DIY Q&A: Mesh Scarf

Dear Andrea,

I am an avid reader of your blog and love all of the DIY info and projects you share! Thank You!

I am a very basic knitter, having not experimented past scarves or hats, but really love the look of big knits. I have included a picture I have found online, of a knitted halter top. I really like the look of the large holes, and want to incorporate it into a big basic scarf. I was assuming that this was a stockinette stitch, using big needles? Is this correct? If it is a stockinette stitch, why are the sides not rolling? I just tried to make a scarf with that particular stitch, but alas, it has curled up into a tube! Are big needles necessary? Any thoughts or suggestions?

Any help would be much appreciated! And once again, thank you dearly for your wonderful blog!

-scarfless knitter



Dear scarfless knitter,

While working in Stockinette with larger needles will give a mesh like appearance, it will indeed curl up no matter what needle size is used. I do believe I have a pattern that is exactly what you are looking for. The pattern is published by Blue Sky Alpacas, but it is no longer available on their site. I was able to find a copy posted here. It uses a basic lace stitch. If you want larger or smaller holes for your scarf, just experiment with needle size until you get what you want. I also want to note that I have made this scarf several times over, and I prefer to cast on 23 sts instead of 22, and instead k1, *s1pwise, yo, k2tog, rep from * to last stitch, k1 for both rows. You ca also make the scarf wider or narrower by increasing or decreasing the stitch count by multiples of 3.

Happy Knitting!

Andrea