A step-by-step guide to knitting the cosy Lucky Dip Scarf
Ever gotten halfway through a project and thought “Hang on, am I even doing this right?” We have 🙋♀️
That’s why we’ve created these step-by-step guides to walk you through the knitting process.
Even if you've never knitted before, we'll take you from zero to knitting hero in no time 🦸♀️
When it comes to knitting, practice makes perfect
Before we start the pattern, we suggest you spend some time learning the basic techniques you’ll need to complete your masterpiece 🤓
TheLucky Dip Scarf is a dream to knit up and the perfect beginner project. She's made using just two (yes two!) stitch types - the famous knit stitch and the purl stitch. You'll want to be confident with these stitches before we start. You'll also want to get a hang of tying a slip knot and casting on your stitches which is the first step in any knitting project.
You can use the yarn that came in your kit to practice with. Once you've got these mastered you'll fly through your scarf.
Total beginner? 👩🏫
For a more comprehensive lesson on the basics of knitting visit our Learn How To Knit page.
🥣 Test your tension
While we're practising and before you start your project, you'll want to make sure your tension (how tightly or loosely your knitting is) is juuuust right. We do this by knitting a “tension swatch”. It's a bit like goldilocks, if the tension is too tight, your piece will be too small, and if it's too loose it may not hold its shape and might be too big.
Gauge: Your 10x10cm knitted swatch should be 7 stitches wide and 12 rows high when knitted in garter stitch (knit stitch) on your 15mm needles.
To test this, jump on your needles and cast on 10 stitches, then knit every stitch in every row for 214 rows. Then measure a 10x10cm square and count your stitches and rows within that space to make sure you're knitting at the correct tension.
If you've got more stitches or rows than the instructions say you should have, your knitting is a little too tight, and if you've got less your knitting is too loose. Adjust your tension by holding the yarn a little more tightly/loosely as you knit.
Onto the scarf!
⚡️What you'll need
Your kit comes with everything you'll need to make your masterpiece. In your kit you'll find;
- 15mm needles
- 600g of Cardigang Chunky Merino Wool
- A darning needle
- Made by me tag
You also want to have a pair of scissors handy.
🧶 Let's knit our way to cosy-town!
You'll have a few different colours of yarn in your kit and you'll use all the wool in your kit, changing colours when you've got approximately 50cm left in the working ball. Depending on your preference, you can knit up the full amount of one colour before moving into the next or you can do multiple bocks of the one colour - it’s your masterpiece, go crazy!
Time to get click-clacking and whip up your warm-as-toast scarf.
Remember learning a new skill can be a little challenging at first, and you’re bound to find yourself making some mistakes along the way. But as with learning anything, your brain and your hands slowly start to get the hang of it, muscle memory is created, and soon the thing you found tricky/daunting/scary is like second nature! 💪
If you need a reminder of the techniques, just head back up the page and watch the videos again.
STEP 1
To start, we need to get our stitches onto our 15mm needles. Do do this we use a method call "casting on". We start with a slip stitch and then cast the stitches onto your left needle.
Hot tip: your piece will 'grow' as you knit so don't be alarmed if it looks like you're knitting a baby's beanie to start with!
STEP 2
Time to dive into the rib stitch. We'll knit 6 rows of rib stitch. To create a rib we knit 1 stitch, then purl the next, then knit the next, then purl the next and repeat.
💭 Make sure you’re moving your yarn tail from the back to the front of your work between each stitch (bring the yarn in through the middle of the needles) to ensure the rib is executed correctly.
STEP 3
Yay! You're onto the easy part now - we're going to knit in garter stitch. Garter stitch which is made when we knit every stitch in every row - simple!
This is also a good time to change colour 🌈🕺We recommend changing colours at the end of a row, not the middle. This will keep your piece neat. To change colour just tie the new colour around the end of the old colour and start knitting with your new colour. You can tighten the knot at the end and then weave in the loose ends with your darning needle.
🎬 Watch How To Change Colour
STEP 4
Time to finish off your scarf with another band of rib stitch. You’ll need around 12 meters (or 30-40 grams) of wool left to complete this part so make sure you factor that in as you knit.
Complete 6 rows of rib stitch.
Finally we'll cast off our stitches. Cast off all stitches and when you've got just one stitch left on your right needle, simply cut your yarn from the ball (leaving about 20cm) and thread it back through your last stitch to secure it.
Use your darning needle to weave in any loose ends.
D.O.N.E! You've finished your scarf, well done! Epic work 🤩 If this was your first-ever knitting project or one of many, we hope you had a blast click-clacking and making your masterpiece 💥❤️
In a bind and need a little more help?
Email us at stitchup@cardigang.com.au and we'll be able to help! Whether you're just starting out, or you've got a specific question or problem (dropped a stitch, no stress!), we're here to get you out of a bind.