The Orchid Scarf, or the OK, the Good and the Ugly

I've finally finished the Orchid Scarf, my first venture into the terrifying world of lace. Guided by advice from friends, various blog tutorials (particularly Eunny) and the Knitdevil herself, the Orchid Scarf flowed off my needles. It was also my first foray into lace blocking, and my love affair with blocking that began with the chevron scarf has been further fueled. How have I got by so far without this fantastic finishing technique?


The scarf is constructed in two parts and grafted together in the middle with Kitchener stitch. Conceptually so far, conceptually so good. The reality though is that I can tell which half of the scarf I knitted first, which is OK. The tension is reasonably even and really I am just being persnickety. The second half is good, and after blocking the two parts were virtually indistinguishable.


Now we come to the hard part - the ugly. I feel I need to be truthful about what I make, and it was especially tempting just to blog photos of the scarf arranged so as to cover up the graft.


Let me explain. I've only ever kitchenered sock toes before. Short and sweet with firm tension. (Can you see where this is going?) So I began grafting with gusto applying the same principles to this lovely, light, loose piece of knitting as I would a four ply stout wool sock. Luckily I was only about 12 stitches in before I realised my mistake, and then spent hours trying to reverse-kitchener. Its pretty tricky with a fine, dark yarn that has been pulled tight enough to frill. And then I had to undo some of the knitting because I'd managed to screw up the stitch order. And then I had to undone some more because I'd got lost. And then I got cranky, because I just wanted it done. And then nearly the whole afternoon had vanished. Anyway, after much bad tempered fiddling and doing the kitchener with my left index finger between the needles to make sure the tension was loose. It was finally done. But. Well. see for yourself.



I learnt a lot from this scarf - eg dont watch tellie shows with complicated plots when you are tired and expect to be able to knit lace at the same time; dont graft tightly; and while blocking has the power to make wonky things look much better than you ever expected, it wont cure them.

I'll post a pretty snap of the scarf later, maybe in situ around Aunty Norma's neck.

Thoughts of scarves

Prompted by that delicious hint of autumn crispness in the air, I've cast on two scarves. Sorry Evie my love, I feel like I am forsaking you. In my defence, even if I finish Evie quickly, I wont be able to wear her for months and months and months, plus, neither scarf is for me!

The first scarf on the needles is the Orchid Lace Scarf, for Aunty Norma for her 80th birthday. While Anne's scarf is a symphony of symmetry and precision, mine is looking a little mishapen and lumpy. I am hoping that it will emerge from blocking looking as elegant as the one on the pattern. As I've never blocked before, I'm a bit nervous about dunking my 100% Sundara limited edition and stretching it, but I'll seek advice from you all when the time comes.

Second on the needles is last year's scarf superstar - the Chevron Scarf. Every blogger seemed to be whipping one up out of Socks that Rock yarn. This was actually my introduction to the divine yarns produced by STR, and I order loads of different colour ways, cast on for myself a dozen times, but could never find a combination that did it for me. However a skein of Sundara sock yarn (courtesy her Seasons Yarn Club) in delphinium was lounging next to a skein of STR Stormy Weather, and between the two of the them they captured all the colours of a good friend's wardrobe. I was inspired to cast on again, and am rather pleased with my efforts this time.


Have any of you made a Chevron scarf? (Ask a silly question I'm thinking.) I've noticed that however much I fiddle with my tension, it tends to furrow as you can see in the photo. Is this another case where all will be solved by blocking, or do you think I need to adjust my tension again?