3 Hints to Get Lacy Baktus Scarf on Track

Baktus to be - Pagewood Mardi Gras Colorway

Baktus to be - Pagewood Mardi Gras Colorway

Despite sweeping the Norwegian knitting blogs, I first knowingly viewed the Lacy Baktus Scarf on my friend Mary’s Knit n Snit blog. Then, I saw one on display at Stitches; it made from one skein of sock yarn.

I like the thin triangular shape that a wearer can wrap elegantly around her neck in a couple of different ways.Add to this, the scarf is a relatively easy, meditative knitting which fills a need for both beginners and more experienced knitters. The scarf only requires knit stitches combined with occasional increases and decreases.

The lacy bakus scarf is perfect for the  hand dyed skein of Pagewood Farm’s Chugiak sock yarn that I bought at Unwind in Burbank, CA. It is a pink-based color with bright additions of gold, forest green and blue called Mardi Gras. I have been looking for a small shawl pattern where the lace will not be lost due to the color changes.

3 Hints to Get Lacy Baktus Scarf on Track

Other knitters mentioned having problems getting started which seemed strange for a pattern that is rated easy by most knitters. Then I began my scarf and understood why.  In the process, here are three important suggestions:

  1. Use a marker to define the increase side of the scarf because the increases happen on one side of the scarf.  Since the increases use a TBL (through the back loop), they are hard to discern. This happens at the end of the first and fifth rows. Especially in the beginning, the knit stitch can be difficult to read.
  2. Track rows using a row counter or markings on a piece of paper. Again this is most critical at the beginning to establish the pattern. There are three garter ridges on one side and four garter ridges on the other.
  3. Weigh your yarn to help determine the midpoint if you’re using one skein of wool. The Baktus Scarf is knit sideways with increases once every four rows until the midpoint. After that, the increases become decreases.

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

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