The Doctor Who Scarf Saga: Part 2
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Sound the trumpets! My Doctor Who Scarf is finally past the halfway point, and it’s 91.5” long. Also known as 7.6’ or 2.5 yards or 2.3 meters. Now I can make a reasonable guess that the final length (before blocking) will be about 15’. And that doesn’t include tassels either. I can only imagine how the weight of all that yarn and garter stitch’s natural tendency to stretch will change that number. Good thing I want a giant, cosy scarf.
When I started knitting this scarf of so many years ago the uneven edges really bothered me. I was still a relatively new knitter at the time, and creating a straight edge was a point of pride. I chalked it up to using different balls of yarn since some colors pulled in and others expanded at the edges. Blocking will fix this, I thought. Now, the uneven edge doesn’t really bother me because the edges on the original scarves weren’t even either. Plus, uneven edges won’t be that noticeable when I’m wearing it.
I could have titled this post “My Gauge Is Not What It Was”. A wobbly edge is one thing, but as I knit more and more of the scarf it is impossible not to notice that my gauge has changed. The part of the scarf that was tucked away in a bag for years is about 10” across. The new stripes are about 11.5” across! Same number of stitches. Same yarn. Same needles. Different gauge 7 years later, give or take a few months.
Now I could rip back to the old section of knitting, switch to a smaller needle, and get knitting again. I could, but I’m not. I like this looser gauge and, more importantly, I’m fairly sure I’ll still have enough yarn to finish. That’s the important part after all. I might block just that one section of the scarf to get it to match the rest though I haven’t made up my mind yet. I’ve got a bit of time to figure that out.
