https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/tubeline-scarf • Posted by FW Media
Under London, in the guts of the city, lurks the London Underground, or ‘The Tube’, as those of us who shoot about in its belly call it. The city gulps down whole herds of Londoners; worm-like tubes squirm through the tunnels and then rudely belch travellers out into the cloudy sunlight. The Tubeline Scarf celebrates this subterranean sojourn in a rush of stripes. It proudly parades 12 tube-map colours: gregarious green for the District, mellow yellow for the Circle, broody black for the Northern, tarty turquoise for the Waterloo and City, moody magenta for the Metropolitan, perky pink for the Hammersmith and City, smooth silver for the Jubilee, rowdy red for the Central, devious dark blue for the Piccadilly, optimistic orange for the inside-out Overground, lively light blue for the Victoria, and bustling brown for the Bakerloo. The scarf also features a sneaky ticket pocket to slip your Oyster card into (or your work pass, or microfilm with international conspiracy details). Wrap yourself up warmly, slap your card on the reader and sashay through in one smooth movement like a true Londoner. Difficulty rating: Tourist Size: 10 x 160cm (4 x 63in) Gauge: 24 sts and 30 rows = 10cm (4in) in st st PATTERN NOTES The Tubeline Scarf is knitted in 12 colours in this order: green, yellow, black, turquoise, purple/magenta, pink, silver/grey, red, dark blue, orange, light blue and brown.
Under London, in the guts of the city, lurks the London Underground, or ‘The Tube’, as those of us who shoot about in its belly call it. The city gulps down whole herds of Londoners; worm-like tubes squirm through the tunnels and then rudely belch travellers out into the cloudy sunlight. The Tubeline Scarf celebrates this subterranean sojourn in a rush of stripes. It proudly parades 12 tube-map colours: gregarious green for the District, mellow yellow for the Circle, broody black for the Northern, tarty turquoise for the Waterloo and City, moody magenta for the Metropolitan, perky pink for the Hammersmith and City, smooth silver for the Jubilee, rowdy red for the Central, devious dark blue for the Piccadilly, optimistic orange for the inside-out Overground, lively light blue for the Victoria, and bustling brown for the Bakerloo. The scarf also features a sneaky ticket pocket to slip your Oyster card into (or your work pass, or microfilm with international conspiracy details). Wrap yourself up warmly, slap your card on the reader and sashay through in one smooth movement like a true Londoner. Difficulty rating: Tourist Size: 10 x 160cm (4 x 63in) Gauge: 24 sts and 30 rows = 10cm (4in) in st st PATTERN NOTES The Tubeline Scarf is knitted in 12 colours in this order: green, yellow, black, turquoise, purple/magenta, pink, silver/grey, red, dark blue, orange, light blue and brown.
PATTERN Scarf Cast on 50 sts in green yarn. Row 1 K across. Place marker at start of row and join to knit in the round. Rounds 2–20 K around. Weave in the ends as you go. Having some kind of yarn-end squid once you’re finished can be a bit disheartening. Change to next colour. Round 21 K around. Round 22 Sl1, k around. Rounds 23–40 K around. Rep rounds 21–40 with each colour twice, ending on a second brown stripe. Cast off (bind off). If someone asks what you’re knitting while you’re on the tube, tell them you’re knitting the entire London Underground. You can twitch a bit too if you like. Might get you a bit of elbow room. Ticket Pocket Cast on 20 sts in colour of your choice. K 24 rows. Cast off (bind off).
FINISHING Sew up cast-off (bound-off) end of scarf to close end. Leave the other end open to help you sew on the pocket. Sew three sides of the ticket pocket square onto the first yellow stripe of the scarf. While your scarf is open at one end, you can slip it onto the cat to make a very long hat. Trust me; the cat will love it. Sew on two small popper buttons to fasten the top of the pocket. Sew up the cast-on end of the scarf. Sigh loudly as you think you’ve finished. Realize to your horror that you still need to make the tassels.
Tassels Mark places for 6 tassels with scrap yarn at each end of the scarf (just pull a bit through; there’s no need to knot it). Don’t spend too long trying to work out tassel colour combos. It will make your brain hurt. Cut a 15cm (6in) square of cardboard to wrap yarn around. Taking one colour at a time, wrap 6 strands of yarn around cardboard. Cut yarn loops at the bottom to make 6 x 30cm (12in) strands. Repeat for each colour so you have 72 strands. Put a magnet into the ticket pocket of your scarf and you could stick it on the fridge when you get home. Why you’d want to do this is beyond me. Take all strands of one colour and fold in half into a loop. Using a crochet hook, pull about 5cm (2in) of the end of loop through end of scarf at first marker. Take cut ends and pass them through the loop. Pull the tassel tight. Repeat with each colour for each of the marked tassel spots. Repeat all for the other end of the scarf. Go on. Whip your scarf around your neck and Snoopy dance around the room in triumph. That was a whole lot of knitting. Attempt to confuse ticket inspectors by waving your scarf at them in a hypnotic manner when they ask for your ticket. But do buy a ticket. I’m not suggesting you fare-dodge.