Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Hearts Scarf Pattern

Hearts Scarf

This scarf is based on Heart by Stephannie Roy, published in Knitty, Fall 2004. It's not different enough to publish in a magazine, but it's different enough (in my opinion) to post here. Here's my pattern/recipe for my Hearts Scarf:

Needles: 6.5 mm (US 10.5)
Hook: 5 mm (US H8)
Yarn: KnitPicks Decadence, one ball (official specs: 100% Superfine Alpaca, Bulky Weight, 3-3.5 sts=1" on #9-11 needles, 121 yards/100 gram hank); and Noro Cash Iroha, two balls (official specs: 40% Silk, 30% Lambswool, 20% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, Worsted Weight, 99 yards / 40 gram hank). The edging actually uses only a bit more than one ball, but a single ball will not be sufficient.

Heart Pattern:
Row 1 (RS): k3, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk, k3
Row 2 (WS): (and every wrong side row) purl
Row 3 (RS): k2, k2tog, yo, k7, yo, ssk, k2
Row 5 (RS): k1, k2tog, yo, k9, yo, ssk, k1
Row 7 (RS): k2, yo, ssk, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3, k2tog, yo, k2 (17 stitches)
Row 9 (RS): k3, yo, [sl1kw, pnso, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, pnso, k1], yo, k3, yo, [sl2kw, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, pnso, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, k1], yo, k3 (15 stitches)

In that last row I used a bunch of non-standard abbreviations. Here are their expansions and explanations:

sl1kw: slip one stitch knitwise
pnso: pass next stitch over: like psso, but on the left needle... pass the second stitch in over the rightmost stitch on the needle.
sl1pw: slip one stitch purlwise
sl1b: slip one stitch back to left needle purlwise
sl2kw: slip two stitches knitwise

What I'm doing with this bizarre set of instructions in the square brackets is decreasing four stitches down to one in such a way that I have nice rounded tops to the lobes of the hearts.

First Half of Scarf:
Cast on 15 stitches and work four rows of stockinette.
Set Up Row #1 (RS): k5, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k5
Set Up Row #2 (WS): purl
Set Up Row #3 (RS): k4, k2tog, yo k3, yo, ssk, k4
Set Up Row #4 (WS): purl
Work heart pattern, starting with row #1, and continue until you have 10 hearts. Place stitches on holder and break yarn.

Second Half of Scarf:
Work as for first half, but after completing the 10 hearts, continue in stockinette stitch until you have approximately two feet of yarn left. Graft both halves together and work in ends.

Border:
Row #1 (RS): Beginning near a corner, single crochet (sc) around the entire scarf, making sure the stitches are spaced so that they don't distort the scarf. Use a slip stitch (sl st) to join in round. Slip stitch to third stitch from corner.
Row #2 (RS): *Skip two sc, 6 dc in next sc, skip two sc, sl st in next sc, repeat from *. Near each corner, fudge numbers of sc skipped so that an 8 dc shell is worked at the corner. Slip stitch to join round, break yarn, pull through and weave in end.

Finishing: Block to remove curl.

Pattern copyright © 2007. This pattern may be distributed for free if source is cited. For distribution as part of a for sale publication, or to make item for sale, please contact me for licencing terms.

23 comments:

Kelli said...

OOOOhhhh, and it's even more beautiful in person. :-) I was so surprised to get this in the mail today! Thank you thank you thank you! I love it and am having a good time showing it off!!!

Montreal Mama said...

That is a cute pattern! Thanks for sharing.

noricum said...

Kelli: Yay! I'm glad you like it! :) (I do manage to be sneaky about some things!)

Knitting Mama: Thanks and welcome! :)

Deneen said...

It's beautiful!

katiebug815 said...

In just saw this scarf in my All Free Knitting post thingie. I'm so glad I clicked on it to see what the pattern sounded like. This is going to be my next project. It's beautiful. I will probably do it in different yarn, so I will let you know how it comes out. Thank you for sharing.

noricum said...

Thank you! I hope you like the result. :)

Toby said...

I LOVE this pattern and you're a genius to have turned a most complicated lace pattern (which I purchased) into a better looking heart and something at least I can manage. I ripped the original out 10x before I gave up!Yours is easy to follow. On row 5 you have written ssi, but I think you mean ssk. Other than that, I love this scarf and I'm almost finished! I can't wait to check out your other patterns!

