IS #26: Summer Scarves

A while back I had started some mitts to thank my physical therapist for all of the magic she's worked on me. Then I put them down for a while, totally forgot about them, and lost the paper I had been using to keep track of what I was doing. Our last session is coming up soon and mitts in the middle of the summer seem kinda strange, but I felt like a light airy scarf would do nicely so I changed the plan.

Malabrigo Yarn Rios, colorway Archangel

Since I only have one skein of the yarn, I am using a drop stitch design knit on the bias (for tapered ends) to make the yardage stretch. I think drop stitch patterns are great for light, summery scarves and all those elongated stitches are particularly fabulous with variegated yarns. A basic, free pattern for the drop stitch that I knit a few years back is the Whimsey Garter Drop Stitch Scarf by Classic Elite Yarns.

Louisa Harding Yarns Jasmine

I have two criteria for establishing something as a good summer scarf: 1) it is airy and lightweight and 2) it is simple to keep track of and fun to knit, for all those times when you'll be knitting in the car on the way to a picnic or at the beach or around a campfire. (That's not just me, right?) Complex lace scarves are great, too, but sometimes they aren't so easy to bring around with you and they can look out of place thrown over a casual tee and capris, where the more basic designs fit in just fine.

Copyright Thirteen on Flickr

This is the Seafoam Scarf by Ali Green, another free pattern. It's a basic drop stitch design but by varying the number of times you wrap the yarn around the needle before you drop it, you get those neat waves. It's also a good example of how variegated yarns look awesome in this stitch.

Copyright amyKnitty on Flickr

This is the Montego Bay scarf by Amy Singer. It's a basic k2tog, YO repeat pattern but it's awesome for 3 reasons: 1) bias knit tapered ends 2) fringe! and 3) using amazing silk yarn. Summer scarves are definitely great projects to experiment with those non-wool blends. Add some silk, some cotton, some linen. Stretch your wooly boundaries!

Copyright ArlenesLace on Flickr

This one is a bit more solid than the rest but no less awesome. This is the Hypernova Scarf by Arlene's World of Lace. It's a chevron design that flares out fabulously on both ends of the scarf and, again, is great with variegated, colorful yarns.

Copyright Veronik on Flickr

This one, the Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery, is very popular on Ravlery. It has a similar look to the previous scarf except it has zig-zags instead of chevrons between columns of openwork stitches and would probably look great in any thickness of yarn.

Copyright alliejay on Flickr

Finally, this is the Foreign Correspondent's Scarf by Lexy Lu. It's a tiny bit more textured with more involved (but still dead simple) lace than the others I've posted, but I've seen some gorgeous versions of this and I've had it queued for some time.

Phew, that's a lot of scarves! Do you have a favorite summery knit? Please link along and share your inspiration with us, whatever it may be!