How to Quickly Knit a Scarf Gift

You can quickly knit a scarf as a thoughtful, personal gift.

Nothing is more personal than a handmade gift presented by a friend or loved one. A useful and fashionable gift is a hand-knitted scarf. By using large needles, bulky yarn and garter stitch, you can quickly knit up a scarf as a gift suitable for any occasion. To make your gift extra personal, select a yarn in the recipient's favorite color, or select a variegated yarn that features several favorite colors.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Yarn of your choice
• Knitting needles, size 10 or above, or size indicated on yarn label

Instructions

1. Determine how wide and long you want your scarf to be. In order to expedite matters, don't make it wider than about six inches. The average scarf length for women is about 48 inches, but you can make it longer if you desire and have extra time.

2. Look at the label on your yarn. It will give you the yarn's gauge, which is the number of stitches needed to cast on to achieve a desired width. For example, if the gauge is three stitches per inch, you will need to cast on 18 stitches to create a scarf that is six inches wide.

3. Cast on the number of stitches that you calculated in Step 2 using your method of choice. (For help choosing a method, see Resources.)

4. Knit every row--garter stitch.

5. Measure your scarf intermittently with a tape measure until you reach a minimum length of about 48 inches.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're making a scarf for a child, you should decrease the length. For a young child, 35-40 inches is sufficient.

Resources

• Knitty: Casting On