Claire said...

i'm really sorry to say this as it is a lovely scarf, but the pattern is totally incomprehensible - the non standard abbrevs are completely mystifying.... have gone back to the Knitty one.

noricum said...

Toby: Yes, you are correct. Sorry about that!

Claire: I assume you're referring to [sl1kw, pnso, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, pnso, k1], and [sl2kw, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, pnso, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, k1]? Here's the long description of each, in English. To make things a bit clearer, let's label the four rightmost stitches on the left needle "D, C, B, A" (so A is the one that, if we were knitting stockinette, would be knit next).

For [sl1kw, pnso, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, pnso, k1]:
Slip stitch A from left needle to right needle knitwise. Pass stitch C (on the left needle) over stitch B (also on the left needle). Slip stitch B (purl-wise) over to the right needle, then pass the first slipped stitch (A) over it. Slip stitch B back to the left needle (purl-wise), then pass stitch D over it. Finally knit B normally.

For [sl2kw, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, pnso, sl1pw, psso, sl1b, k1]:
Slip stitch A then stitch B knitwise to the right needle. Slip stitch C to the right needle. Pass stitch B over stitch C, then slip C (purlwise) back to the left needle. Pass stitch D over stitch C. Slip stitch C (purlwise) back again to the right needle. Pass stitch A over stitch C. Finally, pass stitch C (purlwise) back to the left needle, then knit it normally.

The "center" stitch (B in the first decrease, C in the second) is always slipped purlwise, so that it doesn't change orientations on the needle. Stitches to the right of the center stitch are slipped knitwise, so that they are reoriented, and thus are untwisted when passed over the center.

Does that help?

I'm sorry it's a bit confusing. It is hard to write down what makes sense visually when I do it myself. Of course, right now I'm incorporating whipper-snipper cord into my crochet, so perhaps I'm a bit mad? ;)

Claire said...

gottit - thanks so much the explanation made it all totally clear - I think I was probably being a bit thick too! Scarf all made and looks gorgeous XX Claire

noricum said...

Yay, I'm glad that made things clear! :) I probably shouldn't have bothered trying to abbreviate something as bizarre as that... or just given it a short abbreviation like "d4l" and "d4r" (decrease four left/right), each of which has the full written-out directions.

Anonymous said...

What is the measurement for the main heart pattern without the crotchet border? i really like the scarf but don't much care for the border. i would rather have a different border i can knit in depending on the width fo the main pattern.

Anonymous said...

what is the width of the main heart pattern? i really like the heart pattern but would rather have a different border i can knit in if the scarf pattern is not wide enough.

noricum said...

It would depend on the gauge you're getting. Given that you cast on 15 stitches, if you knit at 3 stitches per inch, that would give you 5" wide. If you knit at 3.5 stitches per inch, it would be a bit over four inches. It's a fairly narrow scarf. You could also just make the scarf several stitches wider, and center the pattern, to make it wider. (You'd need more yarn, of course.)

Anonymous said...

Where can I buy a scarf like this? Do you sell them?

noricum said...

I don't sell them, but you could learn to knit and crochet (this scarf uses both techniques) and make one for yourself using the pattern. Or you could ask at your local yarn shop if they know any knitters-for-hire... but, in general, people aren't willing to pay what the item is worth in terms of time and materials. (I can't remember what I spent on the yarn, but, looking at what I call for, the materials alone would be more than $30, and that's not including paying for the time involved.)

knitted bits n pieces said...

Hi the pnso sounds so confusing can this be knitted all in one piece

knitted bits n pieces said...

Hi is there anyone who can help me with the pnso etc as this is soo confusing

noricum said...

Knitted bits n pieces: have you read my July 11, 2011 comment? I describe the pnso in more detail there.

knitted bits n pieces said...

Hi I've just casted on 15 sts for this it's looks as if it's gonna be very small I'm using double knit wool and 4 mm needles as states on band of wool can this be knitted in one piece

noricum said...

If you switch from a bulky yarn to a dk yarn then yes, it's going to give you a *very* small scarf.

If you knit it in one piece, then the hearts will all go the same direction and not have matching ends.

CimarronCowgirl said...

What does your finished Heart Scarf measure?

noricum said...

I can't remember now, and it was a gift for a friend so I don't have it any more. I think it was about five inches wide, and a bit longer than the towel (bath sheet) I was blocking it on.