Faith's Guide to Fancy Scarf Yarns - Part 2 - Triana & Rocio

The original fancy scarf yarn! Triana is just stunning, it's really got to be one of my favourites. Beautifully floaty and elegant, and available in more colours and varieties than you could shake a stick at. (Including a brilliant bright Kawasaki green to match my bike!!) Rocio and Triana are exactly the same to knit with, here's how they work...

Triana by Katia

Triana:
1 Ball

8mm Needles

8 Stitches

Rocio:
1 Ball
7mm Needles
8 Stitches

Triana is available in Triana Plain, which is all the variegated plain colours, and Triana Lux, which is the sparkly version I'm using here. Or of course there's the lovely bobbly version, Rocio.

The nicest thing about this yarn is how quick it is to knit. Knitting only about 4 rows gives you a piece of knitting about 4" long! When it's knitted up, Triana is a gorgeously floaty scarf, which is surprisingly warm and soft. The sparkly Lux variety is also very soft, and has none of that itchiness you often get with sparkly yarns. Using Bamboo needles is particularly helpful with Triana because the holes are so large. Bamboo needles are much less slippery that metal or plastic, so the stitches stay put when you're working with them and don't slide around too much.

When you pull Triana out, you'll find you've got a thick edge, which is the bottom, and a thin edge, which is the top you'll be working with. 

Casting On

Pull the yarn out and lay it on your table to begin. (You can hold the yarn up to do this, but it's easier to start with to use a table!) Poke your needle through the first hole like this:

Then bring your needle over and down and poke it through the next hole:

Once you've got 8 stitches on, you should end up with something looking like this:

Knitting

You'll be knitting with these holes along the top here:

Slide your needle in as with normal knitting, and then wind that hole around the right hand needle:

Put your needle through and off just like normal. On your next stitch, you'll be able to see the hole you've just used. All you need to do is move along one and use the next hole:

Once you've knitted the whole of your first row, you'll end up with something looking like this:

Just turn around and knit the next row in exactly the same way. (The scarf is all Knit, no Purl) After you've done a few rows, this is what you'll end up with:

So pretty isn't it?

Joining

Due to the way that Triana is made, you might occasionally come across a knot, or perhaps you might want to mix some colours to make a unique scarf. Either way, joining is really easy to do, and is practically invisible when it's done.

Start by snipping your two ends roughly straight:

Then lay the first hole of the new piece over the last hole of the old piece like this:

Knit these two holes together as if they were one:

And when it's done, spot the join...

Here it is, but it falls underneath the ruffles so won't be visible when the scarf is worn. How neat is that?

Casting Off

Casting off Triana is very similar to regular casting off. Knit your first two stitches:

Then hook your left needle under the first of these:

And pass it over the second stitch and off the needle:

Knit another stitch, so you have two stitches on your right needle again:

Now pass the first of these over as before. Keep going until you only have one stitch left:

Snip the yarn, and pass the whole strand through that last stitch:

Pull that tight:

And then knot it off:

When you're done, trim the end nice and close and hide it inside the ruffles at the bottom:

When the scarf is worn, the ends won't show at all because of the way it hangs.

Fabulous aren't they? Triana is one of the quickest of the fancy scarf yarns to knit. You really can easily do one in an evening if you want to. And the same applies to Rocio.

Here it is knitted up:

You'd be amazed just how soft those little bobbles are! They're lovely and squishy. Knitting Rocio is exactly the same as knitting Triana. It's just that instead of having to look for the the thick edge, the bobbles are the bottom edge. The holes along the top are identical to Triana, just slightly smaller.

Personally, I'd recommend using 7mm needles on Rocio, because I found it easier to knit on slightly smaller needles. You still cast on the 8 stitches just like you do with Triana.

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Faith's Guide to Fancy scarf Yarns - Part 1 - Desire

Since we're having our knitting demo this weekend, I thought I'd share with you some of the fabulous scarf yarns we currently have in stock! I'm really into making these at the moment, they make fabulous little gifts, and they're just so easy to make. There really are some amazing designs available, so to begin with, this is Desire. In my opinion, this has got to be the easiest thing in the world to knit with! It's all of 5 stitches, and you don't need to know how to do anything more complicated than knit stitch to be able to make a scarf with it. If you've never knitted one before, and fancy giving it a go, this is the one I'd recommend to start with. Of course if you're coming along on Saturday, there will be a try before you buy! So there's an opportunity to have a go with the fancy scarf yarns first. And of course there will be a whole host of One Off Demo Day Deals on the day!

