Silk Kerchief:

We have been getting in a ton of new yarn at the shop over the last few weeks. It has been hard not to grab every new skein as it comes out of the box and cast on for something new. When the Silk Garden Sock arrived at the store, I had an especially hard time saying no and immediately cast on for -- what I was determined would be -- a Fair Isle beret. In my haste I didn't give the yarn enough time to really figure out what it did best and ended up with a mess of pretty, rock hard, unstretchy, tight (and painful to knit) corrugated rib. It became clear to me after a few days of fighting with the ribbing and subsequent Fair Isle stockinette that the yarn 1) just doesn't work at 8 sts/in and 2) has no stretch whatsoever and thus corrugated rib is not the best choice.

I was recently given a mess of square vintage scarves from my Nana and wear them a lot as little kerchiefs tied around my neck. I am pretty sure they are the best accessory ever, even without the sentimental attachment. Of course I have to transfer this love into knitting (fitting, as my Nana originally was the one who taught me how many years ago) and have been casting on and playing with the idea of a simple triangular scarf incorporating garter stitch since. I have a few going, but none of them are really exciting to knit or look at. After the beret was a bust (the more I write about it, though, I am determined to make it work) I grabbed a larger needle and cast on for yet another garter triangle.


And it worked.


I will be the first to admit that in lieu of a completely original design, the Kerchief is more of an interpretation and pairing of a few ideas into one. I did, though, compile a little pattern for those who are interested to see exactly what I did (and hopefully run with it an do some interpreting themselves).


Enjoy!