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.

I love the look of mesh tops for summer, but I don’t know that I would ever actually wear one that’s full of giant holes, even though I admit they look cool (in both senses of the word) on other people.

What I would wear, though, is something that’s still lacy but maybe a little bit more subdued, like this chevron lace knit top from Yarnspirations.

This easy to knit T-shirt style top is worked flat in two pieces from the bottom up, using and easy lace pattern that’s a repeat of 10 stitches and four rows (though the wrong side rows are just purled, so there’s only two rows you need to learn the pattern on).

It has little cap sleeves that are worked as part of the top by casting on stitches where you need them.

If you’re new to lace knitting this is a good one to try because the pattern includes both written and charted instructions, and the only skills you need are yarn over, knit two together, slip slip knit and slip 1 knit 2 together pass the slipped stitch over (which makes a centered decrease).

There are four size options available (which they claim is enough to cover XS to 5XL), with finished chest measurements ranging from 38.5 inches (that’s 98 cm) to 59 inches, or 150 cm. The amount of ease would vary widely depending on your size and the size garment you choose. For example the largest size is said to fit a chest measurement from 5258 inches/132-147.4 cm, which gives you a range of ease from 1-7 inches, or 2.5 to 17.78 cm, depending on your size. Just something to be aware of when you think about how you want it to fit.

The project calls for Red Heart Cotton Breeze yarn, which isn’t a yarn I’ve tried yet, but it’s a DK weight acrylic and cotton blend, which should make a lightweight top that’s great for summer.

Grab the free pattern from Yarnspirations.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

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