Desire by Woolcraft

1 Ball Desire
3.25mm Needles
5 Stitches

This is a gorgeous new yarn from Woolcraft with a beautiful soft silky feel. Desire is a really nice yarn to use if you want a lightweight summer scarf. As with most of the scarf yarns, one ball makes one scarf. Desire recommends 4.00mm - 5.00mm needles, but personally I like to knit it on 3.25mm Bamboo Needles. Having slightly smaller needles won't affect your tension at all, because the holes are pre-punched in the yarn, and I found it's easier to get a smaller needle through those holes. Bamboo needles are nice for scarf yarns in general, because they're not as slippery as metal needles. This means when you pop your knitting down on the sofa for a minute, all your stitches stay put and don't fall off the needles!

Casting On

Lay the yarn flat, and poke your needle through the first hole. Because Desire is wound flat on the ball, it's really easy to pull it out and keep it flat as you're working:

Then bring your needle over and down and poke it through the next hole:

That's two stitches cast on, keep going until you've got five:

Knitting

Turn your work around and begin knitting using the very next hole here:

Poke your right hand needle through as with normal knitting:

But instead of winding the whole of the yarn round, just wind round the hole and thread it onto your right hand needle, like this:

Then knit the stitch as usual.

Your first row will look slightly odd! Don't worry. After 3 or 4 rows, the scarf starts to take shape and hang nicely.

Simply turn around, and do exactly the same thing on the next row. Desire is done all in Knit, so there's no Purl to worry about.

Joining

Sometimes you might want to join your yarn, maybe because you've got a knot or because you want to change colours. Desire is really easy to join invisibly.

First trim your two ends so they're relatively neat:

Then lay one hole on top of the other:

Now knit through these two holes as if they're one:

Once you've knitted a few more rows, you'll hardly be able to tell that the yarn's been joined at all.

Spot the join...

It's here:

Good isn't it?

Casting Off

Casting off is pretty simple, as it's mostly done just like normal casting off.

To begin with, knit two stitches:

Poke your left needle into the first of these stitches and pass it over the second just like in normal casting off.

Knit another stitch so you have two stitches on your right hand needle, then pass the first of them over again. Keep going until you only have one stitch left:

Then snip your yarn, leaving a small end like this:

Take your final stitch off the needle, and thread this end through it like this:

Pull it tight and knot it off:

You'll then be able to snip the end close, and by giving your scarf a few tugs, hide it in the ruffles:

When you're done, the cast off end shouldn't show at all:

How neat is that? Desire is just beautiful to work with, and the prints available are just stunning. As well as animal prints, spot prints and floral designs, there are also a few Cath Kidston style patterns too!

Hope to see you all on Saturday! The demo is on between 10am - 4pm, so you can pop in at any time and see some of the lovely things we'll be knitting.

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Our Next Free Knitting Demo - 27th April 2013 10am - 4pm

As we were snowed on last time... We have decided to repeat our Fancy Scarf Yarn Knitting Demo for any of you who missed it. We will of course have some exciting new goodies to show to those of you who made it through the snow last time!

Hope to see you all there!

Ever Fancied Knitting a Fancy Scarf?

“Come along and see some of the gorgeous new decorative Scarf Yarns, suitable for beginners and experienced knitters alike!”

FREE KNITTING DEMONSTRATION

Saturday 27th April

From 10am – 4pm

At:

Anne & Paul’s Sew Simple, 94 Church Road

Ashford, Middlesex, TW15 2PL

01784 255 742

Discover all the fabulous different scarf-knitting yarns and techniques – plus an opportunity to try before you buy!

And of course some fabulous discounts to be had on the day!

Loads of Demos all day on a wide range of yarns including…

Triana – Ondas – Sophie – Bossa Nova – Rocio – Tango – Desire

Plus loads of fantastic bargains to be had on the day!