This scarf was knit with yarn spun by kofknits and sent to me as part of a challenge to have me design with handspun yarns. The blue was spun with fibre from Greenwood Fiberworks; the green came from Inglenook Fibers . Kofknits created two lovely gradient yarns that blend well together, fading in and out from deep, bright colours to more subdued shades.

The textured stitch pattern of garter stitch and slipped stitch vertical stripes will accommodate thick and thin sections, or lumps and bumps, if your handspun is not entirely consistent. Originally designed for two colours, you could knit the entire scarf in one colour for subtle texture, or use more colours in varied stripes to use up stash yarn left over from previous projects. Of course, you can use commercial yarn for this design. The closest equivalent for this particular sample would be a heavy DK/light worsted weight yarn, but the simple design could be knit with yarns of different weights and/or fibres.

This is an easy project, good for beginning knitters. The techniques you will need to know, or learn, are:

• cast on and bind off;
• knit and purl;
• slip a stitch purlwise, with yarn in back.