Moebius Scarf Experiment

Sorry I didn't write last week.  Lots has been going on here and time got away from me.  I'm sure the same thing happens to you!

Anyway, this week I wanted to share with you my experiment in knitting a moebius scarf.  I found the pattern here.  I first saw this scarf by Cat Bordhi a couple of years ago when my sister-in-law was knitting one.  I knew she had to buy extra long cable needles and that it took a special cast-on.

These are the needles that I ordered from Loveknitting.com.  They are circular needles, size 10 (6.0MM) and 100cm (40") in length.  I found that the 40" length was by far plenty long and if I would have ordered longer cable needles I think it would have been too hard to work with.

There are lots of patterns out there that are called moebius but a true moebius has only 1/2 turn.  The trick to this pattern is found in the special cast on created by Cat Bordhi.  Here is the link to Cat's video of the special cast on.

 
Here's a picture of how the scarf looks on the needles after doing a few rows.  The circular needles are in a "circle" and they stay that way throughout the whole time you are knitting the scarf.  You do need to place a "special" marker for the beginning of the round.  A round means you will knit the stitches on both the "circles" of the needle.

(Please excuse my homemade yarn markers - I used these markers for the actual pattern of the scarf).

 

So, in this photo I have tried to show the "1/2 twist" of the scarf.  It's really magic how this scarf comes together as you are knitting it.

If you can imagine a round collar and that collar has two layers - this is how this scarf comes out.  You knit from the "inside out" from where the stitches are on the needle.  One side will be "knit" and the opposite side will be "purl" as can be seen from this photo.  You can see the knit stitches on the gold needles at the top of the photo and the purl stitches on the red cable at the bottom on the photo.

Here's a better close up of the scarf.  If you look exactly in the middle of the scarf, this is where I started knitting.  From there, the stitches are purl on one side and knit on the other side.

Here's another view.  So, when this scarf is completed, the "purl" side will lie on top of the "knit" side.  It makes it look like a double collar but it will have a one-half twist in it (you can see the twist on the right hand side).

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 Here's a close up of the "double collar" effect of the scarf:

I didn't spend much money on this project other than purchasing the needles (under $10.00) and this was aran weight yarn that I had leftover.  I really had fun doing this scarf and teaching myself the cast on.  Believe me, if I can do it you can do it.

On a side note, I did cast on too many stitches and my scarf came out a little longer.  So, pay special attention to Cat's instructions on how to count the stitches.

Lilly My Cat will be away for a few weeks so this will be the last post until late November.  Please visit again before Thanksgiving.  There should be lots of fun ideas, travel tips, etc., to share with you.

Until then, thank you for visiting and please remember to visit Handmade Monday where you will find some wonderful craft ideas.

With my best wishes for a wonderful week,
Pat (Lilly's Mom)

Pattern Link to Undulating Waves Knitted Scarf

Greetings from windy, dry and hot southern California. The Santa Ana winds have made their appearance this weekend and it hasn't been nice.  Luckily we have survived the wind except for a bunch of leaves in the pool.  Next week we are suppose to have "normal" fall like temperatures for our area if I believe the weather forecast.

I loved reading  Gertie's post a couple of weeks ago.  She shared how many works in progress she has.  This currently describes my situation.  For years and years, I would only work on one item at a time.  Well, that changed when I thought about all the wonderful projects I wanted to start and I then began working on more than one project at a time.

As you may recall, I am still knitting away on a large afghan for my daughter.  In the meantime, I have started a crocheted scarf with some wonderful silk yarn that was given to me as a gift.  I also have another knit scarf to begin.  I thought these two scarf projects would be great to take on my trip since they don't take up too much room.

In the meantime, this week I started this undulating waves scarf pattern.  I had seen the scarf in a local yarn shop a couple of years ago.  They wanted me to take a class, buy a kit, etc., to learn how to make the scarf.  I've never taken classes and I like to figure out patterns by myself.  I was searching for a beaded pattern and I found this scarf pattern.  It's the exact scarf that was in the yarn shop.

I should have purchased some proper yarn for the project, but I had this sock yarn and these glass beads so I thought I would give it a go.

The pattern is frustrating and makes me think all the time while I am knitting.  This is not fun for me but I do like the way the pattern is taking shape. 

If you would like to try this scarf, first you need to download the scarf pattern.  If you google images using undulating waves scarf you will see all kinds of yarn that was used.  Here is my version:

 

The scarf has not been blocked yet so it's a bit too wavy in the knitted parts.  Here's close up:

If you are a Amazon buyer, there's some great deals on 1/2 hanks of 6/0 glass beads. They are already strung and will be easy to transfer to  your yarn.  This scarf would take more than a 1/2 hank so you would need to order two 1/2 hanks.  I do hope you will enjoy this pattern.

Lastly, I am celebrating my birthday tomorrow.  It's not really my birthday yet but on my real birthday I will be having tea at the Ritz in London.  My husband and friends will have a party for me tomorrow at my home.  I decided to bake my own birthday cake.  Here's the Danish kransekage that I made.

 

As usual, I wish you each of you a wonderful, fun filled week.  And, remember to stop by Handmade Monday and check out some great craft ideas.