Big and Burly

A few months ago, on a trip to my LYS, on impulse, I purchased a hank of Burly Spun by Brown Sheep Company, Inc. in the Prairie Fire color way. I didn't know what I would do with one hank, but I wanted to see what it was like to knit with a category 6 super bulky yarn. I found it the other day, when I was looking for something to knit on my daily train commute while I am working on the baby quilt for my co-worker.

The yarn is more like roving than yarn. There is no twist at all. The color has black and white hairs in it which gives it a rich depth of color. I have noticed that it does not take being knit over and over again well. So if you make a mistake and mess with the stitches at all, the yarn seems to wear somewhat. I think that this yarn would be easy to felt.

I decided that I would work on a muffler. A muffler is basically a woolen neck warmer/scarf. I know that different people have different ideas, but I have always thought that a muffler is more manly than a ladies scarf. One of my male co-workers has a beautiful one that his daughter made for him. It is only about 30 inches long and he wraps it around his neck and crosses the ends in front where his jacket zips at the front.

This muffler is done in a pattern reminiscent of my textured vest. The ends and sides has a garter stitch and the center is patterned in a waffle-like pattern.

Ledra's Big and Burly Muffler Pattern

1 hank Burly Spun yarn
1 set US size 10.5 needles

Gauge: 16 stitches, 30 rows per 4"

Cast on 20 stitches.

Work Garter Stitch for 5 rows

Then begin pattern row:

Row 1 - K4, P12, K4
Row 2 - K20
Row 3 - K4, *K1, P1* 6 times, K4
Row 4 - K20
Row 5 - K4, P12, K4
Row 6 - K4, *P1, K1* 6 times, K4

Repeat rows 1 - 6 until scarf is approximately 30 inches long and finish with 5 rows of Garter Stitch.

It is my habit to slip the first stitch of every row to get a nice tight, smooth edge. But this has made the garter stitch on the edge rather tight and the stitching in the center bows out. So after I am done with the muffler, I plan to wet block the scarf so that it lies flat.

If anyone tries the pattern above. I'd love to see your version.

Happy Knitting