Polly was born from my love for both colors and geometrical shapes. The idea was to refresh the classic garter stitch scarf, and, at the same time, give it a retro feel reminiscent of the 60’s school style.

Polly is worked in garter stitch using the intarsia technique. Each hexagon is shaped with increases and decreases to create a smooth line between the colors. Polly is easy enough for a first intarsia project as there are only two colors to manage at any one time.

In my design process, I first chose the yarn. I was looking for the one that would give a firm garter fabric to beautifully hold the hexagons in shape. Then I discovered Lark from Quince & Co: it gave me the perfect garter fabric, and has a very nice color palette. Another plus: it is available in 50g skeins, which allows you to use twice as many colors 100g skeins would – in short, the perfect yarn for Polly!

I spent a long time with the shade card in hand thinking about the perfect palette for my scarf. The combination I chose takes me back to a time when back to school rhymed with brand new clothes, brown leather backpack, apple and milk in a carton as snack, smells of newly sharpened pencils of every imaginable color carefully stored in a leather case, and a new hand knit scarf for the fall season.

I’m very happy with my color combination, but the possibilities are endless! A nice alternative is to make most of the hexagons in one color, and add 4 hexagons interspersed through the scarf in a contrast color for a more minimalist look. But my most favorite is to make Polly with each hexagon of a different color, for a colorful stash-busting project!

Technical editing by Chaitanya Muralidhara