Barter Scarf

It was time for something new. I had lived with my mouse-brown hair for years, but my hair had been golden blond for the first 35 years of my life and I still thought of myself as a blond, despite what I saw in the mirror.

So, I decided to get my hair dyed. I made a deal with my friend, Sharron May, who is a hair stylist (Beyond Salon, in Frankfort, Michigan). She would cut and dye my hair, and I would knit her a scarf. She wanted a scarf that would go with a jeans jacket. I showed her several possible yarns that I had in my stash, and she selected a blue cotton-rayon yarn by Classic Elite, “Imagine” (color # 9277).

She wanted the scarf to have some texture and some drape. I perused my many books of stitch patterns and decided to modify the “faggotted rib” in the Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches (Lyric Books Ltd, 1983).

Here's a picture of the scarf, modelled by my friend, Joan D.

Here’s the pattern for the Barter Scarf:

I used size 7 needles. It took 2 skeins of the yarn (about 180 yards total).

Cast on 23 stitches, using a knitted cast on (I like to twist the stitches as I cast them on). I’m using this cast on because it’s very elastic, and this scarf is a lacey pattern.

Knit 4 rows for a hem. Then start the pattern.

Row 1: k2; (k2, yo, ssk, p1) three times, k2, yo, ssk; k2.

Row 2: k2; p2, (yo, p2tog, p3) three times, yo, p2tog; k2.

Repeat these two rows for desired length.

Knit 4 rows for hem.

Bind off. I used a sewn bind off, again for elasticity.

Weave in ends. Block the scarf.

This scarf turned out to be about 5 inches wide and 55 inches long (blocked), and weighs 3.55 ounces.

Oh, and my hair? Platinum!