The Red Chevron Scarf

A fellow LSGer brought my attention to this worthy cause...the Red Scarf Project. You make a red scarf (or any other good unisex color) and they give it to college-bound foster children. Who can argue with that?

Anyway, to show my support for the Red Scarf Project, I decided to finally write up a pattern for the scarf I made my father last Christmas. It's a really easy pattern, and is almost perfectly reversible.

Red Chevron Scarf, sitting folded in half with ends fanned out on white towel on top of red table

I know, enough yakking about the merits of the scarf...you just want the pattern already!

Red Chevron Scarf

  • Yarn: 2 balls Louet Gems Sport Weight (100% superwash merino, 225 yds/100g) in red woodpecker. Feel free to substitute heavier weight yarn...just keep it machine washable so the recipients don't run the risk of accidentally felting the scarf. The sample scarf is approximately four feet long...I could have gone at least six more inches, but had to stop where I did due to time constraints.
  • Needles: size 2.5 (3.0mm)...gauge is not important, just use needles appropriate for the weight of yarn you chose
  • Note: 's2kp' means slip two stitches together as if to knit, knit one, pass both slip stitches over

Cast on 75 stitches, or multiple of 12 stitches + 3 extra.

Row 1 (RS) K1, ssk, *k4, [k1, yo, k1] all in next stitch, k4, s2kp; repeat from *, end k4, [k1, yo, k1] all in next stitch, k4, k2tog, k1.

Row 2 (WS) K1, p1, *k11, p1; repeat from *, end k1.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until scarf reaches desired length. Bind off on a right side row. Weave in ends.

Additional thought on adapting to other yarn weights: if you like the number of pattern repeats used in the original (6) and don't want to do less repeats to accommodate a bulkier yarn, you could change the 'k4' on row 1 to either k3 or k2 (or indeed any number of stitches...as long as it's the same number of stitches between the increases and decreases). Just make certain to adjust the stitch multiples accordingly...it'd be 10+3 for k3, and 8+3 for k2.

_edit made 12 Nov 2010: Added a comma after the first k4 on row 1 for the purpose of clarity. (At least I *think* that's the problem the person in the Copenhagen Knitters group was having...I don't speak Danish, so I'm not 100% certain that was the problem.)

If there's enough interest, I might write up a pattern for the double layered hat that went along with the scarf. Speak up if you're interested.