Susan B. Anderson’s Kids’ Knitting Workshop(Artisan Books, 2015), by Susan B. Anderson, is the perfect resource for teaching children how to knit. With engaging instructions and step-by-step illustrations, kids can easily move from basic knitting skills through 17 progressively challenging projects.
Stripy Tube Scarf
When you knit a scarf in the round with thick yarn and bigger needles, it will go fast even though it is long. This is why when you’re a new knitter, the only type of scarf I would recommend knitting is a tube scarf with color changes to make stripes. You could make the stripes match the Stripy Hat to make a set, or you could make a separate scarf with different colors. Be creative!
Materials Needed:
Size: 6 inches wide, 52 inches long.
Note: The scarf can be made longer or shorter in length; just bind off whenever you are ready.
Yarn: 7 skeins Bulky weight in 7 colors (about 750 yards total).
Note: This is a great project to use up leftover yarns! Just make sure they are all Bulky weight.
Needles: US size 10-1/2 / 6.5 mm, 16-inch circular needles
Gauge: 3-1/2 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch
Other things you’ll need:
• Stitch marker
• Ruler or tape measure
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
Getting Started:
With your first color, cast on 44 stitches. Make a butterfly with the end. Place a stitch marker on the first stitch.
Join to work in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.
Knitting the Scarf:
Rounds 1 to 10: Knit every stitch.
At the end of Round 10, cut the yarn, leaving a 6-inch end. Then attach the next color by tying a half-knot around the working yarn or using the more advanced method “Making Stripes”. Slide the knot up to the needles and start working with the new color yarn.
Repeat the last 2 steps (Rounds 1 to 10, and the color change), alternating all 7 colors, until the scarf reaches your desired length. End after completing 10 rows in the final color.
Bind off loosely.
Cut the yarn, leaving a 6-inch end. Pull the end through the remaining stitch and gently tighten.
Finishing the Scarf:
Place the end on a yarn needle. Weave in the end by pulling it through 5 or 6 stitch bumps on the wrong side of the fabric.
Unwind the butterfly. Place the end on a yarn needle and weave in as described above.
Trim the ends to a 1/4 inch.
Note: Since the ends from the color changes are inside the scarf, you don’t need to weave them in.
Learn more aboutTeaching Kids How to Knit.
Excerpted fromSusan B. Anderson’s Kids’ Knitting Workshopby Susan B. Anderson (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2015. Photographs by Lauren Volo. Illustrations by Alison Kolesar.
