Infinity Scarf

Warning: This post is pretty much 100% technical knitting discussion. Non-knitters beware!

So this isn't a super great picture, using photo booth instead of my camera, but faster for uploading. This is my first infinity scarf! I finally got what I wanted on my FOURTH try. It's a gift for someone, by the way, with yarn I bought in Denver at the AAA meetings. 100% wool, singly ply, a little itchy but it blocked so very well. Two skeins, slightly different (same colors, variation in width of stripes).

I had a mental picture of what I wanted, but on the first try, I decided it was too wide - so given that I was working with a limited amount of yarn it was going to be too short. I think I'd knit about 8 inches but I ripped it out and started over. Second try much narrower - cast on 28 stitches instead of 45 - and it was too narrow: the sides curled in too much. I wondered, though, if the issue was the pattern rather than the width - too many knit stitches will make it curl under, unless you balance out with some purls. So I made it a ribbed stitch pattern between the yarn over/k2tog pattern - but I didn't like how it looked. AT ALL. Stockinette gave me a much smoother surface, and even the way it curled into itself made it look a little like leaves.

So I switched it up a bit: I inserted a single column of purled stitches into each "leaf," or pattern repeat - it was just enough to ease the curling while maintaining the overall look that I wanted. And I went with a cast on of 35, halfway between attempts 1 and 2.

But the key? Was the blocking! I had a hunch it would block well, and it did - fabulously well in fact. The yarn just *relaxed* into a smooth, flat shape that is almost exactly what I wanted. It's long enough that it could handle 3 wraps around the neck for extra cold days. I adore this colorway and I think the intended recipient will really like it!

Four tries was worth it to get what I wanted.

There are no end of life lessons in knitting. I highly recommend it!

In other news, I just signed up for a yarn-bombing event here in March and April! It will be a great way to kick of my birthday :-)