From scraps to scarf

When I inventoried the yarn I inherited from my mother, I separated materials by quantity and length. This was a necessary step in the organisation process because Mum saved smaller lengths of yarn than I generally do*, as her projects could be done with scraps as short as 6 inches. The process was done to organise the stash and better understand the collection.

As I worked, I thought about making scarves for my sisters. I started to develop an idea for a colourful infinity scarf with loads of random colour changes for one of them (Celeste). I envisioned something with a little texture, crocheted along the long edge with a combination of single, half-double, and maybe double crochet stitches. In my mind, it would be soft/loose stitches with 7-10 rows. Overall, a medium-weight scarf.

Of course, I hadn’t expected that the colour-sorting portion of the inventory process would inspire me towards a different look. But once I wrangled and detangled the scraps and partial skeins from Mum’s yarn collection, I saw the opportunity to create a true rainbow pattern. I still thought it would have loads of random colour changes, swapping colours when I ran out of one. And I still thought it would be a softer, loose-stitched scarf.

But I was working with an acrylic medium-weight yarn (most certainly a dependable Red Heart Super Saver) and you can’t really get “delicate” stitches out of the stuff. So, I opted to work with a simple stitch (HDC-BLO**) giving the scarf texture by crocheting in the back loops. To be clear, it wasn’t as easy as deciding on a stitch and making the scarf. There were several false starts as I worked out the right tension of the stitches and length of the scarf. (I have never crocheted something that didn’t include a restart at some point in the project. Don’t ask how many restarts Dad’s nap blanket took!)

In the end, the scarf I made is nothing like the one I imagined – except for it being very colourful with a few “random” colour changes mid-row. Instead of lots of soft texture with subtle colour changes, I’ve created a barely patterned, tightly stitched, bold rainbow scarf. Most of the colour changes happened at the end of a row, although there are a few in-row colour changes in the ROY-G bits of the ROY-G-BIV (ish) design just so that I could use as much of Mum’s yarn as possible. (You’d only know that colours changed mid-row if you look closely.)

So, no: it doesn’t have the softness that I had initially contemplated, in texture or appearance. But I think the boldness works, in an obnoxious and overly predictable way. (Which is a positive statement, no matter how it may read.)

Also, the scarf was finished nearly two years ago, but I didn’t know it was finished. That’s because I had initially thought I would create an infinity scarf of sorts – maybe with some bright buttons or some of Mum’s plastic canvas hearts as connectors. I also thought about creating a snap or button system, again with a plastic canvas heart, that would allow the scarf to close without “tying” it. (This probably doesn’t translate well in text form, but it looks amazing in my mind’s eye.)

When I was home over the summer, I explained to Celeste what I was doing and asked for her thoughts on an infinity scarf (or not). She apparently doesn’t like infinity scarves (I don’t blame her) so I knew I was closer to finished than I thought. Then, as I looked at the scarf again, contemplating the potential for the button system, I decided I was over-engineering things for no benefit so I ditched that idea.

And so, the scarf was finished. All I needed to do was hand it off to my sister, which I did on Christmas day. Job done… and now I’ll be ready to create the next Sister Scarf in the new year: A 1970s-inspired “afghan” scarf. Although based on the evolution of this scarf, it might end up being a brat-green hoodie by the time I’m done! (Watch this space to find out.)

* I rarely throw yarn and wool away. Instead, materials that are too short for crocheting are stored separately from my yarn stash as they are used for random craft projects, wrapping gifts, or (in the case of scraps 6 inches or less) to stuff sock monkeys or pillows.
** HDC-BLO = Half double crochet, back loop only