Any knitters around please?

[bananaskin123]

Just need to keep my hands out of the biscuit tin over the next four weeks. Now, I am not really a knitter, I have tried and never finished anything. I have loads of double knitting wool and I'd like to try and knit myself a scarf. I have no pattern for it but just wondered how many stitches I would need to cast on for a ladies scarf. I've loads of knitting needles collected over the years so its not really going to cost me anything except my time. Last lockdown the weather was warm and sunny but not really expecting this in gloomy November so maybe it will make the time go more quickly.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Have you had a look at Ravelry for easy scarf patterns? Loads of patterns are free and you can order your search by difficulty, yarn size etc etc.

I started knitting as an adult and to be honest, I wouldn't recommend starting with a scarf, especially in double knit. I know it seems an obvious choice because they are straight but they are soooo time consuming and boring to knit. I started off making hats. They are much quicker, you can knit them flat and there are lots of patterns for ones knitted square if you are not confident with increases/decreases.
If you really want to do a scarf, consider using chunky/super chunky wool to speed it up!

I second the poster who said not to make a scarf. For a first project they are so boring and take ages. You'll be sick of it before you have a warm neck! A knitted flat hat would be much more fun and give you the satisfaction of a finished item much more quickly. Ravelry is a great site to find patterns.

The Woolly Hugs project, which started here on MN, and is still here, is always looking for squares to go in the various different blankets they do. There are specifications for the yarn you use, but the most-used one is Stylecraft Special double knit, which is very easy to get hold of, inexpensive, and nice to knit with. The blankets go to children in hospital, women undergoing breast cancer treatment, refugees, Billies Blankets in Africa - and that's just the ones I can remember!

You don't have to knit enough squares for a whole blanket - you can knit just a couple - and they don't have to be fancy either - every blanket needs plain squares just as much as it needs fancier ones. You could try different stitches for texture, or even stripes.

And it is very quick to knit a square - so it gives a nice feeling of accomplishment.

Not sure you will like my suggestion but it is to learn crochet. It took a few goes for me for me to get the hang of it but now I have I can do so much more than I ever could with knitting.

So far I have done a blanket, scarf, hat, bookmark, snowflakes and lots of toys since I started a year ago. Bella Crochet is great for getting started and Attic 24 has some good patterns.

Lovecrafts have a free patterns section. You can download the patterns and there are a variety of hats, scarves, jumpers etc. Knitting hats for babies is very quick and there are some that don’t require much increasing and decreasing.

I started with a scarf, OP

If its what you want to do - mindless knitting in front of the TV to avoid fiddling with your phone instead (like me)! - then I'd recommend 4 or 5mm needles and 40 stitches for DK

(That will look too narrow for the first few rows but it's not, honest)

5mm needles for DK might be a bit loose but would give a drapery texture. Have fun with it

As a long time knitter, since March I've knitted five children's jumpers, two children cardigans, finished a double bed sized crochet blanket, plus other bits and pieces from yarn in my stash

Crochet is great for making little dinky things for the instant buzz of achievement.

If you can learn a few crochet stitches, you make little leaves and acorns and do the Attic 24 crochet autumn garland. It's a lot of fun and looks cute.

I do not advise starting knitting by making socks. That's what I did when restarting after a 20 yr break (not having done much then, eithet). Had it not been for my SIL, they would have become firelighters. As it is, I am about to put them on and walk the dogs.

I'm knitting a pastel rainbow throw for my new navy blue sofa on rainbow wool, I love this kind of wool because the stripes happen naturally without you physically having to add them so it's more interesting to knit.
I never do stocking stitch, I do seed stitch (k1, P1) as then it looks the same on both sides and has a lovely texture although it's a bit more time consuming.
I think I cast on 200 stitches and it will need 6 balls of double knit.

I'm another person hopping on to say, have you tried crochet? It's definitely worth trying both as generally one comes much more naturally to you.

I've done both for a few years and I'd say I much prefer crochet, for one as it's easier to rectify mistakes!

That said, to answer your original question, take a look at this Wool and The Gang Video Super simple chunky scarf pattern that would work up quickly.

It's interesting the votes for crochet. Yes, it's arguably easier and quicker, but knitting has much more variety as far as I can see (though that might be a matter of opinion) and I prefer knitting to crochet.

Scarves can be boring just because they take a long time. A cowl might be quicker and can be knitted flat and sewn up (or knit in the round if you're feeling brave). I agree that Ravelry is a good place to find free patterns but it's a rabbit hole... don't get lost!!

I'm an experienced knitter. I would also avoid making a scarf because they go on and on and you tend to lose interest long before the scarf is finished. A cowl or even a cushion cover might be a good alternative.

I would highly recommend joining Ravelry. They have thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of patterns from beginners to advanced and many are free.

4mm needles for DK yarn.

Not a knitter but a crocheter here. I started learning in the first lockdown. I started with hats then blankets and I made lots of things for Halloween. A hat gives you a result much quicker and you're more likely to persist.

As others have said, join Ravelry (free) and use the advanced search and select 'free' and you can put your yarn type & needle size and it will give you patterns.

I'd agree don't make a scarf - it's so boring. Look on Ravelry or Lovecrafts for something not too difficult. If you choose something fairly small you will get a quicker sense of achievement that will give you a boost and motivation to progress.