I realized the other day that today marks six years since I posted the pattern for my Entrelac Scarf on this blog. It was a pre-Ravelry era, and I posted it here because I thought maybe one or two of you would be interested in it. (And you were! Actually more than one or two of you!) I never imagined I’d ever write knitting patterns, and this one came out of pure frustration at the lack of decent, well-written, easy-to-understand instructions for a simple entrelac scarf. So I did my best to create just that and put it out there for anyone who wanted it.
Then Ravelry happened.
The pattern was added to Ravelry on May 9, 2007, when Ravelry was just shy of one month old, and from there things just soared. I added it to Craftsy in January of this year, and between those two sites, it has been downloaded more than 50,000 times! Since it was added to Ravelry, it has consistently ranked in the Top 50 Scarf Patterns (it’s #36 as I write this) out of over 22,500 scarf patterns (and that number grows every day!). The same is true over at Craftsy where it has consistently stayed in their Top 20 list for ALL Free Knitting Patterns (it’s ranked #1 as I write this!).
It was published in Spool magazine’s Winter 2011 issue and has been used in dozens of yarn shops around the world to teach knitters the art of entrelac knitting (including a few classes taught by yours truly!). It was even used by Staci Perry for her online Entrelac tutorial.
I never imagined in a million years how successful this pattern would be, and I must say that it really planted the design seed in my head. Of course, it took me five years to come out with my next pattern (my Flower Market Shawl), but I promise new patterns are in the pipeline!
I just wanted to take a moment to say Happy Birthday to the little pattern that launched a new path for me. And to the thousands of knitters out there who have downloaded and knit it, I say THANK YOU. ♥
Heather
October 13, 2012 at 6:21 pm (10 years ago)This was such an easy pattern and a great way to learn Entrelac. I never thought I would be able to learn this until I saw your pattern and watched the tutorial on Very Pink…thanks!!!
allison
October 23, 2012 at 1:18 pm (10 years ago)Thank YOU, Heather! I’m so glad you enjoyed the pattern and I hope you are loving your scarf!
Sarah
October 22, 2012 at 6:40 am (10 years ago)I absolutely love this technique. I have only been knitting for a month but I really want to learn Entrelac. I would love to make the cardigan someday but a scarf might be a good place to start. Intimidating, but maybe doable! Thanks for your generosity of posting this for free.
allison
October 23, 2012 at 1:21 pm (10 years ago)It’s definitely doable, Sarah! Good idea to start with the scarf to learn the technique. Once you have it down pat, other entrelac projects will be easy-peasy!
Nicolette
November 28, 2012 at 2:25 am (10 years ago)It is such a beautiful pattern. Since I finished knitting the entrelac scarf, I wear it very often and always receive compliments about it. Thank you for writing the pattern.
pjmma on Ravelry (Paul)
January 19, 2013 at 8:23 pm (10 years ago)I’m finishing up mine now. It’s a wonderful pattern, complex enough to keep your interest, but not too hard at all. Lot’s of fun, and a beautiful item when finished!
allison
January 19, 2013 at 9:22 pm (10 years ago)Thanks so much, Paul! I’m so glad you enjoyed the pattern! You have described entrelac perfectly. It’s one of those techniques that doesn’t ever get boring! Your scarf looks FANTASTIC! I just love the colors in the yarn you chose!!!
Anne
March 2, 2013 at 6:37 am (10 years ago)Hi Allison!
Thanks for the Entrelac scarf pattern! I am knitting it up in Noro Silk Garden and it’s just beautiful! So much fun! I am new to this technique, but I think I might have discovered a mistake in the pattern. On the right side triangle it says to k2tog on all the WS rows. Should this be p2tog? Thanks again! I’m having a blast!
Anne
allison
March 2, 2013 at 8:36 am (10 years ago)Thanks, Anne! I’m glad you’re enjoying the pattern!
As for your question about the decrease on those wrong-side rows in the Right Side Triangle, the k2tog decrease in the pattern is the correct decrease. The k2tog decrease results in a kind of garter stitch edging along the side of the scarf (almost like little bumps running up the sides). Those little bumps are created in the Left Side Triangle by knitting the first stitch of all of the wrong-side (purl) rows.
Some people don’t want the garter stitch edge and end up purling the first stitch of every wrong-side row of the Left Side Triangle and then do a p2tog at the end of every wrong-side row of the Right Side Triangle.
So the choice is really up to you as to which look you prefer, but once you decide on “bumps” or “no bumps”, you just need to be consistent and make that change in BOTH side triangles so that you don’t end up with bumps down one side of the scarf and no bumps down the other! 🙂