Caterpillar scarf

Photo of black swallowtail larva courtesy of www.larvalbug.com

I'm making good progress on my caterpillar scarf. It's my first foray into dropped stitches. I have to say, even this far into it, it's still nerve-wracking to INTENTIONALLY drop a stitch. I'm using the Vertical Drop Stitch pattern from Barbara Walker's "Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns". The open spaces are created by using yarn overs and then dropping a stitch several rows above. The stitches unravel down the rows until reaching the yarn over and then they stop. It's magic! It's working to create this lovely serpentine lace that makes me think of caterpillars wriggling along.



As previously mentioned, this is Opal Rainforest "Raupe" (aka "Caterpillar") yarn. I'm using size 2 needles and it's going well. I'm using metal needles, which are slippery as the dickens, but have sharp points that work well for complex stitches. This pattern actually only uses knits, purls and yarn overs, so wood would work if I had the right size.



I can't wait to see what this pattern looks like after blocking!