Knitting a lengthwise scarf

I have recently finished a sweater featuring a wide rib design with strong sideways stripes in the body and plain sleeves. I worked this in a lovely soft blue and white colourway and it has been a great addition to my late summer/almost autumn wardrobe. However, I still have quite a bit of yarn left over, so I am wondering what to make next… maybe a scarf?

And that set me thinking about all the questions we consider when starting a new project:
.  Who will this be for?
.  Is this for immediate use as an early autumn project or for later?
.  What yarn and stitch pattern do I want to use? etc

Well, if that’s not enough decisions already for one morning, let me add one more query: 
.  Do I want to knit this scarf lengthwise or from side-to-side? 

So I thought I would look at some scarves that are worked in each direction and consider the pros and cons of each approach.

So what are the advantages of working a scarf lengthwise? 

… It’s great for meditative knitting… I have mentioned before that I enjoy knitting items sideways. I love that quiet, contemplative feeling that descends on you as you work the same pattern over and over along the row. You can watch the world go by, listen to a good audiobook or watch the leaves drift down outside.

… and when travelling or knitting in a group… And of course this makes it good choice when you are travelling or when you are knitting in a group. You glance down at your pattern, see what you have to do for the next row and you are then set for a good 20-30 minutes of chat and coffee before you need to turn to the other side and think about what happens next.

In striped scarves, such as the Avebury Scarf pictured above, this means you don’t even have to think about colour changes very frequently either. There is a new colour every few rows, but you can safely leave that yarn at the other end of the work for some while as you work.

… It seems to be faster… But one of the chief advantages of working scarves sideways for me is that they seem to work up faster. Perhaps this is for the very same reason – that you don’t have to keep stopping, thinking, working yet one more border pattern etc. Once the knitting ‘memory’ is set for that row, then all you have to do is work it over and over.

The Cambourne Scarf in the photo above and at the top of this blogpost is a case in point. This is worked in a fairly chunky yarn and yes, it did seem to take a while to complete the first row. However, I was genuinely surprised at just how quickly I finished the edge contrast colour and had to change to the main colour yarn. Then it was only a short while afterwards that I seemed to be casting off.

… and is comfortable to work… I use a 150cm/60 ins circular needle for this type of project and I find that this just sits easily in my lap. It seems to be a very comfortable way to knit without the weight of a growing scarf pulling the needles down. The weight is distributed through the whole needle cord which just loops gently on my knee and allows a smooth flow of stitches as I work. 
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That works well when travelling, too, as it is easy to quickly coil up my work and put it away when we are getting near our stop.

… It also really suits some patterns… Some stitch patterns also seem to work better when used lengthwise. For example, the Kimpton Scarf pictured above is worked in Dropped Garter Stitch from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book.

​This is a pretty pattern and does work nicely when used sideways. However, the lengthwise patterning in the Kimpton Scarf brings out an extra dimension and gives a beautiful result.

So what are the disadvantages… 

… There are a lot of stitches… Well, firstly there are a lot of stitches to cast on so you’ll need to count carefully when you are starting. In the photo above, you can see that I use thread markers to help me with this and I am going to chat about that more next time. 

Also it can take a long while to finish a row, so the old adage “Just one more row before sleep” can lead to very late bed-times if you are not careful!

… Your Cast-On is important… Your cast-on and bind-off also need to be worked fairly loosely, as these form the sides of the scarf. If you have cast on too tightly, then you might end up with the sides pulling in, which is never a good look.

… as is gauge… You will also need to check your gauge well before starting as it is hard to adjust the length of the scarf afterwards. You could add a fringe if it is a touch short, but what to do if it is too long? That is harder to adjust and might also lead to the scarf being heavier than it needs to be.

… You might run out of yarn or have yarn left-over… Another factor, especially with a deeply-textured scarf like the Grantchester Scarf pictured above, is that the patterning can eat into your yarn quickly.

With a scarf worked from side-to-side you can often knit to the very last few metres/yards of yarn. However, the same is not true with the lengthwise method as you might not have enough for such a long row. You could stop a row sooner if the pattern allowed, but then the scarf might not be as wide as you wanted it to be and you would have yarn left over too.

.  . . . .

So there are definitely pros and cons to both approaches. However, I think I have made my decision. It’s going to be a sideways knit scarf and I think my new Avebury Scarf pattern would look lovely in this soft blue and white colourway. 

I’ll just make a cup of tea and get an audiobook set up then I’ll start casting on! I’ll put a project page up on Ravelry now, then add some photos when I’ve finished. 

Until next time – Happy Knitting!

Moira

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