Our friend Nicole has just published the cutest little scarf pattern. Lovers of intarsia and small scarves are really going to enjoy this one. Inspired by angular lines and the play of light & shadow created by Modernist architecture, a minimal but bold accessory.

The Modernist Scarf is knit in just two balls of the beautiful Cardiff Cashmere Classic. We only got this yarn in at the end of March and you have already been showing so much love. For good reason of course. These little 25g balls are pure luxury both in the knitting and the wearing. Only the softest fibres are sourced for this cashmere yarn making it one of the softest out there. The colours are sublime and we have started with sixteen. Yes it was so hard to choose. If you find it hard to choose as well The Modernist Scarf uses two colours so pick two of your favourites.

I chose Jasper 695 and Tadao 550 for mine. I loved this regal and bright combo and it’s totally different from the normal colours I choose. Of course I cast on straight away and was instantly hooked. I loved an intarsia project and this one has some clever details. Nicole has thought of everything. Starting with a smart cast on that is totally new to me and creates a neat defined point in two colours. You begin with a few stitches that increase to the widest part, you work intarsia through almost the entirety of this scarf. Moving from straight lines to diagonal ones that incorporate clever stitches to give you crisp edges where the colours meet.

This is a great project if you have never tried intarsia before and want to give it ago. Its small size makes it ideal for learning the technique. It was very addictive and I took it everywhere with me, I finished it in just under a week! I think what kept me going were the changing intarsia diagonals, I just wanted to see how they developed and changed throughout the design. Nicole’s instructions are clear and easy to follow and she even points out the halfway point so you can check your yarn consumption. I was on track and finished with 3.89g of Colour A and 4.7g of Colour B, pretty neat considering you want to use as much of this beautiful yarn as you can. There are points pointed out in the pattern where you can sneak in some extra rows if you want to add length so I could if I was feeling brave have probably got a few more rows of each colour in.

After weaving in my ends and blocking I got a real sense of the geometric diagonals and it looks great. There were a few tips in the pattern like blocking with the right side down which made flattening the i-cord edge so much easier. The only thing I noticed while knitting and my top tip for you, is do not stop in the middle of the row where the colours change. I did this a couple of times and realised I had two ends in the middle and got in a right muddle about what direction I was going in. If you have to stop mid row make sure you are already well into either section.

My finished scarf came out at 13cm x 116cm and my gauge was 28 stitches x 40 rows. My row gauge was a little off which might explain why mine came out a few cm’s shorter but I’m not too worried about that.

I’m very pleased with the finished result. I love the colours and crisp and neat intarsia. Also it is the first time knitting and wearing this cashmere yarn and as soon as I put it around my neck I was like ‘oh this is nice’. I am tempted to take it home but I think it will live in the shop as a sample for a while, unless I accidentally wear it home! If you want to try the cashmere and want something similar but more challenging than the Sophie Scarf I would choose The Modernist Scarf.