Separated at birth? The elegance of the drop stitch

OK, these are not sibling patterns, more like close cousins.

Up first is the bias knit drop stitch scarf, the Clapotis, designer Kate Gilbert, published in Knitty Fall 2004.

The Clapotis is a famous pattern; it’s a rite of passage, completion of a clapotis is a requirement for acceptance into any knitting fraternity in North America.There are many, many gorgeous versions, click here for the Flickr Clapotis! pool.

Next we have the imaginatively named #13 Drop stitch Scarf designed by Laura Bryant in Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2009. Very beautiful and elegant. In contrast to the Clapotis it’s a straight-grained knit. Number 13 stars in its very own video here.

Image from http://store.vogueknitting.com/p-1430-drop-stitch-scarf.aspx

I think of the Clapotis as an incredibly flexible pattern, accommodating wide range of yarn weights and colors, and the Number 13 being particularly suited for skinny multicolored yarns.

MSCS

In this case, we are not talking Mathematics, Statistics & Computer Science, but My So Called Scarf. A shop pattern from Imagiknits in SF, it is essentially a stitch pattern, but a distinctive one that works sensationally well for scarves. Virtually no one who jumps on this bandwagon has regretted it and many 1000s have been produced.

Advantages of the MSCS include:

1.  A woven appearance that looks classy, but is extremely easy to execute.

2. It’s a unisex pattern.

3. It beautifully showcases yarns with short color repeats.

The only disadvantage is that the pattern yields a definite Right side and Wrong side. The Wrong (aka Private) side is not that attractive so this pattern is not recommended for a long scarf that flaps in the breeze. MSCS is most suited for a fairly wide scarf that folds around the back of the neck with ends that can be cozily tucked into a jacket reaching down no further than the hips.

The trick with the MSCS is to hit on the right needle size. Too small and the fabric is too stiff to drape (think place mat). Too large, and the work looks sloppy. A good initial formula seems to be to take the low to mid-range of the needle size one would typically use with the selected yarn and double it. For example, if you have a worsted you would typically knit with either 3.75, 4.00 or 4.5 mm needles, try starting out with a 7.0 or 8.0 mm needle for your MSCS.

This stitch pattern also looks amazing made with a mixture of yarns of different texture and a generous fringe, as I saw recently in a yarn shop sample featuring Schaefer yarns.

Pattern: My So Called Scarf

Source: Imaginknits shop pattern

Yarn: Punta Del Este Merisoft Hand Painted 100% merino

color: Stone wall HP 08

Needles: 9.0 mm

Pattern Notes: Cast on 36 sts with crochet chain to create a start selvedge to match the BO edge.

Row 1: sl1 purlwise wyib, K1, *sl 1, K1, yo, psso* K2.

Row 2: sl1 purlwise wyif, *P2tog, do not sl sts off needle, purl first st again, sl both sts off needle* P1

Rep rows 1-2.

For BO on WS row: P2tog. * P next 2tog, then pass the far right stitch on right needle over to bind off. Repeat from * to the end of the row.