Moving on to the next project of the Stitching Experiments Project (S.E.P.), another fuzzy scarf got (slightly) transformed.
The original scarf was a skinny and long rectangular scarf. The main body is worked in a feather and fan type lace pattern in a dark red fingering weight yarn in what feels like Alpaca fiber. The edges are worked in a simple knitted ruffle pattern (multiple increases per row) in the same yarn, but contrasting pink color.
As mentioned in the previous post, the edges of the rows were not worked with selvedge edge stitches, but were simply knitted/purled. The result of this method is the general appearance of the scarf as seen in the pictures below. It looks very floppy and without structure and the edges roll inwards which in turn make the lace pattern get visually lost.
My very first re-working idea was to fix the issue of the edges by adding a simple crochet border. But I also got another idea; while I was examining the piece for the first time, I got the crazy idea to see how it would look if folded as a bow. It is a crazy idea for me, because I don’t wear bows and it’s not a design element I see very often. I have no idea how this idea came, but I found it very fun, so I decided to run with it. 🙂
With this in mind, I set to add a crochet border that would add stability, structure and some width, but not too much so the scarf would work well as a bow. Then I looked for what yarns to use. I didn’t want to deviate much from the existing color palette, so I looked for yarns that could pair well. In the leftover pile, I was able to find 3 mohair silk yarns that seemed to match: a dark red, a neon pink and an elusive beige pink.
So I took one side and started picking up edge stitches one by one with the dark red yarn and working a single crochet row. When that was done, I worked two rows of half-double and then single crochet in the neon pink yarn. After that I switched to the beige pink and worked another row of half-double crochet followed by three rows of single crochet. Then I bound off. (By the way, these are US crochet terms).
Available yardage was limited, so I had to work smart: for the dark red and the neon pink, I wound the yarn to be able to use both yarn ends simultaneously and worked each side of the scarf with each yarn end. The goal was to match the stripes on each side of the scarf and work as many rows as necessary until there was no yarn left. With this method, I used up the dark red completely with just a single row on each side. With the neon pink I had less luck, I miscalculated and run out of yarn on the second row on one side. But that was ok, I compensated by working with the beige pink. There is a small difference in the stripes now, but it’s not too noticeable.
Working on the border was relaxing, since it was made of simple crochet stitches, but it took a while because each side was hundreds of stitches.
When the modification was done, I hand-washed the scarf once more. The goal here was to “set” the newly created stitches and also “reconfigure” the drape of the final piece. Once the scarf had dried, I ironed it, making a nice and crisp finish for the lace.
Finally, I hang it over the body form and played around with different folding configurations. I really like how the colors play together and I really like that now the scarf has definition, structure and a clean finish. Every knot I tried looked really nice. But I have to admit that the bow knot is my favorite! It looks so FUN! 🙂
The Fuzzy Bow Scarf is now available for purchase in my e-shop. 
