A few years ago, I took a class with Olgajazzy on negative spaces and their impact on the stability of the fabric.  This prompted me to think about how window and door frames are used to add rigidity to buildings.  

The Skyscraper Scarf features fabric of three thicknesses.  After creating each double knit window frame, dropped stitches cascade down to form the diaphanous curtains. The twisted stitches in the window frames enclose the instability of the dropped stitches.  I knit this to a grand height of 9 feet to enjoy the glorious drape of the laceweight garter stitch fabric.

This video was taken at the beginning of 2023 from Victoria Peak in Hong Kong -- truly a city of skyscrapers.

The sample shown is knit in a discontinued yarn. Please look for laceweight yarn with a good twist and that isn’t fuzzy (no mohair or alpaca). My 2 favourites to substitute are Koigu Lace & Julie Asselin Merletto.

Test if your laceweight yarn will work well for the dropped stitches: Cast on 11 sts; work approximately 16 rows of garter stitch; on the next row, repeat (K1, drop 1) to 1 stitch from end, k1. Then allow the stitches to drop through the fabric. If they drop easily (don’t stick), it will work!

MATERIALS
Yarn: 2 contrasting colours of laceweight yarn; 800 yd of each colour for sample length
Needles: 3 mm/ US #2.5 straight or circular
Gauge: 31 stitches and 40 rows to 4 in/ 10 cm in stocking stitch
Finished Size: 11.5 in/ 29 cm width; 102 in/ 259 cm length; length is adjustable
Notions: 6 stitch markers
Yarn in Samples: Shibui Lunar Velvet & Ivory; 2 skeins each
Recommended Yarn: laceweight yarn; Koigu Lace and Julie Asselin Merletto would be excellent choices

Inspiration: the class I took was Modular Knitting and Negative Spaces by olgajazzy. I mention this because learning new knitting skills keeps us thinking & innovating. I’m hoping you enjoy that as much as I do.

Tech Editor: Kate Atherley
Photography: Julie Crawford

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