The Stitching Experiments Project continues with another creative modification. This one in particular is one of my absolute favorites in this series.
For this modification, I did something new: I took two separate pieces and combined them together to make a one of a kind scarf.
The first piece I used, a short round cowl, is worked in the round in a knit & purl texture pattern in what seems a brown alpaca DK weight chainette yarn. The knitted fabric is very light and has considerable elasticity.
The second piece is a semi-circular shawl worked flat in garter stitch. It features square spikes along one edge. It is worked by holding multiple strands of yarn together, either in thread or lace weight. An educated guess on the fiber content is that the yarns contain mohair, silk, merino wool, cotton and some polyamide. The knitted fabric is very light and shows some elasticity.
After picking those two knitted pieces, I set out to find yarns that could match, either for embroidery or other structural additions. In the photo below you will see my first selection. I used all the yarns except the pink. I had to discard t as an option because a) it was too thin to show up when embroidered, b) the color contrast was not strong enough for the color to show up well on a brown background.
The next step was really exciting. I got to play with structure and form. Initially, I connected the two pieces as such: I took the shawl and started attaching it with removable stitch markers to the bottom edge of the round cowl. On the first try, I just used the existing circumference as a guide. Once this part was done, I then placed it on the body form, played around with it, wore it. I wanted to test the fit of this configuration and see if it made sense.
I quickly realized that attaching the shawl in the same circumference as the cowl produced a very bulky result. It felt uncomfortable to wear (but also very warm) and the knitted fabric seemed to get lost in the resulting folds. The solution was easy: to attach at a larger circumference. And here is when the experimentation and improvisation really begun!
I used crochet to enlarge the initial circumference and eventually connect the two pieces. First, I picked up stitches along the bottom edge of the round cowl. Then, I worked several rounds of single crochet stitches while at the same time working invisible increases.
After a few rounds, I examined the work and tested the resulting circumference. It seemed wide enough, so I stopped with the increases and started working on the final round. In this round, I worked every single crochet stitch together with a stitch from the straight edge of the shawl. I did this for every stitch from the side of the shawl, resulting in the shawl wrapping around the cowl for approximately 1.5 times.
Being happy with this result, I could now focus on the next step: the embellishment.
This work took multiple attempts and tries until I reached a state that I liked. I tested, as usual, multiple yarns. In the end, I used a DK weight brown-orange yarn for texture and a sport weight light blue yarn for contrast. I worked both of these yarns with simple satin stitches over a few stitches around the single crochet connective border. I also added a simple crochet border on the top edge of the round cowl with the light blue yarn. This is finished with a round of reverse single crochet.
I really like the finished scarf. The colors work together really well. The embroidery looks like embellished jewels and the brown tones all match one another, changing in intensity with variable light.
Once I finished it, even though it might be a very biased and superficial thought, I thought of desert sand. And I thought also that it gave vibes of Star Wars costumes!
Nevertheless, the result makes me happy. I found the whole modification process very enjoyable. I rarely work with brown and it was a great opportunity for me to have such a “restricted” color palette, in which I had to think of my color choices carefully, but also get to play with structure and form. It is incredible how light and airy this scarf is. It has a wonderful drape and sits on the shoulders effortlessly.
Needless to say, I am keeping the Desert Jewel Scarf for myself. 🙂
If you are looking for other examples of my work, you can always check the Handmade section of my shop.
