Thursday, November 19, 2009

Candy Wrapper Scarflet - a pattern for a song

Remember my amazing discovery of a fast, functional, and fun-to-wear knit that fits adults and children and can be tucked into a pencilcase-sized tiny happy purse for gifting?

And when I say fast, I mean: you can make it in an evening!


I absolutely love pieces that multitask, so you can guess how happy I am with the way this scarflet came out. The loopy lower edge makes natural buttonholes all around the border, so - with the aid of a button hidden on the underside -


you can hold it close or leave it wide open.


It's surprisingly warm for so small a piece.


And it's such a standout way to finish an outfit, or bring some glamour and sheen to basic black - a necklace that isn't cold against your skin or weird with a turtleneck.


It has to be said, though: in a looser-spun yarn like the red sample, it curls a bit.

Not so with the blue Candy Wrapper, which is 'Teal' in Vesper Mohair Merino (formerly Vesper Kid Mohair - same great yarn, new great name.) The Mohair Merino is spun just snugly enough that you have to deliberately separate the three strands. Until you do you have a balanced, round yarn over your palm.

I consider the Vesper yarn a bargain; it's $15 US for a 100g skein, super soft, gorgeously dyed, and though the scarflet pattern calls for 100 yards to allow for a gauge swatch and differences in each knitter's tension, I am pretty sure you can squeeze two Candy Wrappers out of it. I have 65 grams left from the 100 gram skein I didn't knit a swatch from.

As for colours... Vesper yarns sell out almost as quickly as they're dyed, but the shop is updated weekly, so you never have to wait long for a chance at your favourites.

If you're not mad for extra curl and you want to try another yarn in the meantime - say, something already in your stash and ready to go - choose one that's spun snugly, so it's balanced and round. Or block it really really firmly!

Candy Wrapper Scarflet

Difficulty Level:
Easy to Intermediate

Materials:
92m/100 yds Knitterly Things “Vesper Merino Mohair” (55% mohair, 45% merino wool, 129m/142 yds, 100g/3½ oz per skein) – 11 wraps per inch
1 set 5mm/US 8 straight or circular needles
1 stitch marker
1 tapestry needle
blocking pins
1 flat-style ¾”/19mm button



Download the .pdf of Candy Wrapper Scarflet

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooooooooh -I love it! I have to kni this NOW.

Kathleen Taylor said...

Got it! Love it! Can't wait to knit it!

Mary Keenan said...

Thanks guys! I have to knit up a few for presents myself :^)

Unknown said...

what gage is the yarn in the sample. I mean was it, fingering, sport,or larger?

Mary Keenan said...

Larger yarn - it's exactly the same 11 wraps per inch as the Vesper yarn, and almost the same balance of merino and mohair! but oh the difference a twist makes :^) The gauge for the project is 12 sts and 20 rows to 4 inches, if that gives you a better idea for a substitution.

Unknown said...

Hi Mary! I love this pattern and enjoyed knitting it as well. Unfortunately, I didn't read close enough to realize that the yarn needs to be a larger yarn and I think mine is on the small side. I love patterns that stretch me and this one did, never having blocked before. I don't know what "11 wraps per inch" means. Would you be so kind to explain this to me? Thanks again for a wonderful pattern! I look forward to knitting this one many times.

Mary Keenan said...

I'm so glad you had fun devoted_debba! I hope the end product was useful, if small?

Wraps per inch (wpi) is another way of talking about the size of a yarn - it's how many times you can wrap it around something to make an inch's worth of wraps. Rulers are handy for this, but you can also cut notches in a piece of wood if you want to get fancy. It's kind of inexact though because you'll get more wpi if you pull tight than if you let the yarn relax and stay bunchy as you wrap.

I find the best test of a yarn is if you can get gauge with it and not have the stitches look too stretched, or squished.

Unknown said...

Thanks for your response. Perhaps my problem was in the blocking (its my first). The yarn size seems to be accurate. So I blocked it again. Hopefully, it will fit a little nicer. Thanks again!!

Mary Keenan said...

Devoted_debba, sometimes too one fiber will stretch farther than another. Acrylic, not so much. Superwash wool, sometimes with a Wowza factor!