Celebrate Scarves with 3 Free Patterns

I'm a fan of any project of the flat rectangle variety—pot holders, blankets, and things along those lines—and I think I make more scarves than anything else. Part of that is probably because I live in Colorado, but I also think that scarves may just be the perfect project.

From a spinning viewpoint, scarves take a relatively small amount of fiber, and they're a great way to sample a new fiber or new technique. Unlike structured clothing items like sweaters, there's no right or wrong size for a scarf, so you can experiment with huge bulky yarns for a thick, warm scarf or try your hand at spinning laceweight for an airy spring scarf.

On the knitting/weaving/crocheting side of things, scarves are great for any level of crafter. A simple garter stitch, single crochet, or plain-weave scarf is a great beginner project, and more advanced crafters can kick things up a notch with lace, cables, intricate edging, and anything else they can imagine. Scarves are portable and quick enough that if you have a terrible case of "unfinished-project-itis" like I do, you can finish them before your attention turns to something else.

I think about scarves the way some people think about shoes—you can never have too many! You need a heavy scarf for freezing cold days, a light scarf for almost-but-not-quite-warm days, a blue scarf, a brown scarf, a casual scarf, a dressy scarf.

To celebrate the scarf, we've created a FREE DOWNLOAD with three great patterns:

• The Morning Surf Scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer is one of our most popular scarf patterns. The undulating stitch pattern is easy to memorize, and a handy table details needle sizes and suggested number of cast-on stitches for a wide range of yarn sizes.
  
• Carol Rhoades' Plush Pygora Scarf uses a stitch pattern that's perfect for the beginning lace knitter. The pattern is simple yet beautiful, and it gives the scarf a pretty scalloped edge.
  
• Charlene Anderson's guidelines for spontaneous knitting are perfect for stash busting. Her scarf is knit longways, with a different yarn on every rowthe perfect way to use up large amounts of remnant yarn!

Enjoy, and may your neck ever be swathed with soft handspun treasures!
Stefanie