Little Laramie is small, but surprisingly nice; it can be worn as a neckerchief or a headpiece, makes a nice unisex neckwarmer,* and also looks good on a dog. (Please always supervise scarf-wearing dogs; some are only familiar with the word “scarf” as a verb.)

The sample is modeled by a dog with a 15” neck circumference, and will fit a slightly larger dog as well (up to about 18”).

While it began purely as a learning project (this should be good prep for future Mouse Army fall patterns!) and, shockingly, as a useful swatch, Little Laramie quickly became a full-fledged mini-kerchief pattern, and now includes a broader triangle scarf tutorial. It runs to five pages with photos and schematic, and includes both formulas and yardage estimates for larger sizes.

Skill level: intermediate; you’ll need to be comfortable working brk and yf sl1YO, and familiar with or ready to learn brioche decreases.

As written, this mini-scarf results in a 22” long triangle with a 9” depth, but it’s easy to customize, especially with the guidelines given.

For the mini-kerchief, you’ll need just 100 yards of sockweight yarn, a circular knitting needle in the size you need for gauge, two small buttons (about 9/16”), thread and needle for the buttons, and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Gauge is 16sts and 21 rows over 4”, blocked, in pattern. Most knitters will need a US5-6/3.75-4mm circular needle to achieve this gauge, but your mileage will vary. Gauge is fairly important here, as a smaller gauge will result in an unusably small triangle. The pattern itself also offers blocked stockinette gauge, so that should help with needle sizes if you already know your yarn and how it works up for you. Be sure to check your gauge!

NOTE: larger scarf yardage estimates are estimates only! I’ve run all the math, and if you’re knitting exactly at the given gauge (please swatch!) in a yarn that behaves as the yarn in the samples does, the numbers should work--but most of the larger sizes are, as of this writing, untested. I’d be sure to have a little extra yarn on hand. (Extra yarn isn’t built in to the yardage estimates.)

(Also, while Kroy is very beautiful and makes an excellent pair of socks, or an excellent scarf for a dog who doesn’t eat scarves, or even a headscarf-kerchief, it may be a little less soft than you’d want in a human neckscarf. I like it, but you’ll probably want to check.)