The Envy Scarf is now complete and wrapped deliciously around my Selfish neck twice, but you’re going to have to wait for pictures. In the meantime, apparently the idea of knitting an entire scarf in fingering weight yarn appeals to some of you (clearly bored loners, much like the Selfish Seamstress herself). So to relieve you of your scarf envy over the Envy Scarf, or perhaps to inflict upon you the same mind-numbing boredom that I have just endured in making it (oh sorry, knitters, I meant “relaxing” and “therapeutic” means of “unwinding,” geez.), here is the very classic feather and fan pattern:
Cast on 78 stitches:
Row 1: K
Row 2: P
Row 3: K3, * (K2tog) 3 times, (YO, K1) 6 times, (K2tog) 3 times. Repeat from * until 3 stitches remain. K3.
Row 4: K
Repeat all rows until desired length is reached. Bind off loosely.
For my scarf, I used a 4.5 mm circular needle and about 1 and 2/3 skeins of Lang Jawoll Magic in shade 99 (Greens), but you can use whatever you want, not only because gauge isn’t important, but also because… well, did you honestly think I would care?
51 comments
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October 7, 2010 at 12:44 am
Sar's
Nah…. You lost me at “Cast on 78 stitches” …….. *yawn*
October 7, 2010 at 7:24 am
Nikole
I’m with you as well. That pretty much ended it for me after I read you’ll have to wait for pictures
November 17, 2010 at 10:59 am
Jeanne
Is there a multiple of stitches that we need to know? I’d like to make the scarf a little narrower and wonder what number to use instead of 78. I have some beautiful alpaca fingering-weight yarn that would look great in this scarf!!
Thanks!!
February 19, 2011 at 11:42 am
lab rat
I’d like to know too about a multiple of stitches for this pattern. I love the scarf but would like to make it narrower too. Does anyone know?
October 7, 2010 at 1:34 am
lin3arossa
I have the feeling you’re trying to distract us from a Carlos Miele knockoff sweater disaster. What’s the deal?
October 7, 2010 at 3:49 am
Josie
oooh, I bought a skein of that yarn to make something else but now I think I am going to copy you!
October 7, 2010 at 4:15 am
lavon
Love the pattern but I am not a knitter so I will wait for pictures of you wearing it.
October 7, 2010 at 4:21 am
kathleen
You can’t trick me into knitting!
October 7, 2010 at 4:27 am
Meredith P
Why thank you, SS. There you go again, being not selfish. I do occasionally knit, but I don’t find it nirvana like some. It is s.l.o.w with a capital S. Crochet is faster, but sadly lacking in patterns that don’t take me back to the 70s-a very bad time in crochet…and granny sqares.
Thanks again. I might snag me some ombre yarn and try this, although this is one of the more complicated patterns that I’ve tried-well anything with “lace” in it is uncharted (he he) territory for me.
October 7, 2010 at 12:31 pm
lorrwill
Girl, get thee to Ravelry, stat! Many patterns and ideas.
October 7, 2010 at 4:56 am
Elle C
I appreciate seeing your scarf, but sorry no go. I only knit simple things with yarn that doesn’t show dropped stitches or changes in tension. In other words I only knit simple things badly.
October 7, 2010 at 5:32 am
nettie
Thanks for the pattern. I will never in one million billion years knit a rectangle with fingering weight yearn, though. I love feather and fan stitch and am not averse to sock weight yarn…there is still my problem with rectangles. They make me crazy. Maybe another triangle shawl….
October 7, 2010 at 6:11 am
Vanessa
I mastered feather and fan and yarn overs this year and after 20 years knitting, could have bashed myself over the head long ago for being not confident enough to try it. It’s yarn overs all over the place for me now …
October 7, 2010 at 7:14 am
magdamagda
my grandma used this pattern a lot… i also have in my early years when I had enough patience to learn something, later I was too restless for that so I just kept on inventing and improvising…btw my grandma taught me to knit when I was 4 but my first complete sweater came true only at 13, weighting abt 2 kgs due to some strangely heavy yarn i used:D the wavy shades of colour suit very well the waviness of the pattern ( love the colours!!!)
October 7, 2010 at 7:15 am
magdamagda
my grandma used this pattern a lot… i also have in my early years when I had enough patience to learn something, later I was too restless for that so I just kept on inventing and improvising…btw my grandma taught me to knit when I was 4 but my first complete sweater came true only at 13, weighting abt 2 kgs due to some strangely heavy yarn i used:D
the wavy shades of colour suit very well the waviness of the pattern ( love the colours!!!)
October 7, 2010 at 7:37 am
Crystal
Damn it, now I have to learn knitting (or was that crocheting?) on top of everything else I need to learn? Ugh.
