bigger than expected. The pattern calls for DK weight yarn worked n size 9 US/5.5 mm knitting needles, which is great for opening up the lace pattern but it does fun things to the plain sections, too.

If you’re looking for a scarf that’s a mere suggestion of weight, check out the Netta Scarf from Masha Patterns. This leaf lace scarf is worked in an ethereal mohair yarn, though you could use something with more substance to give it a little more weight and warmth if you need it.

These days there are a lot of scarves that aren’t strictly scarf shaped, and there are lots of lacy triangles you can wear as scarves, too, like the Dew Scarf from Irene Lin. This little lacy mohair triangle is knit sideways, which makes it easy to adjust the size based on how much yarn you have. The pattern is available in English and Korean from Ravelry.

And this one is not a scarf at all, but seeing the lace panel called Fox and Snow Hares from Vicki Monthei is what got me thinking about lace scarves, so I wanted to share it, too. This design is based off a mitten pattern from 1892, converted into a flat piece of knitting. You could just keep on repeating the design to make a scarf if you like. Hers is worked in thread but you can make yours heavier, too. Find the pattern as a free download on Ravelry.

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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