Spool-knitted scarf no. 2

My parents and I always celebrate Christmas together on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day. And last Tuesday I was suddenly struck with the notion that that was only a few days away! And I still had to make my mother's scarf! AAAH! (erm, yes, you could say I panicked slightly...)

Good thing this knitting nancy I got works miracles. I did take some short cuts compared to last time, and knitted one long string of which I cut off pieces. Saved me the trouble of starting over every time, with yarn breaking etc etc...

Anyways, it took me a few hours (and a sore wrist...), but tadááá, here it is:

My mom was very pleased with it too, fortunately! Phew...

BTW: Merry Christmas everybody!

Knitted collar scarf

Turns out knitting is a lot like riding a bicycle: once you know how, you never unlearn ;-)
It's been a good 10 years since I last knitted something, but I had no problem picking it up again!

I was inspired by fellow China traveller N. to knit a collar scarf in the same wool I used for my bedroom slippers. She said hers took only 50 mins to complete (crocheting), but all in all I spent 3 nights on it.  (note to self: crafting is NOT a race!)

I didn't have a pattern, I just eyeballed it. I set up 60 stitches on no. 8 needles and knitted approx. 25cm K2P2 ribbing. I crocheted the seam closed and tadaah, another scarf done!


{photo to follow}

Spool-knitted scarf

And... we're off! My first project is finished and it took me 2 nights to complete.

Everybody remembers those mushroom-shaped knitting spools from when they were in school, right?
Well, apparently there are also hand-cranked spool-knitting implements (a.k.a. 'knitting nancys') that make spool knitting a breeze!
I had never seen one before, but last weekend I visited a craft fair and at one of the booths they were demonstrating a 4-needle knitting nancy. One of the projects that were shown was a scarf made of knitted strings. I thought it was very original and bought the knitting nancy and 2 balls of yarn on the spot!

So here's what I've been up to these past 2 nights:

The materials: a knitting nancy and yarn. Also used: scissors and a needle.

Progress after 1 night.

Finished scarf after 2 nights.

And this is what it looks like when worn!


You can find brief general instructions here. It appears a pattern of a spool-knitted scarf was featured in a Phildar knitting magazine sometime last year. You basically spool-knit 27 2-meter strings (as I only had limited yarn, I made fewer strings) of which you attach the ends together to make a circle. With a 28th piece of knitted string, you attach the other strings together, covering the sewn-together ends. Et voila!