Lima i-cord scarf

I would never consider myself a "designer" by any stretch of the imagination - I don't try to make my living out of my little creative endeavors. But I love to get an idea, mull it over, play with colors and work out the details.

The Lima i-cord scarf has been banging around in my brain since June, and I am glad I finally committed it to paper. My prototype was made up of (discontinued) alpaca blends I had in my stash. It is always frustrating to design in a yarn that is no longer available, but it can be really useful for working out ideas....

... such as the length of a scarf.... how to make stitches line up when you *really* should have been paying attention a bit better.... and the little fiddly bits.

Pattern: Lima i-cord scarf prototype

Yarn: Pink: Alpaca Fiber Exchange Baby Alpaca merino, in pink babe. Light blue: The Fibre Company Babe in spearmint. Teal: The Fibre Company Khroma WW in Aegean.

Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm) dpns and 32-inch circular, and a size US 2 32-inch needle.

But when it is time to knit the sample it is time to find a yarn that will hopefully be on the market for a few years, and if you are REALLY lucky, they won't discontinue one of the colors on you.

Pattern: Rowan Lima i-cord scarf

Yarn: Rowan Lima (84% alpaca, 8% merino, 8% nylon. 109 yards/50 g) in Argentina (dark grey), Ecuador (pink), and Andes (light grey). 1 skein of each.

Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm) dpns and 32-inch circular, and a size US 2 32-inch needle

Super luxurious in worsted weight alpaca - this yarn is seriously soft and the chain construction allows you to knit air into your project, making it very warm and extra squishy.  

It took me one week to knit two scarves and write the pattern.  Not bad, if you don't factor in the four months it was an elusive, amorphous idea.

I am so glad that this scarf is now a corporeal knitted object.  It is living at Woven Art, and you can pick up the pattern for free if you buy the yarn. But if you have your own yarn, or just want the pattern...

... it is available for $5.

... the only thing is, I think it spawned another idea.