5 Days of Handmade Christmas: Day 5

Pattern: seed stitch pattern + beads (see below)
Yarn: 2 skeins Malabrigo Twist in Pearl Ten
Cost: $35



On day 5, I want to admit that making gifts for others is hard. I usually try to do something that fits their style but that I still love--if I don't love it, there's no way I can expect them to! But there's always the agony, the second-guessing. This scarf I have probably done a quarter way up and undone at least 3 or 4 times, not to mention all the different patterns I tried out beforehand.

For this special lady I wanted to make something in a dark color that she would wear but that fit her taste for the sparkly and special. After picking out the yarn, I knew I wanted beads to add that extra something. After buying some beads (and then exchanging them for others), I threaded them onto the yarn and wove them in as a went. I was reassured by some lovely ladies on public transit who have complimented my knitting. 


Because I didn't want to purchase beads for the entire scarf, and wanted to distribute them more towards the ends and away from the neck, they beads are concentrated at the end and become more and more distanced as they go up. You can kind of see that here:


The scarf really does look lovely when the beads glint in the light, but is subtle enough for everyday use. I plan on adding tassels to the end, too, just as soon as I finish knitting the darn thing. Haha. Here's some final shots of the beads:





For those of you knitters who are interested in a beaded scarf pattern, here are my instructions:

Thread the first skein with 28 beads, then CO 23 sts. The entire scarf is worked in seed stitch (RS: k1, p1; WS: p the k's and k the p's)

Because I am a visual person, here is the graph (click to enlarge).

And here are the written instructions:

The scarf alternates between 4-bead rows and 3-bead rows. After casting on and working 2 rows in seed stitch, start with a 4-bead row, work 4 rows, then work a 3-bead row. After that, work two more rows between each bead row (e.g. 6 rows between bead rows, then 8 rows, then 10 rows...). The last bead row will be the 3-bead row with 12 rows between it and the previous row. Then you will alternate between L 2-bead rows and R 2-bead rows until 1 bead remains. The bead rows are worked as follows:
  • 4-bead row: work 3 sts, slide bead into place, work 1 st, 3x(work 5 sts, slide bead into place, work 1 st), work remaining 2 sts
  • 3-bead row: x3(work 5 sts, slide bead into place, work 1 st), work remaining 5 sts
  • L 2-bead row: work 3 sts, slide bead into place, work 12 sts, slide bead into place, work 8 sts
  • R 2-bead row: work 9 sts, slide bead into place, work 12 sts, work 2 sts
Work mid section until you reach the other side, and work bead pattern in reverse.


You can read my review of this pattern at PatternReview.com.

1 comment:

  1. I love the gauge you knitted this in! I made a scarf for my husband in a double moss stitch which is really similar to the seed stitch. I used size 5 needles and sport yarn, though. Man, it took me forever!!

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