Monday, December 31, 2007

Last 2007 FO: Noro Iro Scarf

Last FO of 2007, at least officially. I am so close to finishing Dollar and a Half that I can taste it but unless I abandon all plans to get my house in gear and the food in the oven for the New Years party we're throwing tonight, it's not going to happen.

I fell in love with this scarf the first time I saw it, when Jared Brooklyntweed introduced it to the world, aptly naming it “You’re My Iro”, based on the material and presumably his reverence for what it turned into. It’s little more than 1 part common stitch and 1 part perfect yarn but mix it together and it delivers a beautiful scarf that to me, looked perfect.

I was, at the time, paralyzed by the sweater myth, but I wanted to knit Hart something and a scarf seemed low risk but meaningful. When we first started dating over 5 years ago, one of my first gifts to him was a beautiful deep orange scarf. He fell in love with it when he saw it at the store, thought about it often and once he owned it he has been wearing ever since. I knew that the scarf I would make him had to compete, almost trump his beloved orange faithful. I showed him Jared’s scarf to make sure he would be on board and he was.

For both men and women, I see this as the perfect neutral yet colorful, warm colorway, largely driven by it being contained to a scarf. It is rich and unique, yet classic and timeless – something that looked finished but also home made.


In terms of recipe, here it is:

Pattern: garter stitch - 19 stitches (jared did 17 stitches wide, I opted for 19 to make it wider)
Hardware: US 10 (jared used 11 but after swatching, I opted for size 10)
Software: Noro Iro in shade #47. I used about 1 and 3/4 hanks and it got me to
Time lapse: Finished in October and this took about 2 weeks –could have been done in a couple of days but I was switching back and forth between projects



In terms of how it looks, I personally love it. My photography doesn’t do it nearly as much justice as Jared’s, so if you’re considering knitting something similar, look to his for potential greatness.

In terms of the finished product, I finally blocked this about a month ago and Hart has been wearing it since. He thinks it’s a bit scratchy – and I can understand. Most scarfs, or ones you love to wear, if not made from cashmere are made from a beautiful soft wool that is so soft that you love to pull it around your cold neck.

I also perhaps would have considered reducing the needle size a bit for a tighter stitch. It’s not as warm as his faithful orange, and I wonder if doing a tighter stitch (and compensating by adding a few more stitches per row, to maintain the width) would have done the trick.

Finally, at least so far in its wearing history, the scarf isn’t as pliable/flexible as I would have wished. When you fold it, and then release the fold, there is a fold mark.

At this point I’m just nitpicking. Net net, I give this a thumbs up and I think Hart does too.


Happy New Year!

1 comment:

Macoco said...

That scarf is gorgeous. I love the subtlety of the colors.