Ignore this if you’re not knittingly iclined. I’m just posting it so I can put it on my ravelry page.

The pattern for this winter scarf is simple. I made it when I moved abroad [here] to France [still here], and realised I hadn’t brought a daily scarf. I had a bag full of spare yarn featuring 2 skeins of some rather rough grey stuff I picked up cheap at HobbyCraft (UK). It ended up being my absolute favourite scarf of all time. I only had enough yarn to make it a medium-length scarf but it turned out perfectly – I wear scarves folded in half with the loose ends tucked through the folded end [pictured] and with this scarf the loose ends are hidden, so it makes a neat little minimalist V around my neck if I tie it loosely.

I went on a trip a couple of weeks ago and lost it without realising, so I immediately called my friend back home at uni (where I bought the yarn) to go and get me 3 skeins immediately (and some organic shampoo I couldn’t find here) and post it over. This is take #2.

Note: the instructions are simple, patience is required, but the outcome is worth it.

Yarn used: Patons Wool Blend Aran (Charcoal) from HobbyCraft at £3.50 a pop.

Gauge: 19sts, 25 rows. But this isn’t the kind of project where you need to get finicky about gauges.

Needles used: 4mm. But the gauge calls for 4.5mm so use whatever you feel comfortable with.

1. CO 50 stitches.

2. Knit in 2×2 ribbing (K2P2) for a few days.

3. Get frustrated.

4. Abandon angrily, realising you haven’t breathed properly or swallowed in hours. There are 17 missed calls and your landlord has started taking appointments for viewings of your apartment.

5. Forget how monotonous it is and pick up your work again.

6. Get frustrated.

7. Finish 4 days later, just an empty shell of the woman/man you were when you started.

Just kidding. Knit in said 2×2 ribbing until the work measures about 65-68″ give or take. Stop whenever you feel comfortable with the length, really. It’s a medium-width scarf for winter so it works well both if you knit it longer and if you keep it short-ish and compact.

Once you’ve reached your desired length, BO either in the normal way or using this wonderful extra stretchy bind-off method I discovered (I can’t find the original video at the moment so I’ll just explain it – it’s easy and sort of crochet-like.) -ordinarily you’d BO by knitting two stitches and pulling the first over the second so you’re left with one. To make it extra stretchy (and there are many variations of this so you can just Youtube it and find something similar if you want) knit/purl three stitches (keep to your K2P2 pattern), pull the second over the third (the one closest to the tip) and then pull the first over the second. Keep yarn slack for maximum stretchiness. That’s it.

Et puis voilà! I never blocked mine because I liked the compact, stiff ribbing caused by the yarn I used. Feel free to do what you like. I’m clearly not running a dictatorship here.

You should be left with something like this:

Enjoy. Ask if you need anything. Note the date on this post – I’m here all evening, ladies and gents.