This simple brioche scarf is a perfect pattern to employ all those treasured mini skeins and leftover bits and bobs we makers seem to accumulate. Through the nearly twenty years that I have been knitting, I have made many iterations of this scarf. Each version has been tweaked and refined, ultimately landing on what I think of as the perfect dimensions for a scarf. Which is to say, not so narrow as to feel/look scrimpy, but not so long or wide as to waste knitterly focus or yardage.

When picking your colors, please choose a wide array of hues that, well, make you happy! Any fingering weight yarn can be used for this project: single ply, sock, variegated, speckled, solid, muted, neon, EVERYTHING. When they’re in a jumble, you might think they don’t go together. But you’ll find that once you start knitting the stripes, a good part of the fun will be planning your next color – or set of colors – so that your scarf starts to tell a beautiful color story!

Yarn
~300g (~1,200 yds/1,100 m)
fingering weight yarn

As Photographed
Colorful Stripes:
~180 g (~720 yds/660 m)
assorted mini skeins, leftovers, bits and bobs
fingering weight yarn

Grey Stripes:
Little Fox Yarn Vixen
2-ply fingering weight yarn80% superwash merino / 20% silk,
~60 g (~240 yds/220 m) each of colorways
Gossamer and Tarnish

Gauge
Before Blocking*
27 sts and 29 rows / 4 in (10 cm)
In brioche stitch

Finished Measurements
After Blocking*
66” (168 cm) x 12” (30 cm)
see next page

Tools
US 3 (3.25 mm) knitting needles
US 6 (4.0 mm) DPNs for i-cord
Crochet hook Size F (3.75 mm)
Waste Yarn
Sewing needle
Blocking mat and pins
Spray bottle for blocking

I have recorded a podcast to demonstrate the techniques used in this pattern. You can find it on my YouTube channel here.