Make a neck warmer from left over wool

I am a keen crafter, and my favourite type of craft project is one where I can recycle stuff that's just lying around not doing anything.  Not only is it better for the environment, it's also a lot cheaper!  Using recycled materials often gives more scope for creativity too, and means you'll end up creating something that's totally unique. For example a while back, I made a button bracelet out of some mother of pearl buttons I had lying in a drawer.  It attracted a few admiring comments, and I was inspired to make several more.  Some of my ideas for stuff to make come from the American craft site Etsy (of which I am a member), and recently I came across a few Etsy shops selling hand made neck warmers.   Neck warmers are a fantastic idea - they're less bulky than scarves, and they can be worn in several different ways too!  You can also layer a scarf underneath them if you find that the neck warmer by itself doesn't give you enough "coverage".

The neck warmers on Etsy typically sell for around $25.00 which is pretty reasonable for the amount of work/materials involved, but if you can do basic knitting and/or crochet and want to save yourself a bit of money, it's reasonably quick and simple to make your own neck warmer! The neck warmer in the pictures is one I made from squares of left over wool that I had remaining after another project. I crocheted the squares together and then did a border around the edge, also in crochet. The three buttons are mother of pearl ones from my own collection.

My neck warmer is 22 inches (56 cm) long and just under 7 inches (18 cm) wide. It's made from double knitting wool and weighs about 90 grams including the buttons, so you will need that weight of double knitting wool to work with. If you're buying new wool then 2 x 50 gram balls of double knitting will be enough, or if you've only got bits and pieces of different coloured wool rather than two whole 50g balls in the same colour, just add what you need to the scales until you've got the weight you need.

Then you can get creative with the layout - either do patchwork pieces like mine, or random stripes, or even fair isle if you're a skilled knitter.  As any experienced knitter will tell you, it's a good idea to knit a tension square first, so that you can work out how many stitches to cast on.  As for needle size, double knitting wool usually needs 4 mm needles (this is equivalent to a US size 6 and a UK size 8), although you might be able to get away with needles that are a bit larger or smaller, depending on how tightly you knit!

The stitch I used was moss stitch, which I'm partial to because of its texture.  Moss stitch is a good stitch to choose for items (like scarves and neck warmers) that comprise one free-standing piece, rather than being made of several pieces sewn together.  The reason for this is that pieces of knitting made with moss stitch will lie flat and won't curl at the sides!  Another stitch you can also use is stocking stitch.   Of course, you can also add fancy touches like cabling if you're a more experienced knitter. 

Once I'd arranged the pieces how I wanted them, I crocheted them together using wool in the same colour as one of the pieces.  I then pressed the back using a steam iron on a wool setting.  The two pictures below show the front and back views after I'd done this.

Then I crocheted the border. I started at the end where the button loops were going to go - you simply make the loops by doing 5 or 6 free standing crochet stitches and then rejoining the main piece a centimetre or so along (exactly how much will depend on the size of buttons you're using). Once you've gone right round the whole piece and are back where you started, then you need to reinforce the button loops by crocheting round them. Break the wool off, leaving a metre or so of yarn to work with. Do the reinforcement on your first buttonhole and when you've reached the end of the buttonhole, pull the end of the yarn through your last stitch to make sure it doesn't unravel. Then use a large embroidery needle to thread the end of the yarn through the back of the first line of crochet, until you reach the second buttonhole. Reinforce as before, and repeat. The picture below shows one of the buttonholes in the process of being "reinforced", while the one on the right shows a close-up of all three finished buttonholes.

The buttons should be sewn about half an inch away from the edge of the finished neck warmer. Then once you've tidied up the ends at the back, you're done!

© Empress Felicity October 2010