Free Scarf Pattern!

I finished the scarf! It is vibrant, soft, and squishy and I love it.

I made this pattern because I wanted a subtly striped scarf. After falling in love with this color I decided that instead of using two different colors, I would use two different textures to create noticeable, but subtle strips. This scarf pattern is easy to memorize, and quick to knit up. The width of the scarf can be changed by casting on more or less stitches, and the length of the scarf can be lengthened or shortened depending on how many repeats you knit.
This pattern calls for Caron Simply Soft Eco® which is a yarn line that not only has beautiful colors, but is also 20% post-consumer plastic bottles. For each scarf knitted from this yarn, one entire plastic bottle has been used and kept out of the crowded landfills. I plan on making a matching hat and mitten set to match this scarf at a later date so keep your eyes peeled!

I have added this free pattern to a new "Free Patterns" category on the right side bar. Feel free to print it off for you and your friends! Also, let me know if you make your pattern because I would love to see this scarf in different colors

Download Textured Stripes Scarf Pattern

Finally, something to post!

Finally! There is a cheap yarn that is environmentally friendly so that fellow poor graduate school students (like myself) will be able to knit while being environmentally conscious. Multi-tasking is fun. Caron has released a new line of Simply Soft Eco- where 20% of the yarn is made from 100% post-consumer plastic bottles. I discovered this gem of a yarn while on a road trip to a conference where the ride was enough to make me slightly insane. The result- going to a Wal-mart and discover that they have replaced all the Simply Soft with Simply Soft Eco. I immediately bought two skiens and thought up of a pattern while in the car. Since I had no pen and paper while I was doing this, the pattern is for a scarf and is pretty easy.

Looking around on the internet, there seems to be quite a few opinions about this change- particurally the part about Wal-Mart replacing all the Simply Soft with Simply Soft Eco. And about the random whitish flecks that appear in a select few of the darker shades. In my opinion, I think that this is an amazing yarn for the price (I paid $2.34 per skien) and after knitting a little bit with this, I think that the yarn is way better than the origional Simply Soft.

- barely unravels
- shows textures three times better than the origional Simply Soft
- it is a great way to be more enviromentally friendly
- still a great price
- the colors are amazing
- the "whitish flecks" that everyone is complaining about aren't that bad! It just looks like heathered yarn . . . and it is obvious which colors have it so if you don't like it you can easily avoid the apparently dreaded "whitish flecks"
- it doesn't get that fuzzy look that Simply Soft got while handling it
- the yarn isn't as slippery
- it is a *little* thicker
- stitch definition is great

And those are a few of the reasons that I am totally switching to this Eco yarn for projects that I would have typically used Simply Soft.

***stepping off the soap box***

Ok, so I am working on my striped scarf and this will be a free pattern once it is finished that I will post (in a PDF document) on this blog and on Ravelry (www.ravelry.com). I am excited about it and hope that others will feel the same. And just one last FYI, if the pattern is made from the same yarn that I am using- one plastic bottle will used. Neat huh?