Special Olympics Scarf Project
Have you heard of the Special Olympics Scarf Project? I hadn't until a few months ago when my friend C (the one who made me those lovely mitts in my last post) told me about it. She has a relative with Downs Syndrome, so she contributes scarves and wanted to know if some of her knitting friends would be interested, too? Sure, I said. I'm always happy to knit for a good cause, especially on behalf of someone who is so generous. She even gave me the yarn for it!
Then, if I must be completely honest, I kind of forgot about it until a couple days ago when C emailed a picture of the scarf she had made! Maybe it was a friendly hint that I needed to get started? Seeing as the deadline for Wisconsin is next week, her gentle reminder was warranted.
So, how to knit a scarf that measures 6"x at least 54" in just a couple of days? Double the yarn and add a fringe. Fringe counts in the final measurement, fortunately. Here is my scarf:
It measures exactly 54" long, including the fringe. Whew.
This project is very specific about what yarn to use: Red Heart Supersaver (RHSS) or Red Heart Soft in certain blue and red colors. As long as you use both red and blue and make the scarf the right size, they will accept any pattern you choose (though some free patterns for both knit and crochet are linked on the site). I doubled the yarn and cast on 136 stitches on a size 10 needle, and to be honest, the scarf is a little stiff. I could have easily gone up to size 11 or 13 (aside: why isn't there a size 12 needle out there? Anybody know?)
I did not particularly enjoy knitting with this yarn. I'm not a fan of acrylic in general, and RHSS is not exactly high-quality, but it's what they want, and I am satisfied with how the stripes look.
Then, if I must be completely honest, I kind of forgot about it until a couple days ago when C emailed a picture of the scarf she had made! Maybe it was a friendly hint that I needed to get started? Seeing as the deadline for Wisconsin is next week, her gentle reminder was warranted.
So, how to knit a scarf that measures 6"x at least 54" in just a couple of days? Double the yarn and add a fringe. Fringe counts in the final measurement, fortunately. Here is my scarf:
It measures exactly 54" long, including the fringe. Whew.
This project is very specific about what yarn to use: Red Heart Supersaver (RHSS) or Red Heart Soft in certain blue and red colors. As long as you use both red and blue and make the scarf the right size, they will accept any pattern you choose (though some free patterns for both knit and crochet are linked on the site). I doubled the yarn and cast on 136 stitches on a size 10 needle, and to be honest, the scarf is a little stiff. I could have easily gone up to size 11 or 13 (aside: why isn't there a size 12 needle out there? Anybody know?)
I did not particularly enjoy knitting with this yarn. I'm not a fan of acrylic in general, and RHSS is not exactly high-quality, but it's what they want, and I am satisfied with how the stripes look.
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