Remix Friday: Tiramisu Scarf

A great feature of crochet is it's adaptability. With a little know-how and some creativity you can borrow elements from different projects and bring them together in a new way. You can take a stitch pattern and run with it in the way that you see fit. You can take a larger project and turn into a smaller one, which is just what today's Remix is all about. Alice saw a pattern she liked and tailored it to her own needs.

The Crocheter
Hi! My name is Alice, I'm a cognitive neuroscientist with a creative bent. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was very small, and I learned to knit early in grad school, and picked up weaving to de-stress during my dissertation. I love alpacas and alpaca fiber. My very favorite yarn to both dye and craft with is a 70% alpaca / 30% silk blend from Henry's Attic, and it's just heavenly.

The Original Pattern
Tiramisu Baby Blanket by Alicia Paulson

The Story 
It started as a baby blanket for a graduate student friend who was expecting. The Tiramisu pattern is just gorgeous, so I figured I'd work up the bulk of the blanket in it, and then add some cute granny squares around the edges. Baby blankets are best with very fine holes, so baby doesn't get fingers or toes stuck in it, so I used a small hook and worked pretty densely. However, I usually make light and fluffy scarves in big lacy patterns, or cowls in bulky yarn, so a dense baby blanket, in worsted, all in the same stitch... I was SO bored about 5 inches in. Sadly, a 5" x 30" strip of dense crochet is not useful for much.

The Remix
I had recently learned that you can block acrylic by steaming it. It's not quite like blocking wool, because acrylic-blocking involves a wee bit of melting, so it's permanent. I pinned out the 5" of blanket as far as it would go, steamed, pinned again, steamed, and it expanded by quite a bit. The stitch looked very different as a lace, and made a perfect scarf.

Crochet is...  relaxing, colorful, creative

Such a cute scarf and what a great way to reinvent a project to make it work for you. Bravo, Alice! You can find some neat yarn that she hand-dyes in her Etsy shop. Thank you for joining us today, Alice!