Making the Gryffindor Scarf: The S.P.E.W. Tote

I have had a lot of fun participating in the two Craftster HP swaps I've done so far. I have also received some cool stuff! While crafting for the most recent swap, I loved having a HP project tote to use for my HP swap project: the wonderful S.P.E.W. tote that ShardaeDobby made for me in my first swap was my project bag for the Gryffindor scarf I made for rosesanplacebos in the next swap!

S.P.E.W. Tote with Gryffindor Scarf WIP:








Because I love this bag so much, I carry it everywhere. So I've made it my own by adding pin-back buttons!

Craftster Buttons on the front of the S.P.E.W. tote:

Crafty Like Ice Is Cold:


Well, yes. ;-)


Craftster Pirate Pin:


Knit fast, die warm! Arrrgh!


Political buttons on the back of the S.P.E.W. tote:




"Obama '08" and "Women for Obama":


I agree with Norman Solomon on this issue: "The best way to avoid becoming disillusioned is to not have illusions in the first place."


"Freedom Is Participation In Power" and "Ignore Your Rights & They'll Go Away":


I added these to the bag very recently. I've had them for years, but they've been just collecting dust for a while. I decided that if I'm going to keep using the Obama buttons -- and I am -- these need to come back out and play as well. (FISA, anyone?)


American Flag Peace Symbol:


This is the button that is most visible when the bag is on my shoulder: it is positioned so it sits to the front when the bag is worn. This is also one of my earliest political buttons. I bought it way back in 2001 when -- suddenly, tragically -- the peace symbol was obscure and old-fashioned no longer. I chose the one with the flag because peace is patriotic, of course.

Gryffindor Scarf: POA (Trapped Bar) Style

I knit a Gryffindor scarf for my lovely partner, rosesanplacebos, in the recent "I Miss Harry Potter Swap".

The scarf, tied with a ribbon for presentation:




I used the atypically.knit pattern to make this scarf, with some modifications, such as making the fringe a bit longer than the pattern calls for. I also used larger needles and cast on fewer stitches to get the width.

The scarf with fringe, and small Gryffindor items:



The little Gryffindor items were "extras" for the swap: crochet flower brooches made by my DD and a knit mug cozy made with the scarf's MC yarn.

I made the scarf's fringe about six inches, the same as the length of the large MC stripe. The atypically.knit pattern calls for a fringe of about four inches, but I think the longer length is a bit more feminine. Rosesanplacebos encouraged me to use creative license on this scarf (and believe me, before making an item of this scale, I ask a ton of questions!), so this is what I did with the fringe. If I were making this scarf for a guy, I would probably use the fringe length from the pattern.

The scarf, laid out:



It's about 8.5 feet long and about 8 inches wide.

Because it is knit in the round, the scarf is a long tube. Here are some shots of the edge of the scarf (the scarf is folded in half, then rolled up).

The scarf, rolled up:






Rosesanplacebos posted a lovely action shot here in the swap gallery!

Craft Info:

Made for: rosesanplacebos
Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap"
Date: Mid June - Early July, 2008
Pattern: atypically.knit pattern, with modifications: larger needles (size 10), co 72 stitches, made fringe about 6" long (same as length of large MC stripe)
Needles: size 10 bamboo 16" circular
Yarn: Utopia worsted-weight acrylic, Pomegranate (MC) and Maize (CC)
Dimensions: About 8.5 feet long, 8 inches wide


Other posts about this scarf:

My post at Craftster:

• Gryffindor Scarf! POA (trapped bar) style

Rosesanplacebos's posts at Craftster:

• post with action shot of the scarf
• gallery post of the whole package