how to knit a scarf

Scarfs are ideal during winter and can keep you warm in cold weather. This scarf is easy to knit and you'll want to make one for yourself and another to give away as a gift. Follow these easy, step by step instructions on how to knit a scarf.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Yarn
• Knitting needles

1. The Scarf

   • 1
     Look for midweight, sport-weight or four-ply worsted yarn for this scarf.
   • 2
     Purchase about 6 oz. yarn and size 8 knitting needles to complete a scarf that is approximately 6 1/2 inches by 60 inches.
   • 3
     Buy extra yarn for scarf fringe (optional). The fringe will add approximately 7 inches to each end of your scarf.
   • 4
     
     

     Knit a sample square. The gauge for this scarf is four stitches per inch. You may need to change knitting needle sizes to achieve the correct gauge.
   • 5
     Keep your stitches loose. See "How to Gauge Knitting Stitches" in Related eHows.
   • 6
     
     

     Make your scarf. Cast on 26 stitches. Row 1: K1, P across the row, Row 2: P1 Knit across the row.
   • 7
     
     

     Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until your scarf is 60 inches long.
   • 8
     Cast off your knitting.

   The Fringe

   • 1
     Add fringe to your scarf. Wind your yarn around a piece of heavy cardboard that is 8 inches long by 5 inches wide. Wind the yarn lengthwise around the cardboard 60 times.
   • 2
     Insert one blade of a pair of scissors between the cardboard and yarn at one end of the cardboard and cut through the yarn.
   • 3
     Divide the yarn into groups of five strands each.
   • 4
     Fold one group of strands in half and use a crochet hook (medium or large) to pull the fold through one stitch in the scarf edge. Pull through just far enough so that the fold forms a loop.
   • 5
     Use the crochet hook to pull the yarn strands, from back to front, through the loop made in the previous step. Pull to tighten.
   • 6
     Start your fringe at one left or right edge of the scarf and space each yarn group about five stitches apart. End your fringe at the opposite edge.
   • 7
     Repeat for the other end of the scar

Tips & Warnings

• Purchase more than 6 oz. yarn if you want a longer and/or wider scarf. Extra yarn is helpful in case you make a mistake.
• Know that K indicates that you should do a knit stitch and P indicates a purl stitch. See "How to Purl" and "How to Do the Knit Stitch" for instructions in Related eHows.
• See "How to Cast On in Knitting" and "How to Cast Off in Knitting" for instructions in Related eHows.