A Story About Sunny Stripes!
When my daughter was home in-between semesters, I allowed her to pilfer through my stash.
(Confession: She is one of maybe 3 people I would allow to do this.)
As if guided by a divining rod, she immediately pulled out this outrageously cheerful gradient set, hand dyed by Sunshine Yarns. I understood the allure. It was December. It was dark. It was cold. Of course she wanted to knit a warm sunset!
Like me, she's partial to wearing - and therefore, knitting - long rectangles. And also like me, she has a real affinity for brioche. (For you non-knitters, this is a knitting stitch, not a reference to a breakfast pastry. Although we quite like that too!)
So I pointed her to my then-newly-released Bloom's Basic Brioche Scarf and helped her find some complementary yarns. We pulled out some Shirley Brian mohair merino and Marianated Yarns Ava lace, which proved to be a perfect blend to match the weight of the gradient.
Working with the beautiful shifting hues, Elizabeth opted to start with the mulberry pink first and knit bold blocks of color, segueing from pinks through oranges and landing on she called "saturated cantaloupe". In between each of the broader stripes, she knit a thin wedge of creamy white. And then! Then, because she's clever, she switched the motif and knit bold stripes of cream, separated by the reverse of the gradient. I love how her design makes the eye travel, wanting to take in the ever-shifting hues.
As for the dimensions of the piece? Well, they're perfect. At 13.5” (34 cm) x 66” (168 cm), it's wide enough to ward off the chilliest of breezes, whether they be from air conditioning (as I type this I'm being flogged by A/C... although not unhappily) or hailing from Mother Nature. And it's long enough to do that wrap-around-your-neck-and-tie-it thing. Or you can swish it around your neck just once and let all that vibrant color say your howdy-dos!
Her finished wrap makes this mother's heart proud. The resulting masterpiece is luxuriously snuggly, cheerfully eye-catching, festive and fun.
If you'd like to knit one of these scarves, following Elizabeth's layout, here's what you should know:
She knit it with a US3.
She followed the Bloom's Basic Brioche Scarf pattern exactly. (There's a detailed, er, I mean DETAILED, video on how to do each step of the project on my YouTube channel.
Each of the larger, colorful stripes are 26 rows long and each of the creamy thin stripes separating the blocks are 6 rows. On the other end, the creamy stripes are 14 rows and the colorful dividers are 6 rows.
If you're looking to source materials for the project, I highly recommend Marianated Yarns gradient sets! You could partner any of the gorgeous sets with a skein of her Aerie and Ava lace in Bumble held together for a similar effect!
To wrap it all up, here's a recent photo of my girl, knitter and nurse-to-be, wearing the sweater I embroidered for her. She sure does make me smile. ( :
