Thursday, December 17, 2009

Crocodile Scarf for Standard Gauge Knitting Machine



Design copyright by Hilary Detmers, December 2009, all rights reserved.

Exact yarn and machine tension are not critical on this project, as long as you work a tension that produces a fabric texture and drape pleasing to you. I used 2 ends of an unlabeled fuzzy laceweight acrylic cone yarn. I varied the sizes of three scarves simply by changing the tension dial – Tension 5, 7 and 10.

Notions:
4.0mm crochet hook
2 plastic “Pony beads”
Yarn needle


Tuck Pattern:
Leave 2 needles at each edge in working position at all times. At times this will mean reducing the tuck pattern by one repeat across the width of the sca
Set carriage to Hold (HCL2)
Starting with 3rd needle from the left edge, pull every 6th needle to hold position.
Knit 4 rows
Set carriage to Plain Kitting (HCL3)
Knit 2 rows
Set carriage to Hold (HCL2)
Starting with 6th needle from the left edge, pull every 6th needle to hold position.
Knit 4 rows
Set carriage to Plain Kitting (HCL3)
Knit 2 rows


Head:
Starting at the mouth, cast on 13 stitches.
MT: Knit 6 rows
Transfer every 2nd stitch to adjacent needle, keeping empty needles in working position.
TD: 10 Knit 1 row.
MT: Knit 6 rows, hang hem.
TD: 10 Knit 1 row.
MT: Knit I pattern (above), and at the same time, increase one stitch each side of work until scarf is 37 stitches wide. On the last increase row, increase one additional stitch for a total of 38 stitches wide.
Knit in pattern straight for 36 rows.


Neck shaping:
Decrease one stitch each side every second row, 6 times.
Increase one stitch each side every second row, 6 times.
You should once again be working on 38 stitches.


Body:
Knit in pattern straight until scarf is just about as long as the child is tall, or to 5-6 inches short of the desired finished length.

Tail decrease:
Still working in pattern, decrease one stitch each side every 6th row, until only 5 stitches remain. Bind off.


Non-curl edging:

Using about a 4.0mm crochet hook, and double the weight of yarn you worked the scarf with (if you worked the scarf with 2 ends, work the crochet with 4 ends) crochet slip stitch on the wrong side of the knitting, just in from the edge, from the mouth, all along down the body to the tail, and back to the other side of the mouth. Repeat with a second row just inside this first row. This will help prevent curling.

Pin scarf out on blocking board. Lightly and gently steam the entire scarf, being very careful to not flatten the texture. On the edges only you may, if you choose, apply enough steam and heat to ‘kill the acrylic’ to further prevent curling. Allow to dry completely.


Finishing


Using photo as placement guide, sew beads securely to scarf. Tan or pale yellow beads are very authentic, but glow-in-the-dark are very effective. Dark red are also popular.




Eyelids: (make 2)


Ch 9. Leaving long ends, DC in 3rd chain from the hook (This CH3 counts as first DC) and each subsequent chain. Finish off. You will notice that the chain edge is tighter, and the top of the DCs are flared out a bit. Thread a needle onto the starting end of the thread, and sew the chain edge of an eyelid to one side of the bead. Carry the chain edge up and over the bead, halfway covering it. Slip the needle thru the bead, and sew the other end of the chain to the other side of the bead. Finish off. Thread the ending tail of yarn of this piece onto the needle, and loosely sew the top of the DC edge to the scar behind the eye. You want to keep this loose and bumpy. Finish off.   Repeat for second eye.



Nostrils: (make 2)


Ch 12. Leaving long ends, DC in 3rd chain from the hook (This CH3 counts as first DC) and each subsequent chain. Finish off. You will notice that the chain edge is tighter, and the top of the DCs are flared out a bit.


Thread the ending tail of yarn of one nostril onto the needle. Sew the last DC to the first one, making a loop. Referring to photo for placement, sew this open loop at the bottom only to the scarf. Finish off. Thread the beginning tail of this nostril onto the needle. Gather the beginning chain stitches together tightly to close the back of the nostril, and sew firmly to the scarf. Repeat for 2nd nostril.


You’re finished!! Now it’s time to go make a small boy happy!

Abbreviations used:
MT: Main Tension
TD: Tension Dial
CH – chain stitch (crochet)
DC – Double Crochet (Crochet) in American Terminology. Same as Treble Crochet in British terminology.


















1 comment:

  1. That's a really clever use of tuck stitch! I love it. Well done you.

    ReplyDelete