Orry Yarn – Cassilis Scarf Knitting Kit
Designed by Tilde Olsen – Orry Yarn
The Cassilis Scarf is where shaping arrives. Up to now a beginner knits rectangles; here you start adding and taking away stitches, and the fabric begins to do things rectangles cannot. Angled lines, ridges, a scarf with structure rather than just length.
Increases and decreases are the technique that unlocks almost everything else: garments, lace, anything that is not a straight piece. This project teaches them on something forgiving, where a miscount costs you a row rather than a sleeve.
It is Part Four of the Orry Mill Yarn School Beginner Knitting series, and it comes in two lengths so you can decide how long you want to practise for.
The kit is knitted in Orry Yarn Merino DK, our own soft, springy, ethically sourced merino. The stitch definition matters here, because seeing your own increases and decreases clearly is half of learning them.
Skill Level:
Beginner ★ (1 out of 5)
You should be comfortable casting on, knitting, purling and casting off. Increasing and decreasing are taught from scratch.
Two versions in one pattern:
The pattern contains two versions of the scarf and the difference is the edge. Both are included in the kit, so you are not choosing when you order.
- Original: the beginner-friendly edge. Start here if shaping is new to you.
- I-cord: a neat i-cord edge for knitters with a little more experience. The i-cord itself is straightforward. The difficulty comes if something goes wrong, because putting edge stitches back on the needles is where a small mistake most often becomes a large one.
Sizes:
- Mini: approximately 80cm long, 1 ball
- Regular: approximately 140cm long, 2 balls
The Kit Includes:
- 1 or 2 × 50g balls of Orry Yarn Merino DK in your chosen shade, depending on the length you pick
- Printed pattern in English, covering both lengths and both edge versions
You'll Also Need:
- 4mm circular needles. Anything from 40cm to 80cm will work; we find 60cm the most comfortable.
- Wool needle, for weaving in ends
A note on the needles:
The scarf is worked flat, so you knit back and forth rather than in the round and the cable is only holding stitches, not stretching around anything. That means the length is not critical here, which is unusual and worth saying: use whatever you have between 40cm and 80cm. Straight needles will do the job perfectly well too. We recommend circulars anyway, because the next projects in the series need them and this is a comfortable place to get used to the feel of knitting on a cable.
Techniques used:
- Increasing stitches
- Decreasing stitches
- Reading shaping instructions in a written pattern
- Seeing how shaping changes the structure of the fabric
- Creating angled lines and ridges with simple techniques
- An i-cord edge, on the i-cord version
- Casting off and weaving in ends
Why You'll Love It:
- The project that takes you past rectangles
- Two edge versions included, so the pattern grows with you
- Two lengths, so you can keep it short or settle in
- Shaping learnt somewhere mistakes are cheap
- Designed for the yarn in the box, not substituted into it
- A tips and modifications section at the back of the pattern, drawn from years of teaching