The Magic Of A Plain Garter Scarf

What a week! I promise not to stray too far from the scope of this blog, but I'm so excited to tell my lovely and gentle readers about my trip to NYC to promote KNITFreedom to the media.

Today, we'll talk yarn. And gorgeous men.

I left at the crack of dawn on Monday, and flew to Chicago, where I phoned with my web-mistress about my newly-updated website and published the quick iPhone cozy pattern.

On the plane to New York City, the most gorgeous guy walked onto the plane. Then he sat next to me! "Be awesome. Be awesome. Be awesome" the helpful voice inside my head said. As I asked him about the mini-guitar he had brought on the plane, and where he had flown from, I took out my Magical Beginner Scarf and began to knit.

When he asked, "What are you knitting?" I explained that this was a beginner scarf I was using to show that anyone can learn to knit. It took him about five minutes until he said, "Okay, so show me."

Men really are fantastic at learning to knit! They're not afraid to make mistakes, and they don't get scared when they mess up. Nico was a great student, and I came away with a wonderful appreciation for Argentinian air-traffic controllers, and the power of a garter-stitch scarf.

 

A garter-stitch scarf (where you knit every stitch, on every row) is like vanilla ice-cream: the ingredients must be sublime for the product to shine. For my trip to NYC, I really wanted to turn heads, with a plain ol' garter-stitch scarf. I chose a bulky-weight, 100% alpaca, handpainted yarn from MistiAlpaca: their Hand Paint Chunky. Normally I don't prefer to knit with 100% alpaca, because it is almost too warm, a little fuzzy, and doesn't hold its shape as well as wool.

But for a garter-stitch scarf, the handpainted colors really shone, and the stitch pattern had plenty of structure on its own. Here it is!

To make your own Magical MistiAlpaca scarf, buy 3 skeins on Hand Paint Chunky, cast on 20 stitches, and knit until you drop.

If you'd like me to teach you to knit, just download your free video e-book! In it, I show you step-by-step how to start from the right end of your ball of yarn, cast on, get comfortable with your needles, and knit your very own scarf.

Looking for something more intermediate? Check out the Bulky Cabled Legwarmers with Buttons - now in video tutorial form!

Up next: Regis and Kelly's policy on knitting...