Ugly Scarf and its Cute Sister

You know.... maybe Annette's right, maybe this is the butt-ugliest scarf ever knitted... but I tell you, it was great fun to knit! A little of this, a little of that, all garter stitch and with that new favorite finishing technique - needle felting - Well, I like it. The Kid for whom it was knitted likes it too, according to the Kid's mother, and so I'm happy with the whole project. Easy.... relaxing.... fun textures.... fun colors.... a very enjoyable project from start to finish.
This was knitted for the Kid's Older sister, and while it came out cute, really cute, it was a complete pain in the ass to knit and I'll never knit another one as long as I live because I nearly lost my mind. However, should you be silly enough to knit one, here's how - cast on 250 with a size 5 knit pick set which are mounted on 60 inch cables with buttons. What I mean is that each needle should be on it's own, separate cable with a button on the end of the cable - you know, super long "flex needles."

I used the cable cast on with great success, and I highly recommend it for this project. You'll need the strength that this particular cast on provides.
So, you cast on, then turn and knit back, increasing one stitch for every stitch knitted. I did the EZ backwards e increase. Turn, purl all the way back across. Turn and knit, increasing one for each knitted stitch, purl back, another increase row, purl back, knit without increasing, purl back, then cast off right before you set your hair on fire and run down the street screaming.

I did the regular old cast off where you knit two stitches, then pass the first one over the second one, knit, pass, and etc, with one little change - you know how you are always scolded to "cast off loosely?" Well, in this case, cast off TIGHTLY, and it will make the edge roll even more than usual which adds to the cuteness of the whole thing.

So, you begin with 250, and immediately increase to 500. Purl 500 stitches. Knit, increasing to 1000, purl 1000. Knit, increasing to 2000, purl 2000. Knit 2000, purl 2000, cast off 2000 stitches and ask yourself was it worth it??? All the while, you are fighting with the stupid thing because the "spine" is soooooooo much shorter than the outer rows... grrrr. I've never come so close to sticking my needles in my eyes out of desperation in my whole knitterly life!!!

Anyway, it did indeed come out very cute. It reminds me of lettuce, lol.