Clock repairs

I know you've been worried about my possibly having forgotten I knit a perfectly good Clockwork drapey shawl thing that needed Something before I could wear it. Ha! Not only did I not forget, I thought of the Something, and yesterday I finally had time to execute same.

To recap: Clockwork is a gorgeous garter stitch scarf in a curving shape that looks stunning wrapped once around the neck of its wearer, with the ends hanging down in front. If a scarf worn in such a way is flattering on you and/or meets the demands of your climate, you should totally knit one.

Sadly it turns out I am not such a person.

I tried wearing it as a shawl, but it kept slipping off and while I considered adding an I-cord button loop and a funky button to hold it in place, it really isn't deep enough to keep my back warm.

I tried tying it, but that just hid all the shape and drape that make this pattern worth knitting.

I even tried just wearing it as a scarf just folded across the opening at the top of my coat, and I froze every time - the depth problem again I think, plus the weight of all that garter stitch kept pulling the fold open and exposing my neck.

So I got out my trusty darning needle and tracked down my little bag of remaining yarn (which took about two panicky hours as I had stuffed it in the crafty cupboard behind my sewing things while making room for the Christmas tree) and sewed it up.

It's difficult to describe how I approached this task apart from saying I positioned it somewhat like a curling orange peel, folded it right side to right side, and stitched through the tops of the caston/castoff edges as they met.

From the front, you can see how I lined up some gear marks (sort of... it's the top two on the left, sorry for the bad lighting):

This view from the back shows the new depth, which is not much more than when I made it a shawl but - key difference - since I now don't have to hike it up to keep it from falling off entirely, I can let my hair take care of the top of my back and have the wool take care of the rest.

You can see in both of these pictures how there is a lot of loose stuff at the top of the front, and yes, it falls in folds like a folding cowl when worn. Sadly I had to ask a mirror and indoor light to help out with some semblance of how this looks in practice, but hopefully you get the idea:

It's a little weird, but I like that in clothing so I'm happy. I wore it all through the rest of the day and was warm as toast that is still warm. Bonus: the charm of the two gorgeous yarns I used - from Biscotte (Precieux) and Twisted Fiber Art (Playful) - are shown to full advantage, by way of both colour and drape.

I never thought I'd say such a thing after all the acrylic granny square versions that dotted my childhood, but this is one poncho I really love.