Start Knitting Lace BEFORE August

Because of the alpaca content even lace scarves are warm. 

Christmas 2012 is Right Around The Corner!

I learned my lesson.  Deciding to knit lace scarves in August, even a simple lace like Old Shale, is insane.  Immediately after I received the 50% Wool 50% Alpaca lace weight yarn my hours at work were shifted.  An hour was carved off the slow end of the day and an extra half day every other week was tacked on so that I had much less time at home for falderol. What with an hour slashed here and an hour excised there, I ended up knitting into the wee hours just days before the 25th.

While Old Shale is simple enough, These are projects that are best started today and so ... this post.

I started with American Size #8 (UK 6, Metric 5.0 mm) knitting needles and Alpacaware Yarn. I've used Alpacaware for many things since I first discovered the brand on eBay and I rationalize using their yarn because it's manufactured in this hemisphere by people who are actually descended from the ones who originally bred and spun this camelid fiber -- Peruvians.  

The yarn makes great socks as long as you knit the toes and heels in a different hard wearing sock yarn. While most of the socks that I have knitted from Alpacaware have been pitched because of large holes in the toes and heels, the ones with toes and heels of acrylic / super wash / nylon sock blends are still being worn a year and several machine washes later.  And they are incredibly warm and incredibly soft.


Of their yarns, If you're happy with the colors they offer, I recommend the Alpaca/Acrylic/Wool blends.  Not only is it much softer and fuzzier, it goes through the washer and dryer well if there's a mistake on laundry day.

But, I wanted to be able to dye the yarn different colors for each of my step-sisters so I opted for the Alpaca/Wool blend in white.  When I received the yarn it was much stringy-er and rougher than the yarns I'd received from Alpacaware before. But the yarn was long spun - so to speak - and time was short.

Since the only preference I heard back from the sisters was "off-white" I at least cut out the step of hand dying the wool.  I did have to add the step of using human hair conditioner on the scarves at the last minute to make them soft enough to wear next to the skin.  The pattern I whomped up is:

A closer look at the Old Shale.

Old Shale Beaded Lace Scarflet.

Tools and Materials:

American Size #8 (UK 6, Metric 5.0 mm) STRAIGHT knitting needles

American Size #6 (UK 8, Metric 4.0 mm) MAGIC LOOP Circular knitting needle

 

American Size #H (UK 6, Metric 5.0 mm) Crochet Hook

American Size #11 (1.10 mm) Steel Crochet Hook

Seed Beads 6 mm in a complimentary color

Lace or Sock Weight Yarn - 1 to 2 skeins.

Cast On:

Multiple of 18 stitches plus 4.  

(These scarves were 58 stitches (18 x 3 + 4).)  

Garter Stitch Set Up:

Knit one row.

Knit two stitches, place marker, knit to last two stitches, place marker, knit 2.   Turn, place a crochet marker or safety pin on the side facing you to mark it as the Right Side.

(You've just completed two rows of garter stitch for the bottom of the scarf and placed markers for the garter stitch edging to help hold the knitting flat.)  

Knit the body of the scarf :


Row 1. K2, pass marker, Old Shale Pattern Row (see below), pass marker, K2 .
Row 2. K2, pass marker, Purl to marker, pass marker, K2
Row 3. Knit
Row 4. Knit
Repeat

Old Shale Pattern Row:

(Knit 2 tog) x 3, *(YO, K1) x 6, (K2tog) x 6)*, work * to * to last 6 stitches before the marker then  (Knit 2 tog) x 3.

Knit these 4 rows until the scarf will fit around your throat comfortably, plus about 6 to 8 inches.

Beads placed on every other knit stitch every other row.

Start ribbing 
Change to Magic Loop Needle and

Knit 2, (drop marker) K1, P2
*K2, P2* until about 17 stitches are on the Magic Loop needle ending with a P2.  Pull needle to make your first Magic Loop Butterfly Wing.

Work K2P2 ribbing for 24 stitches ending in a P2.  Magic Loop, pull your second butterfly wing. 

K2P2 to last 3 stitches.  

Join your knitting here by P2 , place a marker, and slip last stitch from your straight needle to your right Magic Loop Point, then slipping it back to the new left Magic Loop Point and knitting two together. 

