Twisted (or, how to make a tube scarf in 36 degree heat)

Ok, so I recognize that I can be a little strange from time to time. This entry is proof of that. Actually, this is more than strange. I'd go so far as to call this perverse. Yesterday, despite it being 36 degrees outside, (and 28 degrees inside my apartment), I had the overwhelming urge to do some crocheting. I know. Weird. The other weird part of this, is that it actually happens to me once a summer. So, I find myself creating something pretty that I really like but can't possibly wear for months without looking insane. If anyone out there is crazy like me, and feels the desire to make a tube scarf, I figured I'd give you the how-to (if you don't want to know how to make a tube scarf, sorry, but this entry should be self-deprecating enough to entertain you). I'm gonna just assume if you actually want to try this pattern that you know how to crochet. Mostly because trying to take pictures of my hands doing a single crochet (for the purposes of instruction) seemed rather difficult, in that I needed three hands to make that happen. I only have two. Alas.

Ok, step 1: Find yourself some wicked bad awesome yarn. Actually, I didn't find this yarn. This yarn found me. My sister and I were in Santiago, on the last day of our Chile-Argentina trip, and from across the street, I noticed a Chilean yarn store. I asked K if she minded crossing the street just for a minute. She didn't. I walked up to the window, and pressed my nose against the glass. Longing commenced. I looked at K plaintively... "Is it ok if we go in? Just for a minute?" I had like, $8 left in Chilean pesos (didn't realize until I went to pay that the store accepted Visa), but I knew I could find some yarn in that budget. OH but what to choose? Buying yarn when you have no purpose in mind for said yarn can be a challenge. I went chunky and funky. Oh, and tip for beginners, a smart way to shop for yarn is by putting it against your face. Most of the things you make with yarn will touch your face (hat, scarf, sweater etc). You want it to be soft and lovely. You want your face to WANT to be around that yarn.

Step 2: (Isn't that awesome yarn?) Choose the right program to enjoy while making your tube scarf. I can't quite explain why, but to me, nothing says crochet like Gilmore Girls. Perhaps its because its driven so thoroughly by dialogue, so your eyes don't have to be glued to the screen the whole time. You don't want to watch something that's too visual. For example, in Hush, an episode of BtVS, there is no dialogue at all for about half the ep! This would not be a good choice. If you're a beginner, you may not want to watch TV while you crochet. But, I kind of find that boring.

Step 3: Choose your hook. You may want to put this step up top along with the buying your yarn step. If you're a beginner, or you compulsively lose your hooks like me (sigh), you may need to a buy a new correctly sized hook. Your hook size is always related to the chunkiness of your yarn, and how loose you want the tension to be. For this project, I wanted to create a nice stiff tube scarf. I chose a 6mm hook for that purpose. Another good thing to note is that the bigger your hook and chunkier your yarn, the faster you'll be able to complete your project!

Step 4: (ok, actual pattern time) Chain (ch) 65, or, however many chains it takes you to get to about 26 inches of length (this will vary dependent on your hook size and yarn).

Step 5: single crochet (sc) in each ch across (65 sc). ch 1, turn.

Step 6: sc in each sc across. Ch 1, turn. Repeat this for a long time. Basically, until you're done. I'm not going to tell you when you're done. Sorry, its up to you. People have different lengths of necks. The size of your tube scarf is your call. This pic was taken after the first ep of Gilmore Girls. See? I told you chunky yarn and a big hook makes for fast work!

Step 7: (This isn't really a step so much, as a word to the wise). If you happen to be making a tube scarf in 36 degree heat (because you're crazy), for the love of God, wear something appropriate for the task (for example, I wore a bathing suit cover up). Even if its small, the friction of dealing with yarn is going to make you hot. This becomes more of a problem the further along you get in your project.

Step 8: Take a break and fan yourself off. You'll know when its time for this. Basically, when you start to sweat, its time for the hand fan. When you notice how pretty your hand fan looks with the light streaming through it, take a picture.

Step 9: When you are done the body of your tube scarf (or when you run out of yarn... plan wisely. If you buy yarn in Chile, its going to be extremely hard to get more!) weave in the ends that are sticking out from when you switched balls. (It only took me two episodes of Gilmore Girls to get to this point! I know, I'm a machine!)

Step 10: Fold scarf right sides together (there is a right side, because chances are, even after you've weaved your ends in, there will be some little tiny sticky-out bits. Try to keep those bits to one side of the scarf.) Join the short end of the scarf by running a slip stitch all the way down the side. Weave in the last end of yarn.

Step 11: Hooray! You're done! Bask in the glow of your creation. I really love how this yarn looks like felt.

Step 12: Put on your tube scarf. Realize it doesn't really go well with the bathing suit cover up. At this point, you have two choices. Either a)put away your super cute new tube scarf with the realization that its going to be several months before you can show it off, or b)write a blog about how you are crazy and sometimes like to crochet in the high heat of summer.