Rainbow River Scarf

The Story

As soon as I saw the Papatya Sundae yarn I knew I wanted to make something with it, so I didn’t hesitate for a moment to snap some up! Deciding on a colour was difficult as they’re all so pretty, but I loved the pink and purple rainbow tones of shade 014. I love the colour combinations and richness of all the shades in this range and the yarn is lightweight and creates perfect colour stripes. Its 100% Microfiber Acrylic but feels like a mercerised cotton.

Now that I had the yarn, I needed to find a project. I picked up 2 balls and knew I wanted to make something for myself, so thought a scarf would be perfect. Now I had the yarn and a project in mind, I now needed the perfect stitch! I wanted a stitch that would accentuate the beautiful colour changes and the way the shades blend softly from one to the other. I chose a chevron stitch, called the Stockinette Chevron, which gives a solid finish and a soft wave effect.

The Papatya Sundae yarn falls into the 4ply yarn weight, but I wanted the finished fabric to have a slightly more open and lighter feel with more of a drape. After knitting a tension swatch I decided that a 4mm knitting needle would be perfect.

I’ve loved every moment of knitting this scarf. The pattern is easy and means you don’t have to refer to the instructions, this makes for a relaxed and leisurely project. I also love seeing the colours blend into one another. The yarn is lovely to work with and has a smooth, cotton feel as the yarn promised. It doesn’t split and the smoothness of the yarn means it slides nicely on the needles.

The finished scarf will be light enough to be worn as a cover-up on slightly cooler spring and summer days and evenings, or, to add an extra layer to an autumn or winter outfit. After using one ball of the Papatya Sundae yarn my scarf measured approx. 80 x 26 cm so the 2 balls I have will make a scarf measuring approx. 160 x 26cm. However, you could make yours as long or short as you like! You could even just use 1 ball and join the ends to make a cosy snood.

The Name

I thought such a lovely project deserved an equally lovely name. The soft waves and ripples of the chevron, and the way the colours flow into one another, made me think of a gentle flowing river; along with the pretty rainbow colourway, it reminded me of a song called ‘Rainbow River’. The song has beautiful lyrics and the name seemed perfect.

‘The rainbow river is a laughing stream

Down in a valley by a mountain that is pine tree tall’

The Pattern

The pattern is worked in a very similar way to the traditional Feather & Fan stitch, the variation comes from knitting into the front and the back of a stitch when working the increases, rather than increasing by yarn over. This creates a smoother fabric and doesn’t create a lacey effect, which I thought would detract from the yarn.

Stockinette Chevron Stitch

Abbreviations

• Sts – stitches
• K2tog – knit 2 stitches together to decrease
• Kfb – knit into the front and the back of a stitch to increase

Using a 4mm needle, cast on 54 stitches (or a multiple of 18 sts if you wanted your scarf to be wider or thinner)

Row 1: Knit.

Row 2: Purl.

Row 3: *(K2tog) 3 times, (Kfb) 6 times, (K2tog) 3 times; repeat from * to end.

Row 4: Purl.

The above 4 rows set the pattern. Repeat rows 1 – 4 until you have the desired length.

The Yarn

Choose from a range of different colourways including both soft and more intense colours options that have been carefully selected to create stunning and elegant combinations. Find your perfect shade here >>