Linux illusion scarf

by Heidi Antila for the Finnish online knitting magazine Ulla
Original pattern and pictures © 2005 Heidi Antila
About the author [in Finnish]

translated, with the author's permission, by Urraca from the Tertulia madrileña de punto and Churras con merinas
You may use this translation under a Creative Commons License, including the following options: compulsory crediting of the authors, non-commercial use, and share-alike, that is you have the right to modify it as long as you do it with the same kind of license.

|| Alkuperäinen malli suomeksi || English version || Version française || Versión española ||

[Translator's notes in brackets]
Creative Commons License





 

Suggested yarn and estimate yardage
Background colour: 300 g Novita 7 veljestä (light green)
[150g skein = 300m/328yd; gauge: 18x26 = 10cm/4" on 4mm/US5-6 needles]
Foreground colour: 150 g Novita Wool (black)
[50g skein = 135m/148yd; gauge: 22x26 = 10cm/4" on 3.5mm/US4 needles]

[Translator's note: You'll probably have to substitute the Novita yarns this pattern calls for. It's usually recommended to knit illusion scarfs with a tight tension in a worsted or light worsted yarn (20-22 stitches = 10cm/4"), for instance Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted or Katia Diana.
Please note that Heidi used a thinner yarn for the foreground colour to enhance the illusion effect. Don't assume from the above you'll need twice as much background colour as foreground colour. Usually illusion scarfs use up roughly the same yardage for both. My guess based on my skull illusion scarf which half as wide is that you'll need at least 150g or 300m/330yd in each colour, more if you wish a longer scarf.]

Needles
4 mm / US 5-6

Width
Scarf measures circa 29 cm.

Tip
Read Heidi’s advice on planning illusion knitting [in Finnish].

[Translator's note: Illusion knitting is based on repeating throughout a set of stripes alternating 2 stockinette stitch rows in the foreground colour with 2 garter stich rows in the background colour. On RS, this will create a flat fabric for 3 rows followed by a bumpy one (the bumps caused by K on WS). When you get to knit the foreground pattern, you reverse this order: the background colour will be knit flat so that the bumps knit in the foreground colour can emerge. As a result, on RS, a slanted view will reveal the full illusion since you only get to see the bumps. From a frontal view, however, you will only see stripes, albeit slightly irregular in some places.]

Pattern

CO 60 stitches in background colour (light green).

Work 2 rows of garter stitch in background colour (light green) and 2 rows of stockinette stitch in foreground colour (black).

Start knitting the penguin [following Tux chart from the bottom up].

Each line on the chart represents the following 4-row sequence:

1st row. K across the row with the green yarn.
2nd row. K all the white squares and P all the red ones, using the green yarn.
3rd row: Change colour and K across the row with the black yarn.
4th row: K all the red squares and P all the white ones, using the black yarn.

Repeat until the penguin is done.

Work several sequences of 2 rows in garter stitch with the green yarn followed with 2 rows in stockinette stitch with the black yarn, until you have reached the desired length for the scarf, taking into account the fact that the Linux text will be roughly as long as the penguin.

Work the Linux text section [following the second chart from the top down] in the same way you did the penguin one.

BO and add fringes on both ends.

Remember! One line on the charts represents 4 rows.

The numbers on the chart indicate the number of stitches to be worked in each colour.

Charts

Original images
Tux image © 1997 Larry Ewing (1997) / GIMP (lewing@isc.tamu.edu), Permission to use and/or modify this image is granted provided you acknowledge him and The GIMP.
Linux-logo © 1997 Andreas Dilger, free for commercial and non-commercial use.