Finally Finished Slytherin Scarf!

That's right.  I'm breaking out the double alliteration.  It's that exciting!

I finally finished my bestie's Christmas present!  Yes, it's over a month late.  I have a very patient bestie.

Modeled by my trusty dressform.  The thing about knitting projects is that you can be done knitting but not actually done with the project.  There are a lot of other little nit-picky (no pun intended) things to do once the knitting portion is done. I had to weave in all the of the loose ends where I changed yarn colors (and there were a lot, since this is a very stripey scarf), block it, and then add the fringe.  The other thing is that I am THE SLOWEST KNITTER EVER.

A closer look at the fringe.  I had originally wanted to make this out of either natural fiber yarn or a natural fiber blend, but just couldn't find anything in the right colors.  This baby is 100% acrylic. I wasn't sure if I would be able to block it. Oh, for those not in the know, blocking is what you do to a knitted item to make it the size and shape it should be.  It just smooths out the imperfections and makes it look a lot nicer.  Less wonky.  In this case, the scarf was a tube shape, and I wanted it to be flat and stay flat.  Natural fibers are usually wet blocked, meaning that the piece itself is sprayed with or immersed in water and then pinned down flat in the shape you want it to be.  Wet blocking doesn't work with acrylic yarn...but steam does!  I found several very helpful tutorials on the subject.  You're basically melting the yarn juuuuuuust a tiny bit.  You can't really even tell (if you do it right).  Just pin the piece down on a blocking board or spare bed, and hold your iron over it on the highest steam setting.  Just don't touch the scarf with your iron, or you'll cry because you've ruined everything.  This scarf came out really well after blocking.  It's even a bit softer and less stiff.

Ok.  Fibers lesson over.