How to Knit a Keyhole Scarf

A keyhole scarf is basically a scarf with a hole in it. One end of the scarf is put through the hole to keep it in place around your neck without being bulky. To knit a keyhole scarf, the only knitting skills needed are casting on, the knit stitch and binding off. A scarf is one of the easiest items to knit as it is essentially just a long rectangle. To make any scarf a keyhole scarf involves a few extra steps. The scarf shown is fairly short and chunky and knit in garter stitch with the yarn held double, making it quick and easy to knit. The basic technique however can be used to make a scarf any desired size, in any stitch pattern, using any yarn and needle size you wish.

Things You'll Need

• Size US 15 (10-mm) knitting needles
• (4 balls) 1-oz. worsted weight yarn, approx. 360 yards total
• Stitch holder or waste yarn
• Yarn needle
• Scissors

Instructions

How to Knit a Chunky Garter Stitch Keyhole Scarf

1. Cast 14 stitches onto your needle with two strands of yarn held as one. You may use any cast-on technique, but for the scarf illustrated, the long-tail cast-on method was used.

2. 

   Knit in garter stitch. This means you just knit every stitch, and the scarf has no right or wrong side (see Figure 1).

3. Keep knitting until the scarf measures 24 inches long. For a longer scarf, just keep knitting and check the length by holding the scarf at the side of your neck, around the back of your neck and down your front. Stop knitting when the side hanging down your front is as long as you would like that side of the finished scarf to be. Keep in mind you will need extra yarn to make the scarf longer.

4. 

   Knit 7 stitches across. If you are using a different number of stitches, knit half of them. Place the remaining 7 stitches on a stitch holder, or thread a piece of waste yarn through the stitches and tie it in a loose bow (see Figure 2).

5. 

   Knit the 7 stitches remaining on the needle for an additional 8 inches. If using your own pattern, knit this strip until it measures the same as the width of your scarf (see Figure 3).

6. Place these 7 stitches on a stitch holder or piece of waste yarn.

7. Return to the 7 stitches you left behind. Put them back on a knitting needle and knit these stitches for 8 inches, using yarn from the other two balls. The two divided strips of the scarf will be the same length and the bumps of the rows should match up evenly.

8. 

   Put the 7 held stitches back on the needle so that all 14 stitches are on the needle, joining the two sections back together (see Figure 4).

9. Knit across all 14 stitches and continue until the scarf measures 38 inches total or the desired length. Finish by binding off all the stitches.

10. Using the yarn needle weave all loose ends into the scarf to hide them. Trim the ends (see Figure 5).

Tips & Warnings

• You can use the above steps as a guide to make a keyhole scarf any size. Knit a small swatch in your desired yarn and pattern and measure the number of stitches per inch. Decide how wide you want your scarf to be, multiply the width by the number of stitches per inch of your swatch, cast on that number of stitches and knit away. You can decide the length of your scarf as you go along by draping it around your neck.