Wrap Me Up in Sock Yarn
for a beautiful scarf
Chris de Longpré, 2010, All Rights Reserved
Materials
Yarn – 850 to 1,150 yds of sock yarn; I used 6 balls of Mini Mochi by Crystal Palace, color 105.
Needles – US size 2 (2.75 mm)
Other – (optional) Beads of a suitable size for the yarn, with a crochet hook that will go through the hole in the beads. I used 128 beads in the pictured scarf. (Some are not visible in the photo.)
Gauge
32 sts and 40 rows = 4” in stockinet stitch.
Finished Measurements = 11” W x 60” L
Worked in sock yarn, the Wrap Me Up shawl makes a wonderful scarf. This project sheetdescribes alternate stitch patterns and additions I made to the shawl pattern to produce thepictured scarf. You may, of course, work the scarf exactly as written for a shawl, or makeyour own modifications.
Project Notes
A note about gauge: The type of sock yarn you choose, coupled with your own knitting style, will determine your gauge. If you are happy with your fabric and drape, even if your gauge does not match mine, proceed with confidence. One of my valued sales reps made a sock yarn version of the shawl using Opal sock yarn (smoother and finer than the yarn I chose) and US size 2 needles. Her finished scarf measures 10” x 63” and used only 850 yards. The scarf mostly follows the directions in the Wrap Me Up shawl pattern. Below are modifications I made while working the pictured scarf.
1) I chose not to use a contrasting yarn for the CC sections in the shawl, and worked the entire scarf in MC. This required a minor modification to Block 18 (see note 4, below).
2) Block 8: When I reached this point in the scarf, I said, “Seriously? Sixty-one rows of seed stitch? NOT.” I hate working seed stitch and can’t imagine why I wrote the shawl that way in the first place. I used two balls of yarn and worked the narrowly-striped section in stockinet!
3) Block 14: I worked this in a tiny lace pattern that I love.
Row 1: (RS) k2, *wkeye, k2, rep from * across
Row 2: purl
Row 3: knit
Row 4: purl
Rep rows 1-4 nine times more (40 rows total). Purl 2 more rows. Finish off and join side edge as described in the shawl pattern.
wkeye means work eyelet: With the tip of the right-hand needle, pull the third stitch on the left-hand needle over the first and second sts on the left-hand needle; k1, yo, k1.
4) Block 18: Since I did not use a CC yarn in the scarf, I used the same 2-ball technique used in Block 8.
5) Blocks 19 and 20: I worked these in the wager welt pattern used in Block 5, with 6 repeats attached to Block 18 and 2 repeats across the whole width.
6) At this point I wrapped the scarf around my neck and determined that I wanted more length. I added Block 20A, as follows (after reducing the number of sts to 80 on the prior row):
Row 1: (RS) k1, * sl1, k4, rep from *, across, ending sl1, k1
Row 2: purl
Row 3: rep row 1
Row 4: purl
Row 5: rep row 1
Row 6: (WS) p2, *k4, p1, rep from *, across, ending k4, p2.
Work as many repeats as needed; I worked 16 repeats.
7) Finding that I had some beads left, I added a stockinet beaded section (about 1”), then worked several rows in garter stitch before working the picot bind off edge described in Block 20 of the shawl pattern.
8) I added an extra “side” of piping to Block 10, tying the tails at the corner with a square knot.
9) Since this is a scarf with no long edge suggesting a top or bottom, I finished both long edges with 6 rows of garter stitch, eliminating the Dragon’s Tooth edging called for in the shawl.
10) Joining sections with 3-needle bind-off: I found it hard to keep these joined edges elastic enough to block evenly. I decided to use US size 3 needles to pick up and knit sts to be bound off, and then worked the bind-offs with a US size 3 needle and very loose tension. After blocking, these edges look perfect.
