I think I am pretty comfortable admitting that I have a thing for patterns on the bias, or more specifically the magic of finding a pattern that I can manipulate to be knit on the bias. And fiber craft worked on the bias has a little bit of magic added to it, okay maybe a better way to say it is that there is a little bit more magic since I generally think that taking any kind of string and making it into a material is pretty magical to begin with. Working on the bias creates such drape, the fabric (knitted or otherwise) just flutters, it slinks, slithers and mostly behaves in a far more sultry fashion than other fabrics.
My other favorite part of working on the bias is that it is a perfect platform for stripes, interesting stripes, stripes for the sake of illustrating texture and construction that inform the eye of the why and how of the scarf. This scarf, aptly named Zebra Confetti, is worked with two skeins of Madelinetosh Pashmina, on the bias with a cables and lace pattern in wide stripes of each color.
The stitch pattern is subtle enough not to compete with the flecks of color in the spatter dyes Cosmic Wonderdust color way( c'mon who doesn't want something knit out of yarn with a name like that?), and the Dirty Panther Grey is the perfect contrast color. There is minimal working in of ends as well, the colors are carried up the sides with a curling border that disguises the carried wraps.
This pattern is easily customized, there are notes in the pattern that indicate how to increase the width for more of a shawl or wrap. There are also tips on how to work with the two colors untangled and when to weigh your yarn so you can begin decreases at the correct point.
Thanks so much to my awesomesauce brother Kevin who helped model this scarf, as you can see it is truly a unisex design. And another thanks to my very talented and clever sister in law Chelsea of Vitality Images. If you live in the Edmonton Area and need photos you really need her to do them, check out her website here.
