jan_andrea | Dr Who Scarf

Okay, the universe wants me to make David a Dr. Who scarf.

I was reading my Google Reader feeds and clicked on a pattern for a neat looking scarf. While I was checking it out, David glanced over and said, "Oh! Could you make me a Dr. Who scarf?"

So I googled it and found www.doctorwhoscarf.com (who knew?) and spent about 10 minutes checking it out before going back to Google Reader. Read a few more articles, scrolled down... and there was this.

So, clearly, I am meant to make this scarf.

However, I'm not sure quite how. I mean, I have the directions (he wants the season 15 version), but I'm not sure about the yarn. Wool makes me itch, and him, too, so I'm stuck with non-woollen yarns. The directions call for a sport or DK weight yarn, and I would prefer to use something that feels nicer than the cheapo "pound of yarn" crap (I hate that stuff). OTOH, it's a *crapload* of yarn, and I don't want to pay more than, oh, say, $50 for the yarn. I can't tell exactly from the pattern, but it looks like I need between 200 and 400 yards each of 7 colors. Of course, the pattern calls for it to be between 10-12" wide, and David wants something about half that width (and maybe shorter, once he sees how very long it is), so I guess I don't need quite as much.

Knitters, do you have recommendations for nice-feeling but not bank-breaking yarns? I like working with soft but not too stretchy yarns; have had success with a lovely chenille I got at my LYS, but it was years ago and I don't remember what it was called.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Caron Simply Soft is cheap and actually quite lovely considering it's a generic acrylic yarn. I've knitted some costume shawls from this that need to be hard wearing and machine washable and I find this yarn fits the bill perfectly. Not to mention the fact that the yarn is quite soft. (This is coming from a yarn snob, BTW). http://www.caron.com/color_cards/cc_simplysoft.html

It's a worsted weight yarn, but that shouldn't be too much trouble to convert. Just go up a needle size or two and change the number of stitches per row accordingly. I can help you figure this out, if you like.

The biggest challenge for you will be finding the right colors.

Another good resource is Webs (http://www.yarn.com/). There is a lovely DK weight cotton/microfiber blend called Longmeadow by Valley Yarns (http://www.yarn.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/categoryID/E2AB2957-FA64-4734-9962-53AA2A644DBD/productID/43B108F7-7006-40C8-8E49-5004F4435543/) that has a good color selection.

You can also try Knitpicks. http://www.knitpicks.com/KnittingA.aspx

Also Yarndex can help you search by weight and fiber and may give you some good ideas. http://www.yarndex.com/

Edited 2009-01-10 01:30 (UTC)

Thank you for all the links! I will definitely check them out. I figure, for the size, I'll just cast on and knit a couple of rows and rip out if it's not right; I'm so not a gauge knitter :lol:

Thanks again!

It's not like you have to worry about gauge with a scarf, anyway!

And my dirty little secret is that I hate to swatch. So I don't. But because I've been knitting since I was about six, I know how my stitches are compared to most folks. I can look at a pattern and just by seeing the yarn recommended, needle size and cast on amount I can tell from there whether I'll be on their gauge or need to go up or down a needle size.

I'm a renegade!

I never tell this to newbies by the way.

I second the recommendation for Simply Soft - it comes in quite a large array of colors (though you may have to order some of them online), it's soft as anything and it can be machine washed/dried. However, it's more delicate than wool or that red heart stuff, so I still tend to go with hand washing and line drying to prevent excessive pilling. It will also want to split when you knit it (in my experience) but it feels lovely on the hands. :)

You may also check out Little Knits (http://littleknits.com/) or Smileys Yarns (http://www.pagelinx.com/cgi-shopper/loadpage.cgi/smileysyarns/ezshopper?user_id=id&file=iriot.htm) for good deals on quality yarns.

Thanks for the recommendations :) I ended up going with "Shine" (cotton/modal blend) from knitpicks -- I hope it's nice :)

Oooh, Shine is really nice! I'm sure you'll like it. :)

Dr Who Scarf

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