My Second Contest Entry

I began my second contest project entry yesterday evening. I spent all day getting the first entry (the Cowl) listed on Ravelry. I had to become a designer on their site first, which involved a lot of "paperwork". Once that was done, I then had to get the pattern typed and saved as a pdf file. That took some more "paperwork" details. Once that was done, I then had to upload the pattern and post it for sale. In this case, I am "selling" it for free. I just want to get my patterns published this year. I can sell them later.

Now the new project uses the other required yarn from Juniper Moon Farm - Willa. I choose red because on Valentine's Day all red yarns at Knit Happens was 35% off the regular price. I only bought one skein and must design a pattern that uses only 153 yards of yarn. This is quite a challenge.

I decided to once again return to a prior design that uses the same cable/rib combination of the Cowl. Only this time, the cables and ribs are both on the same sides - front and back together. I decided to make a Scarf with this design using a five-row rib to start and finish the scarf. This way the scarf will hang without rolling at the edges.

I drew the graph showing the stitch pattern and then wrote the instructions from that. I began knitting and found that this new yarn is much heavier than the Chadwick. It has a gauge of 12 stitches and 15 rows per 4x4 inches. I went ahead and CO 37 stitches but found that the width of the scarf is now 7" instead of the 6" the earlier swatch had. That is okay but may make the scarf shorter than originally designed.

I found the knitting to be fine but see that the pattern is lost due to the thickness of the yarn. I have knit about 9.5 inches and keep studying the design.

See how the cables are indistinct from the ribs? I want them to "stand out" more.

I am not pleased with it but still want the scarf to be reversible so I don't want to change the design. I have thought about pulling out all the stitches and starting over with a different pattern. I considered a ribbed hat but must consider the options of that. First, one skein might not be enough to finish the hat and I don't want to use two skeins for this second project. Second, I think the hat would look better with all the cables on one side and the ribs on the other, thus making a reversible hat. This current design I am using and really want to showcase would not work as well. Third, in order to calculate the decreases for the cables necessary for the hat's crown would take longer than I want to spend on this project. The deadline is fast approaching. So I decided not to change patterns but see what I can do with the current design to make it "pop",

I am going to make the scarf shorter than originally planned. I want it to be a little longer than a choker but shorter than a scarf. I think, right now, that I will attach one end to the other with buttons so it drapes off center. I considered adding a buttonhole to one end with a button at the other, but dismissed this idea when I decided to just attach the end completely with buttons only. I considered adding beads at each cable juncture. I tried several different sizes and colors. The smallest gold ones look best and I  might still use them. But while they look pretty, the design is still not exposed clearly yet because of them. I then considered using a ribbon-like yarn of another color and weaving it around each cable. But I don't like that idea either; feeling it, too, will distract from the original design.

I studied the pattern more closely to evaluate why the design was not "popping". The thickness of the yarn was causing the cables and ribs to push against each other. Each separate entity was not recognizable. Remember they are both sharing the same side. So what I needed was space of some sort between them. But how to make this happen? I only have two stitches that separate the cables on the front from the cables on the back. Then I remembered that Gail from my Thursday morning knitting group had shown us a pattern for a scarf she was knitting. At the end of the scarf while binding off the stitches, certain stitches are "dropped", which causes a "run" in the garment. This is just like getting a "run" in a pair of stockings - same concept. Most of the time, if a stitch is "dropped" this is considered a mistake and causes a lot of anguish to the knitter; because the stitch has to be "chased", picked up, and carefully re-formed into the proper position it once held before "running away". Most knitters are not "happy campers" when this occurs. So to do this on purpose seems almost immoral, not quite right, something to avoid.

But if I do the same thing with my design, then there would be a "run" or open space running the length of the scarf. If chosen carefully, these "runs" can be between each of the cables and thus provide some space and maybe allow them to open up, stand alone more and "pop". It is worth a try. So I am going to continue the scarf for the shorter length and add the runs to the design. If this doesn't help, then I will consider something else, assuming there is enough time to re-design and re-make the project. Who knows, I may end up with a "winning" project. :-()