june at noon

In June, before I left for our family vacation and the subsequent blogging breaks, I finished up another quick set of Christmas gifts: ruffled scarves.

I started with inspiration from several different tutorials I came across that used elastic thread to create a shirring effect. (I can’t find the original tutorial I looked at, but if you search Google for “ruffle scarf tutorial” or “ruffle scarf elastic thread,” you’ll find more than enough options with similar results.)

Behold, the ruffly scarf:

It worked beautifully, but after making a few I started rethinking the style of the scarves. I’d like a couple for myself, and one person on my gift list will definitely rock the ruffles, but it just doesn’t suit the majority of the others.

So I narrowed the strips and used a close zigzag stitch with regular thread on each of the sides to create a softer wave. Then I did some very basic, very (intentionally) wonky Sashiko stitching with embroidery thread to add a bit of interest.

(Geez, why didn’t the Huz tell me my hair looked so … um … ?)

(Hmmm, that’s a nice, awkward pose.)

I think these will do much better. Despite the long, long rows of stitching that killed my hands, they made up pretty quickly, and I really like the effect.

What I like most about all of these is, being made from thin jersey knit, they’re light enough to wear to dress up a shirt in the summer, but they’ll look just fine with a sweater or a coat in the winter as well.

I made enough for all the gift-giving I plan to do plus a couple for myself, and then I amused the neighbors by posing outside in them for photos.