The Ladies' Christmas Honeycomb Scarf

in A, cast on 64 stitches, divided as 20/20/24 on three needles.
Rows 1 & 2: in Color A, Knit across

Row 3: in Color B, s2, (k1, s 3) across to last two. k1, s1.
Rows 4 & 5: in Color B, (s1, k3) across

Rows 6 & 7: in Color A, Knit across
Row 8: in Color B, (k1, s3) across

Rows 9 & 10: k2, (s1, k3) across to last two. s1, k1.

Work Rows 1-10 until scarf reaches desired length. Stitch ends closed, flat.

Super Ruffle Short Scarf

Well, lovies, I've finally gotten the hang of writing out my posts in advance so I'm not doing it as a penance late every Friday. Isn't it nice?
This week's post is the first yarn-related post that I'm actually making totally for myself from the get-go. Yay for selfishness. But! This is birthday sanctioned selfishness! Totally acceptable. My young man's parents sent me a lovely birthday package long ago when it was my birthday, and this included some absolutely delicious yarn. I felt guilty about my delay on Christmas crafts, so I tried to be good and finish all of those before making something wonderful for myself. I'm almost there! Unfortunately, I'm a decidedly selfish creature and went ahead and made something sinfully snuggly anyway.

Super Ruffle Short Scarf

I call this a short scarf because it is! This scarf is only about 40 inches, not nearly long enough to wrap around your neck. It's a tricky scarf though- a sneaky slit hidden in the ruffles means you can thread one end through the other to secure it around your neck. This way there's no wrapping and winding and knotting, just poking an end in a hole. Heh.
This pattern uses chain, slip stitch, single, and treble crochet stitches. It works in a spiral around the foundation chain, working in first the back loops and then the front of the chain, joining with a slip stitch. While this may sound complicated, once you get going it's quite easy. This could be a good pattern for an intermediate to use to practice using all of those stitches and reading a somewhat complicated pattern.

The Materials:

Size H crochet hook
2 stitch markers (referred to in the pattern as Marker A and Marker B)
Approximately 218 yards of yarn. I used 2 skeins Plymoth Yarn's Grande Glow Baby Alpaca.

The Abbreviations:

CH- chain

SS- slip stitch
SC- singe crochet

TC- treble crochet

The Pattern:
CH 101
Row 1: 3 SC in the back loop of the first chain from the hook, placing Marker A in the first stitch. SC along the back loops of the chain. When you reach the end, put 3 SC in the front of the last stitch in the chain, placing Marker B in the first of these three.SC along the front of the chain for 25 stitches. CH 10. Skipping 10 stitches on the foundation chain, join back in and continue to SC along the foundation chain (see image below). SS to join into your first SC (at Marker A).

Row 2: CH 3. 2 TC in the first three stitches, moving Marker A up to mark the first of the three. Work along the first edge, alternate 2 TC each in two stitches, 1 TC in the next, along the first edge. When you reach Marker B, work 2 TC each in the next three stitches, moving the marker to the first of these stitches. Continue along the opposite side alternating 2 TC each in two stitches and 1 TC in the next. Join into first stitch (Marker A) with a SS.

After working the first side of row 2, I was worried it wouldn't be ruffly enough!

Row 3: CH 3. 2 TC in the first six stitches, moving Marker A to the first of these stitches. Work along edge, alternating 2 TC each in three stitches, one TC in the next. When you reach Marker B, work 2 TC each in the next six stitches. Then, continue alternating 2 TC each in 3 stitches, then one TC in the next. When you return to Marker A, join with a slip stitch.

Tie off and weave in ends!

Wear, feeling fabulous in your yarny accomplishments.

CiR: WWII Era Men's Knit Cap and Matching Scarf

Dear Readers, having born with me through part of my winter craft-a-thon, it's time I let you in on some of the other projects I enjoyed. To be frank, I'm still working on some of these. Knitting takes time, people! I decided that I wanted to make matching scarf/hat sets for my family, and am impressed that I finished as many as I did. Now I have a few of these ready to mail back, but not before I get a good blog post out of them, darnit! I did a few google searches for guy-appropriate patterns, when I found one that seemed perfect, especially for my nephew. It's a WWII Era pattern distributed by a yarn company in a pamphlet of knit hats to be made and sent to soldiers. The pattern was simple enough that I was sure the men in my family would not object, but nice enough that they wouldn't look sad next to the fancy ladies' sets.
Here's the link to the pattern!
I used the beanie pattern on the top, which I found to be simple and easy to follow if you're used to working with double pointed needles. The only complaint I have is that the pattern does not provide a gauge swatch. I made an entire hat on size 4 needles, as recomended, and came out with something fit for a retro-inspired toddler. That said, I switched to size 8 needles, still using regular acrylic, I Love This Yarn brand yarn, and the hats came out perfectly man-sized and comfy. It took less than one skein, but I would recommend buying two so you can make a matching scarf! The I Love This Yarn brand is great for guy-knits because it's super soft without being visually and texturally overwhelming.
To make a scarf that will go with these hats, I figured I would use ribbing as a tie-in, but also to make them thicker and warmer. This pattern is super simple, and great for a generic "guy scarf"- not too stylized, but without the shabby or rustic look that some simple knits can end up with.

Matching Guy Scarf:
I Love This Yarn acrylic yarn on size 8 needles
Cast On 32 stitches

K2, P2 across each row.
Continue until you have 60 inches or so. You might have the recipient try it on so you can make sure it's long enough to not look silly, especially if it's for a taller guy.
Cast off.

Wasn't that simple? :)