A new scarf pattern

This was concieved as an entry to a contest in which I placed fifth.

Unfortunately, the chart in Microsoft Excel was too difficult to put in Blogger, so I've edited this for the fact.

The swatch was too colorful to show the stitch patterns well; I promise to have a photo of a completed scarf and its details up on Ravlery before Spring, 2012 (I've got commitments for too much deadline knitting to promise it any sooner, I apologise).

Reversible Seaman’s "Health and Love" Scarf
Copyright © Mollie Jo Lazear 2011. Publication and distribution rights given to Knitcircus and to the WomenHeart group in Madison, Wisconsin. Copies may be made (with this notice included in its entirety) for individual use but not for resale. Scarves made from this pattern may not be sold except for charitable purposes.

Materials:
Any solid or semisolid DK or Sport weight yarn.
Size 4, 5, or 6 U.S. Knitting needles, pair of straight or a circular, or size to obtain gauge.
8 Stitch markers (optional)
Cable needle
Row counter (or paper and pencil)
Yarn needle

Size: Adult

Gauge: Whatever gauge required to make a fabric that feels right to you with your yarn. Swatch in Garter Stitch and adjust needle size until you are satisfied (or use the first 4 inches of the scarf as the swatch if feeling lucky).

Abbreviations
CN Cable needle
K Knit or knitwise
K2Tog Knit two together decrease
KFB Increase by knitting into the front and back of the same stitch
P Purl
SL1K Slip one stitch knitwise
St Stitch
Sts Stitches

Stitch Patterns
Slipped Garter Stitch: SL1K, K to last stitch, P1, every row.

Two knit over two purl crosses (timid knitters may substitute P2, K4, P2 ribbing):
Right Purl Cross (2/2 RPC) Slip next 2 sts to CN, hold to back of work, K2, P the 2 sts from CN
Left Purl Cross (2/2 LPC) Slip next 2 sts to CN, hold to front of work, P2, K the 2 sts from CN


The remaining stitch patterns are knit and purl stitch texture variations of rib, garter, stockinette, reverse stockinette, and moss stitches detailed in the chart.

Notes about the Design:
This scarf is designed to be reversible, there is no obvious right or wrong side. Please track each row for sanity’s sake. Use of sticky notes on the graph and a row counter on the needles is suggested. The following three-stitch border is used throughout the scarf: SL1K, K2, work to last 3 sts, K2, P1. This border is included in the chart.

Acknowledgements:
Thank you to the Christmas at Sea program for popularizing and promoting the Seaman’s Scarf shape and for decades of collecting and distributing contributed scarves; and to Lily Chin for alerting all to the fact that cables can and in some cases should be reversible. Special thanks to Amy Detjen for teaching me the twisted slip stitch edging used in her A Beginner’s Triangle shawl published in A Gathering of Lace.

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Beginnings:
Loosely Cast On 56 sts; work 15 rows of Slipped Garter Stitch.

Increase Row:
Increase 3 sts in the first 15 sts of the row and 3 in the last 15 sts of the row as follows:
SL1K, (K3, KFB) three times, K30, (KFB, K3) three times, P1.

Notes About Working the Chart:
Rows 1-32 have an extra K stitch in the edging. It may be helpful to place markers on either side of the work between the 4-stitch edging and the rest of the chart, and on either side of the center 22-stitch section, as this portion of the chart is designed so that aside from the edging and the center 22-stitch heart section, the even-numbered rows are worked by just knitting the knits and purling the purls as they appear. It may also be helpful to place markers on each side of the heart pattern as it emerges, between the heart and its background, as this is also true of the even-numbered rows within the heart.

If you've read this far and you're serious about actually knitting the pattern, email me at scoutrmom at hotmail dot com and I'll be glad to send you the Microsoft Excel file which contains the chart.


Next Steps:
Work chart rows 1-32, maintaining slipped edging, until scarf measures around 14-18 inches after a row 32 (depending on gauge). Note down how many times the chart was worked. Drop markers on next row.


Work chart rows 33-40 for an additional 18-22 inches, ending with one last row 33. Note that in this portion between the 3-stitch edgings, even-numbered rows are worked by just knitting the knits and purling the purls as they appear. (Alternate for those not comfortable with cables, between the 3-stitch edgings work a P2, K4, P2 rib on the right side, which translates to K2, P4, K2 on the wrong side.)


*Work a row 32, replacing markers; next work heart chart from top downwards to row 1 as many times as worked upwards. Don’t worry if gauge is slightly off, the scarf police are not running around with measuring tapes. If the difference in gauge could be noticed from the back of a galloping horse, rip back to * and adjust needle size until initial gauge is nearly matched.


Decrease Row:
Decrease 3 sts evenly spaced in the first 18 and last 18 sts of the next row as follows:
SL1K, (K3, K2Tog) three times, K30, (K2Tog, K3) three times, P1.


Last But Not Least
Work 15 rows of Slipped Garter Stitch. Bind off Loosely in Purl. Work in ends carefully, this is a reversible project. Enjoy, and please make another to donate to a worthy cause.
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About the Designer:
Mollie Lazear has a marriage of over 30 years duration, four grown children and one grandchild (so far), and has been knitting since her grandmother and mother taught her in childhood; she has been designing and teaching since attending Knitting Camp with Meg Swansen over a decade ago.

Copyright © Mollie Jo Lazear 2011. Publication and distribution rights given to Knitcircus and to the WomenHeart group in Madison, Wisconsin.
Copies may be made (with this notice included in its entirety) for individual use but not for resale. Scarves made from this pattern may not be sold except for charitable purposes.