Art Yarn Pigeon Eye Stitch Pidge Scarf

Inspiration

I want to make some Christmas gifts and practice knitting on small projects.

Materials

• partial skein of yarn, Pagewood Farms similar to U-Knitted Nations Lana de Nube, est. 83 yds.
• US size 19 (15.0 mm) plastic needles, 14"
• a variation on print-to-PDF version of the free pattern
• a single large signature button
• a sewing needle and thread to match the button

Step 1:  Match found yarns to vintage buttons

I have a stash of yarns I found in the art supply exchange and some were gifts.

I have a selection of vintage buttons from mom's and aunts' stashes; some were my great-grandmother's too.

I tried to pair a selection of both so I can make 7-8 different ones.

Step 2:  Match yarns to patterns

I found a variety of free pidge scarf patterns on Ravelry.com and matched the yarns and needles I have to appropriate patterns.  I chose to start with a Triangle Pidge Scarf (called a Wasabi Cowl for the color, maybe) as it uses a fairly simple set of stitches.  I used keyrings without fobs for stitch markers and this worked fairly well.

Step 3:  Follow the pattern instructions

I relied on a number of YouTube videos to do M1R (Make 1 Right) increase and M1L (Make 1 Left) increase.  I used keyrings without fobs for stitch markers and this worked fairly well.

Step 4:  Evaluate the progress

I chose that pattern because the pictured yarn seemed most similar to mine, and I had that size needles.  I decided this art yarn was too variable in width for this stitch, so I frogged the project.

Step 5:  Start a new project

I searched Ravelry for scarves with similar yarn and I even tried googling "best knit stitches for handspun art yarn" to no avail.  I had been working on a Half-Linen Stitch Pidge Scarf and was liking the results, so I decided to try the stitch with this yarn.  I cast on 13 stitches as that seemed like a good width for a warm winter cowl, and knit two rows of Garter Stitch as I'd thought the four rows in the pattern were too broad.  I only did one knit edge stitch on each end of each row, and later discovered that with the odd number of stitches, this is actually called a Pigeon Eye Stitch, if I'm understanding it correctly.

Step 6:  Evaluate the length

I've been testing the length as I go along by wrapping it around my own neck and trying to envision it with the buttons in use, hoping that the recipient has a similar neck size.

Step 7:  Add buttonholes, if necessary

This particular yarn and stitch have large enough holes I don't need to specifically include a buttonhole for the button I chose -- I don't want it to be too loose when fastened!

Step 8:  Cast off

I used the __________ cast off (include link).

Step 9:  Add buttons

I played with the fit and the lie of the scarf around my own neck to determine where I thought the button would look and work best, and then sewed it on using doubled matching embroidery floss and an embroidery needle.

Step 10:  Block

I used the __________ blocking method (include link).  I had some cardboard and some extra contact paper I put on it so hopefully the scarf would dry faster rather than making the cardboard wet.

Results

I like the look, but I'm waiting for it to finish drying before I can confirm.

WORK IN PROGRESS