12.28.2008

Pattern: Last Hurrah Scarf
For: Me
Size: 7 1/2" x 54"
Yarn: 220 yds of my Stormy Skies Handspun
Needles: US 17 HUGE plastic needles
Timeline: started 12.25.2008; finished 12.27.2008

I had spun up this crazy mixed batt a while ago and the yarn was so squishy that I knew it would be great for a big, squishy scarf for me. I looked on Ravelry for a nice, simple pattern that would let me enjoy the yarn, and this pattern was perfect. I cast on using a cast-on I learned at a workshop with Susanna Hansson this year at Stitches Midwest; it's the spinners' version of the long-tail cast-on and it keeps the yarn from untwisting. I couldn't find it online anywhere, so I'll write out the directions below. The scarf is basically just one row repeated, and I simply knit until I ran out of yarn. I love it. I'm toying with the idea of blocking it a bit longer, but I have the feeling it will stretch out on its own.

Spinners' Version of the Long-Tail Cast-On
(Taken from Susanna Hansson's handout at her Great Beginnings workshop at Stitches Midwest 2008.)
"Adjust your hand position [from the typical long-tail cast-on position]. Instead of draping the yarn over your index finger and thumb, put your index finger between the two strands and the thumb "outside" the tail strand. Insert the thumb between the yarns from right to left. Now pick up the "inner" loop from the thumb and after that proceed as for the regular long-tail cast-on."
Just a note: I've found that I need to reposition my thumb at the beginning of every stitch I cast-on. I'm not sure if that's just me, but it's something to keep in mind as you use this cast-on.