If you have 2 knitted  stitches on your left ML needle, knit them together so that you end up with K2P2 as the first stitches after the marker.  *(You will have only one marker in the magic loop method, and that marker will show the back center seam as a reference for finishing)


If you prefer working flat:  Slip the first stitch, K2P2 and place the knit marker after St. 17 which would be your second purl stitch of that K2P2 ribbing group. K2P2 for 24 stitches and place a second knit marker after St. 41.  K2P2 the last 17 stitches ending Purl 3.  You will have 3 knit stitches at the beginning of each row -- first stitch slipped -- and 3 Purl stitches at the end of each row.)

Work one round/row in K2P2 ribbing.

Beads that have been slipped over stitches.

Basically you're going to make a ribbed loop through which to pull the tail end of the scarf AND you are only going to bead the front side. 

If you want to make it blingy as I did, then I direct you to this wonderful article Seduced by Beads by Sivia Harding  which explains how to place beads onto your needle using a crochet hook.

On the front (non marker) 24 stitches of the magic loop

I staggered the beads every other row.  Magic loop that would be -- rounds:

1.  On the Right Side only -- Place a bead on the first stitch of each K2 ribbing
2. No beading, just K2P2 ribbing for one round
3.On the Right Side only -- Place a bead on the second stitch of each k2
4. No beading, just K2P2 ribbing for one round. 

Flat Knitting, you would place the beads on the right side only, between the markers only, staggering them between the first and second knit stitch of each k2 of the ribbing.

In this way the beads were staggered and all of them were placed away from the skin to avoid any discomfort.  After all no use placing a bead on the purling as it would be swallowed up by the ribbing and not seen.


Work the K2P2 beaded ribbing for about 4 inches, then Purl a row for a turn marking row.  Put your beads away and K2P2 for another 4 inches.

Magic Loop: with the joining stitches Marker in the center of the back and the beading facing front, work a 3 Needle Bind-Off to close the tube you've knitted and join the front to the back in a flat bound off seam. Leave a very long tail for attaching the bound off edge to the back of the beginning of the ribbing. The Purl Row you did halfway through the ribbing will be a great guide to show you about where the ribbing should be folded over.


Straight Needles:  Bind-off leaving a very long tail.  Using Blanket stitch or your preferred way of joining, Sew the first slipped stitches on both sides of the ribbing together down to the beginning of the ribbing.  With the seam position down the center back, sew the top of the ribbing closed, flat, then folding down along the purl row, sew that flat seam to the beginning of the ribbing, easing as necessary.

Close-up of beaded picot edging.

Additional beading at the bottom of the scarf.  


I then added a Crochet Picot edge to the bottom of these scarves using the size H crochet hook.  


Join Yarn and Single crochet along the cast on end of the lace.

Chain One, Turn.

Single crochet 2, chain 2 (place bead on 2nd chain with tiny 1.10 crochet hook and replace on H hook)chain one to complete the 3 chain picot. Slip Stitch into the next stitch and repeat across row.  

Scarf pulled through the ribbing loop.

You will end up with an extra single crochet at the end of the row.  If this endangers the space-time continuum in your particular part of the universe, then by all means after working your foundation row of Single crochet, do the math to make it even by increasing or decreasing a single crochet in the center of the row.

Work in ends. 

Hand wash gently in Dish washing detergent to get the smell of sweaty terror out of the scarf, and then give it a rinse with a drop or two of Human Hair Conditioner.  

Gently squeeze out the excess water.  I roll them up into a cylinder in a Terry Bath Towel and then step on the toweling to squish most of the water out.  It's kind of like treading on grapes to make wine, except there's a towel in between and no one drinks alpaca.

Unroll and lay the scarf out on a towel, or better yet an acrylic granny square afghan. Stretch the scarflet sideways and lengthwise just a bit to open up the lace and let it dry.  


Hopefully, if you start now, you'll have a beaded lace scarf completed before summer and you can decide if you're going to make more for your friends and relatives or just keep it for yourself and call it a learning experience.  You can also decide if you would prefer JUST lace or JUST beading or None Of The Above and go for a scarflet with a ribbed loop only.  That's three different types of scarves you can pull from this one pattern.


Happy New Year!!!