Seeing Triple

Any time I went clothes shopping in college, I bought black. It felt like I wore black almost exclusively, even though pictures from that time reveal that's not the case. Since graduating and becoming financially independent, I've branched out my outfit choices to a whole range of colors.

Except for white. White is a scary color for a messy person. Ever the cautious optimist, I've decided to try wearing white's less-harsh cousin. Off-white. Ecru. Beige. Cream.

I love this stupid, bland color.

So much so that I made three giant scarves in cream.

The yarn I chose for my wardrobe experimentation was Lion Brand's Homespun Thick & Quick. I had never used this version of Homespun before, but the colorway I used (pearls) has subtle cream on cream stripes. I was drawn to it instantly in my beige-induced fervor. The Thick & Quick didn't bunch up as much as the original Homespun and was noticeably thicker--both pluses in my book.

I made my first cream scarf for my boss for her birthday... I wanted to keep it, but I had purchased several skeins of Thick & Quick and knew (rationally) I had no use for three off-white scarves... (irrationally, I know I can make a repeat of this one to keep for myself).

I arm-knit this scarf with one skein of the Lion Brand Homespun Thick & Quick held together with a skein of Lion brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick. It produced a lovely texture, with the Homespun providing the fluff and and Wool-Ease providing a work-horse foundation.

I didn't stop arm-knitting until I completely ran out of Homespun yarn! I could have quit much sooner--this scarf can be wrapped around three times. After seaming the cast-on and bind-off edges, I knit a little band to sew around the sewn join to make the seam less obvious.

For my next scarf, I used the trusty GAP-Tastic Cowl pattern. I've knit this one a million times, but it never gets old. It's the perfect pattern for mindless knitting. I don't even keep track of where I began knitting or the number of rows I knit... I just cast-on and go until there's just enough yarn left for the bind-off.

This yarn has no discernible stitch definition, but the moss stitch pattern doesn't curl in on itself like stockinette stitch would. I think I cast on 111 stitches, but could have done with casting on about 91. This yarn is so bulky! I knit this scarf on size 17 circular needles.

I like the casual look of only wrapping it around my neck twice.

But wrapping the scarf around three times is incredibly warm and fluffy!

For my third scarf, I used the Original Prayer Shawl Pattern, the same prayer shawl pattern I knit for my step-mom--and I originally cast on 57 stitches and used size 13 needles.

That produced an incredibly dense fabric. It was soft, the softest thing I've ever knit, but I was essentially knitting a blanket. Or a fluffy fashionable doormat.

So I ripped it out and started over on the same size 17 needles I used for the GAP-tastic Cowl. I cast on 45 stitches and this time it was much more manageable. I should have cast on even less because as you can see...

my alleged scarf still became a blanket . Oh well... I don't hate it. This scarf is a bit taller than me and twice as wide. If I knit another and sewed them together, I would have another blanket for my full-sized bed!

I wasn't sure if I was going to wear it out. Our winter has been unusually mild. That all changed this past week when the temperature dropped into the single digits. Snow in the forecast? Appearances be darned, I'm wearing a blanket out and about. 

Instagram shot from the car showing how ridiculous this thing is. Follow me @diranasaurus!

Even though this thing is huge, I think I'll get more use out of it than just in incredibly cold weather. This scarf would be perfect for traveling! Wear it as a scarf to board the plane, then wear it as a shawl or use it as a skinny blanket once seated. Plus, it can double as a travel pillow when wrapped around your neck!

I still have one skein of this yarn left... what should I make with it?

Happy making!