October 7, 2010 at 8:19 am
Marie-Christine
Oh you poor, poor thing, you’re very bored indeed :-). Hope you have a radio or something, and can understand the language on it. But wait, if you’re in Europe you can get a library card, and check out some really long-winded audio book in 28CDs to help the pill go down.
Now I think you should do this again in grey Habu silk/steel mix, it’d look more European don’t you think??
And let me second lin3arossa – we’re not fooled by the mysterious disappearance of the Carlos Miele.. what, you tossed it overboard during the Atlantic crossing?
October 7, 2010 at 9:01 am
Lashell
Thanks for giving us the instructions on this beautiful scarf. Now I just need to find some ombre yarn. I can’t wait until you show the final product. Are the ends the same?
October 7, 2010 at 9:28 am
Meredith P
Hey, wait a minute…yes, the Carlos whomever sweater/stole! I’m still waiting for the English translation. :-)
October 7, 2010 at 11:00 am
dana
Aaaugh! are there any cotton yarns that look that nice?! No, never! Stupid wool allergy!
November 17, 2010 at 7:06 am
Rochel
Try Alpaca, it is non-allergenic and as soft as cashmere. It is also 8 times warmer than wool.
October 7, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Rosie
Love it and hope you are settling in!
October 7, 2010 at 12:29 pm
lorrwill
Make your own? You are SO FUNNY.
As if I can knit. My scarves is made from that other thing with the hook.
But being as stubborn as a Klingon mule as I am, I do have a couple of looms on order so I can at least pretend that I can knit.
And since you posted this pattern as a form of torture, I would be remiss in my duty as a boot licker to not at least try to translate this on a knitting board, right?
October 7, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Mimi O
Very nice…I’d complement how the scarf makes you look divine and fuel the fires of envy in the eyes of your followers…but alas…no pic means no ego stroking which in turn means no one gushing over your wonderfulness. But then again this might be part of a diabolical plan to get us to envy you even more for being so selfish in not sharing a photo. Muahahaha…I think your plan might be working!
Also…what’s up with that knock-off cable designed sweater you were making? Has it now been delegated to the UFO pile?
October 7, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Fourth Daughter
Nice to have you back! Where is your beautiful cat though? I’m guessing you’ve managed to keep this scarf from Sasa’s clutches as I don’t spot any pulled stitches or fur anywhere…
October 8, 2010 at 8:07 am
Essie
you are so friggin funny!
October 8, 2010 at 8:25 am
Serendipity
Hi Elaine! Hast du gesehen? In der neuen Brigitte gibt’s auch Strickmuster.
Aber ehrlich gesagt hoffe ich, du kommst bald mal wieder zum nähen. Das Gestricke geht mir langsam auf den Senkel :D Scherz ;)
October 9, 2010 at 10:49 am
Annemarie
Oh SS! I’ve missed you. Glad to see you’re back.
October 9, 2010 at 11:54 am
Christina
Welcome back, what a nice surprise while I’m just wearing new socks in exactly that yarn :) marvellous!
October 10, 2010 at 3:28 am
Pin Queen
We’ve missed you, welcome back! I’m loving the scarf! Hope you don’t mind but I’ve posted a link on my blog to yours? I need a project away from the sewing machine – yes really I do…..
Hope your machine will be with you shortly and arrives safe and well.
October 10, 2010 at 4:14 pm
seaminglydomestic
firstly, knitting is one of the must trying and frustrating crafts i’ve ever attempted. perhaps when i’m wrinkly and retired it’ll have more appeal, but for now, i’ll stick with sewing my scarves, thanks. [though i’m super green with envy for your envy scarf. its bee-yoo-tee-ful]
however, your highness, i came here with a purpose.
two, actually.
firstly, a solicitation for my blog. as i am new to said blog scene, no one reads my rambling thoughts. i’ve had seventeen views in the three weeks i’ve been posting – which i’m grateful for, as that is rather a bunch – but i need feedback! i need people’s opinions! i need to be able to asking a question of “which should i do” or “how do i do this” and actually have people respond! thusly, i am humbly requesting, your majesty, a bit of an advertisement plea. i’m prepared to write the most wonderful post about how lovely you are and how amazing your work is [which is all true and will probably happen anyways] if i can get a miniscule amount of your selfishness’ writing time.
:)
secondly, as a almost helpless unselfish seamstress [i know! it’s awful!] i need your help in overcoming my unselfishness and my lack of knowledge of the sewing world. i was wondering if you happened to know of anywhere to point me in the right direction as i go on in this journey of becoming more like my idol, the selfish seamstress.
every so humbly,
seamingly domestic, aka erika
October 10, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Susannah (the other one - from Australia)
I’ve just realised the machiavellian plot behind your apparent generosity in sharing the scarf pattern. And we even asked for it!
