Plaid

A few weeks ago my youngest asked about the possibility of knitting him a scarf.  You cannot imagine my excitement at the request.  He did say that he was 'picky'...imagine a 24 year old guy that is very particular about his clothes kind of picky.   Game on!

I started the process immediately by searching Ravelry for an appropriate pattern to suit him.  His request was fairly simple- he wanted something plaid, in fact one similar to the 'fake cashmere' one he bought for himself.  Definitely did not want argyle or stripes or 'fancy' cables...so off I went on a search for the perfect plaid.   Ran into a few problems, the largest one being my youngest not liking any of the patterns that I found.

After a few days I did discover a pattern that I thought would work...maybe a bit weird, but the faux plaid was very similar to the scarf my youngest liked.  It was weird in that it was a pattern for a plaid mini skirt!   After a trip to the library for the book and a few calculations I decided against it.  The skirt was knit using bulky yarn and after changing the gauges and playing around with the pattern it just wasn't quite right.  I ended up finding a pattern just as weird though...how about a bolster pillow as my inspiration?  You bet & it worked out perfectly for a plaid scarf.  Hopefully my youngest likes it as much as I do.

Details
Pattern:  Family Pillows (modified)

Yarn:  Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool, Worsted / 10 ply, 100% Wool, 250 yards / 113 grams in denin (~150 yards) & black (~100 yards); Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Worsted / 10 pl, 50% Alpaca, 50% Wool, 215 yards / 100 grams in a light gray (~22 yards) and a very small amount of Patons Classic Wool Merino,

Worsted / 10 pl, 100% Wool, 223 yards / 100 grams in cream

Needle:  US 7, Addi's

Gauge:  really did not measure nor did it matter

Size:  Post Blocking 7' x 72"

Modifications:  CO enough stitches to get a full pattern repeat and knit flat rather than in the round.  Continued the pattern until I reached a nice length.  I stopped the pattern halfway through in order for the pattern to match the cast on edge when worn. 

Once dried after blocking I measured and cut an appropriate length of gray fleece to line the scarf.   I sewed the 2 layers together using an overcast or whip stitch so that there would be a bit of give & take between the two.  It worked terrifically and covers up the knitted back which wasn't all that attractive.  Also solved the huge problem of rolling that stockinette loves to do.  I love the end product...it's warm & cozy.  It's been mailed & now waiting to hear if the youngest actually likes it.  Time will tell.

Well heard from the youngest and I failed expectations...he doesn't like the "stiffness and style", but does like that it was "soft".  Oh well I gave it a shot.  On the other hand he liked the vest that I sent along with the scarf...so I'm 1 for 2.  At some point I'll try again with a skein of cashmere...what's not to like about cashmere!