To Frog or Not To Frog

General Knitting
1

Man, knit lingo is so odd-sounding to an untrained ear!

Here’s the scoop: I’m a very crafty person in general, but recently reintroduced to knitting (with GREAT thanks to this website!) and I very ambitiously decided that all my Christmas gifts for my boyfriend’s family this year are going to be knit works. Dad’s getting a big big scarf (he’s a big big guy), sister is getting a hat/scarf set, and mom and aunt are each getting two lighter (maybe lacy?) scarves.

Here’s the problem.

I started on the big big scarf for bf’s dad, purchased 4 rolls of worsted weight acrylic/wool blend in a camel/tan. It said 5 stiches per inch, and I wanted an 8-9 inch wide scarf, but I’m knitting in the round, so I figured 80-90ish stitches I should cast on. Well, I went with a nice round 100, not realizing how much those extra casts would shorted the final product.

I’m about halfway through the second ball of yarn (I’ve been knitting my heart out for HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS since saturday) and I realize that at this rate, the finished scarf will just barely go around the neck once, rather than being this long big big plush warm scarf that I envisioned.

I went back to the yarn store and I had gotten the last 4 in that color! I got 2 rolls of a similar but heathered version of the color, definitely a lighter color overall, thinking maybe I’ll just add some stripes to the bottom of each side and a few stripes around the middle where it the neck would be, use the rest of the 2nd ball and an equal amount of the 3rd for an all-camel middle chunk and the last ball and a half for an equal size of the bottom of the other side of the scarf. Does that make sense? I’ll take pictures if it doesn’t.

So here’s the question: It looks easy in principle but I’m afraid I’m not gonna be able to pick up the stiches from the bottom to add the heathered stipes. I get how to change colors when you’re working the one way (“bottom-to-top” even though that doesn’t really make sense when you’re talking about a scarf) but what about when you’re adding more to the bottom? Do I have to knit backwards?? How do I get the added part to have the little Vs match up with the bottom (what was the CO of the original)?

The whole thing is actually kinda full of holes and a little wonky, not bad but definitely a few imperfections. I thought very early on that 100 might’ve been too many to CO but I said ahhhh whatever and just marched on. Now I’m kinda regretting it. Should just started over then, but what if I keep going and keep going and have to start over at the very end! Ahh! I still have all these other projects to do…

As an aside from that, I’ve been working on a ribbed hat worked in the round on DPNs. This is fun!

Yay for knitting and hooray for this website!

2

I’m confused. Why are you knitting the scarf in the round? Are you trying to make it a tube so you have knit stitches all the way around? (Instead of having knits on the right side and purls on the wrong side other?) Are you using a pattern?
Thanks!

3

Well, I really like the stockinette stitch’s look, and I see that stockinette tends to curl. The solutions I’d seen were to either make it double long (or double wide) flat and then seam it together, or to knit it in the round. I would’ve opted for the first option but I like “knit knit knit knit” better than “knit purl knit purl” =T

So like, a twice thick scarf, I’m knitting the front and back of it each round so it’s like a reaaally long tube then I seam up each open end and presto scarfo.

And no, I"m not following a pattern… lol I thought it’d be too complicated!

4

Check into double knitting. After a regular cast on (even number of sts) do k1, sl on every row. The one you slip becomes the knit on the next row; the one you knit is slipped the next row. It makes a tube that’s joined at the bottom, stockinette on both sides and you don’t even have to join in the round. However, it eats up yarn too. You may want to consider using larger needles, maybe 2-3 sizes up, if you want to continue the pattern you’ve started.

5

just by knitting in the round and sewing the ends together when I’m done?

I love the look of stockinette and if it doesn’t curl this way (do I need to block it?), I’d love to have some mindless knitting for those times when I can’t concentrate but want to knit…

If the answer is yes, then say for a 6 inch wide scarf with a regular ww wool, how many to cast on (ball park figure) and what length cable?

Thanks in advance!!!

Laura

6

Here’s a thought. Frog it. Then hold two threads together at the same time and go with bigger needles (probably size 10.5 if not 11) Cast on fewer stitches but still knit in the round. YOu will get a thicker fuller scarf and it will go much quicker. I’m sitting here thinking if you get 5 stitches to the inch and you cast on 100 stitches that means that even if it is done in the round you cast on 20"inches worth of stitches equalling a 10" wide scarf when done. That’s a VERY wide scarf! Unless he is one of those African tribes that puts the rings on his neck he is going to be engulfed by this scarf! a 5" scarf would be fine, so you could half your stitches even at single strand and it would go quicker. And being doubled you could even go up a needle size and it will still be thick and warm.

Just some ideas.

7

You could still use the larger needles and only one strand though; since you’re going to double it, it won’t be too loose a knit. And I agree 6-7" is plenty wide. With size 10.5 you should get around 3.5-4 sts per inch, so you’d CO about 50 sts to knit in the round. You may have to use a magic loop because I think even a 16" needle might be a bit too long.

8

If it’s ww, I’d go with 60 sts on a size 10 16" circ. It should fit. Also it will be a little looser knit, but not “holey”, and end up about 7-8" across. JMO