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Many of you already know that I enjoy knitting. As much as I enjoy it, I will admit, however, that I am not very good at it. What I am good at is knitting in a straight line and so I make A LOT of scarves. And because I make mostly scarves, I often try to vary their type and length. Sometimes I make a chunky infinity scarf or a narrow and longer scarf. Sometimes I buy a special yarn or several colors within the same type of yarn and knit a color block type of scarf. Recently, I combined two different colors of yarn and knit them (at the same time) together. This resulted in a very pretty scarf and an easy technique that I will repeat. But as much as I have mastered knitting a simple scarf, I am still never quite sure what the right length of the scarf should be and, therefore, when I should cast-off? No matter how many scarves I have knit (think at least 75), I am still always apprehensive about casting-off. At this point in my scarf knitting career, I should feel not only confident in my abilities to make a scarf with an appropriate length, but also accomplished in finishing a scarf. Ironically, I feel neither confident nor accomplished about the whole casting-off process. Recently, I realized why this is so…
Casting-off, to me, feels final as if there is never an opportunity to go back to fix the length of the scarf. As a result, while I am still knitting the scarf, I start to anticipate that I will need to cast-off ‘soon-ish’ and so I start wrapping the scarf around my own neck to get a feel for if it will be the right length. Then I think about who I am making the scarf for. Are they taller? Shorter? I consider the type of scarf I am knitting, and do I want it to drape around the neck once? Twice? Or maybe even three times? Without a doubt, my casting-off hesitation and lack of confidence in estimating scarf length has resulted in nearly every scarf I make being too long. One time, in my attempt to make a cool color-block scarf for my very tall husband, I think I overshot the length by about 4 feet! I am still living that one down…
The other reason why I am always so hesitant to cast-off is because I really only enjoy knitting scarves. Scarves, or at least the scarves I knit, are simple to make and require relatively little of my attention. I can (and often do) knit while I am watching TV or having a conversation. Knitting keeps my hands occupied and my creative side satisfied. And when I cast-off, it means that the scarf which I really did not need to make in the first place, is done. This makes me somewhat sad because I will then have to decide WHO I can make another scarf for the next time I have a yearning to pick up my needles and knit again…
Hobby! Hobby!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!