How to Knit a Ruffled Scarf using Pegs and Netted Yarn

I'm going to try and explain how I knit my ruffled scarves using the end pieces from my adjustable knitting board and the new ruffle type yarns which look like ribbon 

until you stretch them out to reveal a netted type yarn that is about 2 to 3 inches wide.

First grab your end pieces. I'm using ends that have 8 pegs. I've added loops to only 7 of the pegs. Have the wrong side of the pegs facing you. Turn under about 2" of the yarn and place on a few pegs, then place loops on the other pegs and again on the first few. What you are doing is hiding the raw edge inside the ruffles to start. Add loops so that your working yarn is to the left.

Now, stretch out the yarn and take every other loop along the top edge of the yarn and place on the pegs going from left to right. (the top of the yarns edge will have loops and the bottom edge will have a finished edge)

Keep adding loops from left to right until all 7 pegs have loops on them. Now you have 2 loops on each peg. One from the cast on row and one that you just put on. Remember that on a few pegs you'll have 3 loops from turning under that first 2 inches.

Now tilt the end piece forward slightly and using your pick tool, knit off the bottom loop up and over the second loop and off the top of the peg. This is called knitting off.

After all loops are knitted off....

Tilt the end piece up and giving the bottom of the yarn a tug it should now look like this. Once you have knitted more rows you'll no longer have to tug as the weight of the scarf will do it for you.

Now you have to transfer these loops to the other end piece. If you didn't do this your scarf would only have ruffles on one side. You are essentially knitting around and around in a circle. Adding a ruffle to the front and then to the back of the scarf.

To get the loops to the other end piece, slide the other end piece up between the pegs where the loops are. Then transfer them one at a time to the right peg beside by lifting up and over from the back of the new end pieces pegs. 

Once all loops have been transferred they will look like this.

Next, just slide the first end piece out from behind and your loops will now be placed on the second end piece all ready to knit the next row. Your working yarn will always be to the left of the pegs.

Just keep repeating this method to knit your scarf as long as you want.

OPTIONAL TRANSFER METHOD 

Now if you are really brave, this is an easier and faster way to transfer your loops!

Take your second end piece and position your empty pegs under the looped pegs. I sort of wiggle the empty pegs back and forth a bit to make sure they are in the loops. Now, here is the scary part...

In one fluid motion tilt the end piece with the loops up so that the loops fall onto the empty end piece. Be sure that the pegs that are empty keep touching the other end piece the whole time!

This is so much easier than it sounds and is much faster than transferring the loops one at a time! But, if you are faint of heart or just a scaredy cat, then by all means transfer your loops the way I explain above. Your scarf doesn't care! LOL

I hope you'll give this method a go, as I am sure you'll find that it is much faster than using the knitting board and less stressful. It is also easier on the hands than using knitting needles. What ever way you decide, I hope I've encouraged you to try one of theses scarves. The hardest part will be finding the yarn!

" Have a blessed day!"

Ruffled Scarves using Netted Yarn

It's been awhile since I've posted here on my blog. I tend to put my projects on Ravelry and then completely forget to blog about them. I've been busy recently knitting some Christmas gifts. After the first of the year I'll blog about what I made and show some photos.

I recently saw this video from Isela showing a ruffled scarf she had made using a knitting board. I thought it was beautiful and had never seen or heard of this net type of yarn. She used Katia Triana which usually sells for about $12 per skein. The first thing I did was scour the internet searching for these types of yarns. These are the brands I found and the prices they usually sell for.

 

Sundance Frill - $4
Premier Starbella - $6
Red Heart Sashay - $7
Hobby Lobby Chrysalis - $7
Bernat Twist and Twirl - $7
Patons Pirouette - $8
Katia Triana - $12
Knitting Fever Flounce - $12
Rozetti Marina - $12
Rozetti Marina Glitz - $17
Frill Seeker - $15

These skeins normally have about 33 yards which doesn't sound like much, but is plenty to make a 60" or longer scarf. The Red Heart Sashay, Bernat Twist and Twirl and Patons Pirouette you may be able to find locally at Hobby Lobby, Michaels or AC Moore. Hobby Lobby has their own brand called Chrysalis. My Michaels carried none of these and Hobby Lobby said they sold out of their brand as soon as it came in. The one day I was there they only had a butt ugly green color. LOL

Every place online that sold this type of yarn either only had awful colors left or they were back ordered and out of stock until the end of this year or February 2012!

I finally lucked up and found some on ebay!

So, while waiting on my yarn to arrive I tried one with some Lion Brand Ruffles yarn that I had purchased a year or more ago and it came out nice too, although different from the net type yarns. It has since been discontinued. I mixed the white and tweed every other row as I wasn't sure I'd have enough.

It came out 60" and used a whole skein of the white and one of the tweed.

I've been using size 10.5 DPN's to knit mine and have been CO only 6 or 7 stitches which is plenty. However, after about the 3rd scarf my left hand was very sore from the way I had to hold the needles to keep the stitches from slipping off. Which by the way is very easy to do. I crochet too but found it was just too hard to make these that way and I preferred the needles to using the knitting board as well. I just thought there had to be an easier way. Well, there is!!!

I remembered my end pieces that came with my adjustable knitting board. They have 8 pegs and work wonderfully! Using them is so fast and you don't have to worry about losing your stitches or your hands hurting. So, you say why not just use the knitting board like Isela shows in the video? I did try that way, but found it too fiddly and aggravating having to keep the work pushed down in the middle of the board. Plus having to put the loops from the yarn on the back side of the pegs, transferring all loops to the other side of the board after each row and continually turning the knitting board. For me just entirely too frustrating. So, in my next post I'll try to explain using the end pieces and show lots of photos as well. For me this way is so much easier and you may find that true too.

So, until then try to find some of this new type yarn and watch some videos on youtube showing how to use this yarn.

" Have a blessed day!"