It is so we would be captivated by its beauty, purchase ridiculously fine yarn and microscopically thin needles, and spend the next zillion evenings totally devoted to muttering “knit three, knit two togther three times, no, wait, knit two together three times, times two, no, wait…..AGHHHHHHH”
The end result being, of course, that we spend many hours knitting when we would otherwise be sewing!!!
Your frustration at being “sans sewing machine” has resulted in you taking selfish delight at making sure that no one else is sewing either!!!!
How utterly selfish! And how clever of you to undertake such a selfish act while at the same time making us think you were being so unselfish as to share the pattern!!!
Seriously, I’ve completed about 15 cm (6 inches in the old measurement) in a lovely blue/green varigated silk/wool blend yarn I bought in Vancouver on a recent holiday. It is apparently hand dyed, and looks lovely.
October 11, 2010 at 11:30 am
tg33
Hmm, so you knitted in fingering weight yarn on US size 7 needles?
The scarf looks divine, and a lot better than the original, and I have sock yarn that I probably won’t knit into socks, so I’m trying to work out the pattern :).
I’ve been lurking on your blog for a while now. I don’t think I will ever sew as well as you, but I can knit, hence the delurking!
October 11, 2010 at 2:42 pm
tg33
Ah-ha! I cast on and tried, and it does work in fine yarn on bigish needles! Cool design.
October 15, 2010 at 5:27 am
melinda
I love the way the yarn looks with this pattern. I am actually knitting a stole for a co-worker who is retiring after 42 years, using this exact feather and fan pattern. It is really the perfect pattern to give lace knitting a try. I remember being very afraid to try lace knitting, but the feather and fan is so simple and turns out so beautifully! Envy is the perfect name for your scarf. Thank you for sharing.
October 15, 2010 at 6:19 am
Hitting new lows in garment making « The Selfish Seamstress
[…] Envy scarf, Missoni By now you know that I’ve stooped to exciting new lows, such as knitting a Missoni knockoff scarf with sock yarn. Here, I wear the fruits of my carpelly tunnelly labors at the […]
October 29, 2010 at 7:22 am
BarbnotFooled
This is nothing but the well-known feather and fan stitch
October 29, 2010 at 3:38 pm
selfishseamstress
ummm…. yup, that would be why I called it the “classic feather and fan pattern” right here in this post…
November 2, 2010 at 12:25 pm
4BushelFarmgal
I loved this scarf so much that I just started it in a nubby wool. It won’t look as lacy, but I like the effect. I’ll try it again in a plain yarn, too.
I mentioned your post/directions in my blog, with a link to this post. I hope that’s okay with you. I always enjoy reading your blog.
Best wishes!
November 14, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Andrea
You know, I’ve been thinking about trying to learn how to knit for a long time and this scarf has actually pushed me to do so. I am looking for a similar yarn, but for some reason none of the craft places near me have it. I guess I’ll have to look online. Thanks!
November 17, 2010 at 7:19 am
The Daily Knitter
Sorry about the multiple posts! My computer was giving me trouble, kept submitting before I was done! : )
November 20, 2010 at 12:07 am
Tess
The pattern is in multiples of 18 + 6, if anyone wants to make it skinnier.
I hope to start mine tomorrow :)
November 22, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Jessica
I did make one!
http://ayenforcraft.blogspot.com/2010/11/selfish-envy.html
November 25, 2010 at 9:33 am
Meredith P
Yay, Jessica! Very nice scarves and extremely funny blog post. Be careful, though, or you could be the latest nemesis!
November 25, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Handmade Christmas Gifts « Gallantandjones's Blog
[…] gifts for my loved ones, it started with art and baked goods and evolved into patchwork pillows and scarves. They definitely improved year by year, bless my mother for her encouragement… Now, of […]
December 9, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Tess
Success! I have completed it and it looks AMAZING! Thanks for the pattern!
February 26, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Laurie
Those scarf colors are amazing! I can’t wait to make one.
October 5, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Lizzie
I am thrilled with the pattern & used the suggested yarn (googled it), for I love blues & green ❉ Thanks much!! ❉
October 6, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Penny
This is gonna be the Christmas of Scarf Gifting for me this year…
Thanks!!
December 13, 2014 at 7:02 pm
Phoebe
Dear selfish, I thought you would be amused to know I made this scarf 6 times in the past 2 years – great gifts.
August 18, 2015 at 4:39 pm
Anne-Marie
I am doing it with 42 stitches (multiples of 12 & 6 works well). It is looking great. Thank you