<p>Totally not art related, but thought I’d try here. Last year D lost her favorite scarf ($1.99 one I found at Goodwill, red with “Ecuador” on it, a wool blend maybe, not sure). So while at the mall we went to the Alpaca store, and looked for soft warm scarves, and found only one that met both criteria. Saw some all wool ones that I knew would be warm, but since she is very tactile - it has to feel right and those were scratchy to her- we only found one that met both criteria and that one was $30. I knew I could make one that was similar for less money, but let her get it anyway as I know the cold weather is coming soon. At the Minn fair, they had some nice ones in one of the wool booths, but I knew I couldn’t buy it one without her feeling it. Last year a friend crocheted her one from an acrylic that was not touch friendly to her.</p>
<p>Any ideas for a yarn (brand, fiber) that will be warm, yet soft? Also need a pattern for something that will be warm - many of the ones I’ve seen are loosely knit and are more like fashion scarves. It needs to be flexible enough to wrap around her face but still have some resistance to wind. Thos Minnesota winters are cold!! I can do a simple knit/purl pattern but that’s about it. Have never attempted a cable stitch!</p>
<p>I don’t knit so no help there. Has she considered a fleece scarf? I buy fleece at the fabric store and wear outside in really cold weather. You don’t even have to sew - just cut the size you want. They’re easy wash and dry. I have a son with tactile issues and he likes fleece so much that he sleeps on it (instead of sheets).</p>
<p>Some very tactile friendly yarns are alpaca, cashmere, silk and bamboo. (Bamboo is not particularly warm so look for it blended with merino wool, cashmere, silk or alpaca. Bamboo has luxurious hand and is naturally antibacterial.)</p>
<p>Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarn is a very, very soft, warm yarn. (Merino wool, cashmere, microfiber blend) I’ve knitted many scarves using it. It comes in a variety of colors and weights. It’s a forgiving yarn if your stitch tension isn’t even, but it’s too soft to really show good stitch definition of you’re knitting heavy textures. It’s best used with simple stitches.</p>
<p>Scarves are easy–in fact for the most part you don’t even need a pattern. (Unless you’re knitting lace…) Choose a variegated yarn or use a simple repeating stitch for an interesting texture. One I like is a double slipstitch–looks much harder than it is to knit–with a variegated yarn. Or a seed stitch in stripes. (BTW, both of those stitches avoid the dreaded rolling edge common in flat knit a row perl a row pieces.)</p>
<p>Cable patterns can be simple or complex, but generally are not terribly difficult so long as you pay attention to your row count. Make sure you match your cable needle to the weight of your yarn.</p>
<p>A seed stitch is simply K1, P1 but worked over an odd number of stitches. </p>
<p>Go to a local yarn shop and feel the yarns. You may pay less to order them online but it’s hard if you need to know what they feel like. Ravelry will give you every option under the sun for patterns. If you make it out of wool it will be pretty warm no matter what pattern you use. $30 worth of yarn, plus a pattern and needles, may not make a scarf. Good wool yarn can cost a bundle.</p>
<p>If you go to places like JoAnn and Michael’s you will find Lion Brand yarn. It is pure wool and quite inexpensive. I don’t use it because I suffer from wool itch, though.</p>
<p>I make a lot of scarves, because I enjoy knitting, and one thing that’s not immediately obvious is that a thin yarn, knit loosely, which looks almost lacey, is actually quite warm, because the holes trap air. However, thin yarn, knit loosely, has a tendency to get longer and longer as it’s worn. </p>
<p>I find it takes about 300-400 yards of yarn to make a nice scarf, one that is 6" wide and about 4-5 feet long. If I’m not familiar with the yarn, I do a quick swatch to figure out how many stitches wide that is. Usually it’s around 40 to 50 with a medium-weight yarn. </p>
<p>My older sisters like their scarves smaller than that, about 4" wide and about 4 feet long. They wear them wrapped around their necks indoors too.</p>
<p>My all-time favorite pattern for warmth and looks is to knit in two colors as follows: cast on a number of stitches that is divisible by four (aiming for a width of about 4 to 5 inches, unstretched, in rib knit). Knit for two rows in knit-two, knit purl (as you would to create ribbing). Change to the other color for two rows and continue to knit in the same pattern. It creates a ribbed, stretchy, very warm scarf. If you use two variegated yarns, it can look amazing. This is a photo I found of one on FLickr: <a href=“http://farm3.static.■■■■■■■■■■/2739/4061256191_3d187204fd.jpg[/url]”>http://farm3.static.■■■■■■■■■■/2739/4061256191_3d187204fd.jpg</a></p>
<p>I sent that link to my D, BB.
She doesn’t make scarves anymore because - too boring.
I also like the looser ones dmd77, they are very warm I agree.
love alpaca- but I have several rayon/wool/some unidentified fiber scarF/shawls from thrift stores & they are very warm too.
( but I am always cognizant of how long they are- don’t want an Isadora Duncan incident.)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info - love the DNA, but I’m not sure I could pull that one off. Found some yarn at Joanne’s, Sensations Angel Hair, very soft and comes in great colors. Is 22% wool, 50% acrylic and 28% nylon. Not sure what size needle to use and how much to get, so I didn’t buy it. I have a post on a knitters forum regarding those 2 questions, so hopefully I can started on it soon and have a chance to get it done before Xmas!!</p>
<p>Somebody in Minnesota made me a sweater in a soft white wool in a similar pattern to the DNA sweater. I then made an afghan of a similar design - lots of cables and popcorn stitching. It is pretty advanced knitting and if you don’t have perfectly even stitches the design is warped. But it is gorgeous.</p>
<p>I am mainly a weaver, and somebody mentioned bamboo as being a warm fabric if mixed with a synthetic. I’ve made a scarf out of bamboo and rayon that I discovered was warm this past Spring when it started to get warm, and the scarf was really hot!</p>
<p>One thing the webpage mentions and I do all the time is knit using two or even 3 different yarns held together and used as a single yarn. This gives interesting color and texture to even plain stockinette or garter stitches. (Plus you can mix in a not so warm fluffy rayon with a plain wool or mercerized cotton and still get a warm scarf.)</p>
<p>Another trick to try is to knit the scarf lengthwise using a long circular needles and casting on about 140 (or more) stitches. You can easily make lengthwise stripes this way.</p>
<p>Another interesting technique is to knit the whole scarf then at the very end deliberately drop 1-2 stitches evenly space across the piece and unravel them the whole length of the scarf, then weave ribbon or a specialty yarn thru the ladders formed by the dropped stitches.</p>
<p>Scarves are so much fun to knit! They’re so quick to finish and you can try lots of different ideas.</p>
<p>I second the fleece. So easy to make, my D made a bunch when she was 9yo for xmas gifts. Plus, you can get some very nice patterns and colors in the discount bin.</p>
<p>Another way to avoid the roll problem on scarves is to use circular needles or my favorite just do a 1 stitch ribbing. I’m not a fan of variegated yarn, but love stripes. </p>
<p>(I might have to take that back about variegated yarn looking at the chunky mochi patterns in WayOutWest’s links.)</p>
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