Knitting Project: Intarsia Scarf
- In This Quick Guide:
- Before You Begin
- Materials
- Abbreviations Used in This Pattern
- Instructions
This beautiful scarf is done in a style called intarsia—a fantastic and easy way to make a pattern using several colors. Here’s how you do it.
Before You Begin
The directions for each row are written in the following pattern, but once you understand how it works, you can knit this scarf without reading each row. There is 1 additional stitch knit with Color B and 1 less stitch knit with Color A every row in the first sequence. The finished scarf with measure 4 ½″ wide×106″ long.
Knit scarf.
Close-up of scarf.
Materials
2 balls Splash by Crystal Palace Yarns
- Color 3734 Violets Are Blue (Color A)
- Color 9524 Dreamy (Color B)
- 100% polyester
- 94 yards/86 meters
- 100 grams/3.5 ounces
Size 15 U.S. (10 mm) needles or size needed to obtain gauge
Tapestry needle
Gauge
14 stitches = 4″ in stockinette
Abbreviations Used in This Pattern
BO: Bind off
CO: Cast on
k: Knit
RS: Right side
St(s): Stitch(es)
WS: Wrong side
Instructions
Be sure to pick up the new color from under the old color to avoid holes.
With Color A, CO 16 sts.
With A k16.
Row 1 (RS): With A k14; with Color B k2
Row 2: With B k3; with A k13
Row 3: With A k12; with B k4
Row 4: With B k5; with A k11
Row 5: With A k10; with B k6
Row 6: With B k7; with A k9
Row 7: With A k8; with B k8
Row 8: With B k9; with A k7
Row 9: With A k6; with B k10
Row 10: With B k11; with A k5
Row 11: With A k4; with B k12
Row 12: With B k13; with A k3
Row 13: With A k2; with B k14
Now the colors will be worked in reverse. There is 1 additional st knit with Color A and 1 less st knit with Color B every row.
Row 14: With B k13; with A k3
Row 15: With A k4; with B k12
Row 16: With B k11; with A k5
Row 17: With A k6; with B k10
Row 18: With B k9; with A k7
Row 19: With A k8; with B k8
Row 20: With B k7; with A k9
Row 21: With A k10; with B k6
Row 22: With B k5; with A k11
Row 23: With A k12; with B k4
Row 24: With B k3; with A k13
Row 25: With A k14; with B k2
Now the colors will be reversed again, repeating Rows 2–13 and then Rows 14–25.
When you have completed either Row 13 or 25 and are almost out of yarn (or when scarf is desired length), with A knit 1 row. Bind off.
Finishing
Weave in ends on WS. To do this, thread the tail in a yarn needle. Going under the stitches, weave the tail into the piece. If you’re working with a slippery yarn, weave the tail into the piece in one direction, then go back in the opposite direction. To finish, snip off the yarn with sharp scissors at the point where you finished weaving, leaving about ¼ inch of yarn.
Once you get the hang of knitting in intarsia you’ll see how easy it is to make scarves, shawls, or anything your heart desires. Happy knitting!
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Knitting and Crocheting Illustrated, Third Edition, by Barbara Breiter and Gail Diven
