You will need about 3 balls of Lion Brand Hometown Yarn (or similar super bulky yarn) in red. Just make sure your bulky yarn is red for the HeartScarf project. Lion Brand has Tampa Spice or Cincinatti Red in the Hometown. Red Heart has Red Heart Chunky in Berry Breeze (which appears to be reds and hot pinks on the screen). I am using a red super bulky which was donated to me by a friend, and the amount is approximately 8 ounces. You can also hold together 2 strands of worsted weight yarn in red.
You will also need chunky size needles. Mine are 17's. I think you could use anything size 13 or above.
So let's start with the basics. Start by casting on 12.
So the pattern goes like this:
Row 1 (and all odd rows): Knit across
Row 2 (and all even rows): K2, p8, k2. The k2's on each row keep your scarf from curling in on itself.
This pattern (knit one row, purl one row) is called stockinette stitch. This produces the texture we usually associate with a knit item. The Special Olympics Scarf we made in November and the dishcloth we made in December are all knit. This is called garter stitch. If you ever see these terms in a pattern in the future, you'll know what the designer has intended. Let me show you a couple samples so you can see what I mean.
This is the back of my scarf (in progress). It has all the loops/bumps. This is what garter stitch looks like on both sides.
This is the front of my scarf (in progress). It has the smooth columns of v's. This is what stockinette stitch looks like.
Did you catch my crazy trick? I have made projects in stockinette stitch in the past. While making them, I would {NEVER} be interruped and then, of course, would {NEVER} forget whether I was knitting or purling. NEVER - HA! So, I find a way to mark one of my needles to represent the purl. In this case, I happen to have 2 sets of size 17's in 2 different colors. I use the purple for the purl. You can put a piece of painters' tape or masking tape on the head of your needle, mark a plastic needle with a Sharpie, whatever works for you.
Continue knitting and purling until desired length (60"), knit one row and bind off.
Now, one of the neat things about stockinette stitch is that you can use the v's to do cross-stitch on. You can stitch on stripes, or shapes (like a heart), or a monogram. That's if you want to. I chose not to do that this time. By the way, if you want the LOOK of argyle (you know, all those really cool diamonds with the intersecting lines), but don't want to try to knit it - think cross-stitch!
If you'd like a fancier border, you can crochet around the edges (like we did for our cup cozy).
Add fringe if you want to. You could use a thinner/lighter weight red for the fringe.
If you need a practical present in a hurry, these are GREAT! Make a bunch in different colors for all your friends and relations. Or, make a bunch, then stitch them together to make a nice throw. Use the basic stockinette pattern with a longer chain to make a baby afghan. Use smaller needles and lighter yarn or use multiple strands of yarn and Speed Stix (size 50's).
Next weekend, I'll have a linky up again, so we can link to each others' projects. Come back and link up!
Have fun knitting!
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