Twisted Stitches

This past weekend included a bit of travel.  Let me confess right up front that I have a fear of running out of power and being no where near an electric plug.  So, often I rely on personal power and a ball of yarn to keep me entertained.  It always works!

This is a scarf made with Alchemy Silken Straw.    If your local favorite yarn store does not carry Alchemy yarns, you must encourage, beg and plead to get this stuff in stock.  Beautiful shades in beautiful fiber make for beautiful results.  

The garter stitch scarf is no pattern other than random sections of twenty stitches interrupted by a row of twisted drop stitches.

What's that you say?  You are not familiar with a twisted drop stitch.  How sad.  One simple maneuver adds a bit of interest to what otherwise would be just short lengths of yarn.

A very easy to understand video of the twisted drop stitch can be had here. 

Essentially all that you do is:

*  insert needle as if to knit

*  wrap yarn around BOTH needles and then

*  wrap yarn around back (working) needle and

*  complete the knit stitch

This leaves only one loop on the right needle per stitch rather than all of the wraps that result when working a plain drop stitch.  Now, don't get confused with a dropped stitch  - either on purpose or by accident - as that is something else entirely.

So, anyway, the twisted drop stitch adds a twist into each length.  Brilliant name, don't you agree?  The stitch drops down in an elongated manner and it has a twist.  Such a concept.

Perhaps you ponder why I am incorporating the stitch into this simple scarf.  Well, it looks nice and I only have one skein of the precious Silken Straw.   Often, when making a scarf to be wrapped about the neck casually but abundantly, length matters.