September circle

September Circle by Melissa LaBarre

What is Being Made

The September Circle is a seamless loop scarf designed as a perfect fall accessory. This cowl-style garment features a finished circumference of approximately 43 inches, making it an ideal layering piece for cooler weather. The design creates a continuous circular construction that eliminates the need for seaming.

Craft and Construction Method

This is a knitting project worked in the round using circular needles. The seamless construction begins with a long-tail cast-on of 216 stitches, joined to work continuously in rounds. The circular needle format allows for smooth, uninterrupted knitting without the need for seaming or binding off edges together.

Techniques and Stitches

The September Circle employs lace pattern techniques as the primary stitch structure. The lace pattern is worked in repeats of 12 stitches, requiring stitch markers to clearly indicate the beginning of each repeat round. This intermediate-level technique creates an openwork fabric that is characteristic of lace knitting.

The pattern incorporates strategic use of stitch markers to maintain pattern accuracy. The designer recommends placing markers after each 12-stitch repeat to help track the lace pattern progression. For knitters who find lace patterns challenging, the instructions suggest using multiple stitch markers in contrasting colors to mark the beginning of each round, providing additional visual guides throughout the knitting process.

Materials and Specifications

Yarn: Schoppel Wolle Zauberball Crazy color #2092 self-striping sock yarn, 1 ball (100g/459 yards). The self-striping properties of this yarn create automatic color variation throughout the scarf without requiring yarn changes.

Needles: US 7 (4.5mm) circular needle, 24 inches in length. Using larger needles than typical for fingering weight sock yarn creates a deliberately lacier, more open fabric than standard sock yarn projects would produce.

Gauge: 20 stitches and 24 rows equal 4 inches when worked in the lace pattern.

Additional Notions: Stitch markers and a blunt needle for weaving in ends upon completion.

Difficulty Level

This project is rated as intermediate difficulty, suitable for knitters with experience in circular knitting and lace pattern work. The combination of self-striping yarn with lace stitches and circular construction requires solid foundational knitting skills.