SWS Striped Scarf

SWS Striped Scarf:
I had three half-skeins of Patons SWS yarn left over from other projects and didn't know what to do with them. The colors together reminded me of Noro yarns, and I kept seeing gorgeous Noro striped scarves on Ravelry, so I got inspired and managed to pick up three more skeins on sale to create this scarf. It's a very simple pattern, but the color changes in the yarn keep it exciting. It's knit in a tube so the finished scarf is extremely warm and cozy.





Materials: Patons SWS (Soy Wool Stripes), approx 4.5 skeins, or 500 yards. Any color combination that you want. Shown using 1 skein each of Natural Blue, Natural Green and Natural Slate, and .5 skeins each of Natural Navy, Natural Plum and Natural Garden.
Needles: Size 8 DPNs or circular needle
Gauge: 21 sts and 26 rows = 4''. Getting exact gauge is not too important since this is a scarf.
Finished dimensions: 6'' wide, 4.5' long without fringe, 5.5' with fringe

Cast on 64 sts, join in the round (Note: This makes a large scarf that is 6 inches wide. For a narrower or wider scarf, cast on or remove 11 sts for each inch you want to add/reduce). If you are using a circular needle, I recommend placing a stitch marker on your needle at this point to mark the start of the round. Knit 4 rows. Choose a second color that contrasts well with the color you started with. Tie this new yarn to your previous yarn on the inside of the tube, knit 4 more rows with it. Switch back to the first color, knit 4 rows. When you switch colors, keep the yarn on the inside of the tube so it will be hidden. You don't have to cut the yarn every time you switch colors, just run the color you're not using along the inside of the tube. Continue to knit stripes of 4 rows each, cutting the yarn and switching to a different colorway whenever you feel like it. (I recommend keeping at least 4 stripes between times when you switch in a new color, to keep the changes more gradual. I also recommend switching if you ever notice the two colorways you are working with have turned into very similar colors, as this will make the stripes hard to see. Do try to switch yarns every now and then instead of just using the whole skein, as this will make the colors more evenly distributed around the scarf and you won't end up with one half looking entirely different from the other half.) Keep knitting until you have 84 stripes, the scarf is at the desired length, you are close to running out of yarn, or you get sick of it. :) Cast off.

Fringe:
If you want to make fringe, try to keep a bit of leftovers from each ball of yarn you work with (If you don't want fringe- just sew the ends of your tube together and you're done). SWS would turn into fuzz if it was made into fringe the normal way, so I decided to do a braided fringe. Cut 66 12'' pieces of yarn (for scarf sizes other than 64 sts- Take the number of stitches you cast on, then round up to the nearest multiple of 3). Divide into two equal piles, one for each end of the scarf, trying to keep the colors evenly distributed between the piles. (Try and get as many different colors as you can when you cut the yarn for the fringe- I had a little bit left from each skein I used, and I cut pieces from both ends of them to get more colors.) Starting on the bottom edge of the scarf where the beginning of the round is, use a needle or crochet hook to thread each piece of fringe through a stitch on the front and the corresponding stitch on the back. Pull the piece of yarn so the ends are at an even length, then tie it in a single knot. Continue this for all the stitches along the end of the scarf for both ends, so the bottom of the tube is now tied closed. You will probably have to put two pieces of fringe through a single stitch at one point, unless you cast on a multiple of 3 sts for your scarf. Start at one end and braid adjacent pieces of yarn together, tying the bottom of each braid into a knot.

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