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Klondike Scarf

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Skill Level: Easy

Materials: Approximately 325 yards of DK weight wool/alpaca/silk handspun or any similar weight commercially-spun yarn.

Needles: Size 5 needles

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch measured over the river pattern.

Finished Size: 5 x 50 inches approximately.

Pattern Notes:
The Klondike gold rush began in July of 1897 when two ships returned from that region carrying miners from the Yukon with bags of gold. Approximately 100,000 hopefuls set off for the Yukon in the next 6 months, but only 30,000 completed the trip.

The route north was very difficult and hazardous, and that, coupled with the extremely harsh weather in the region, made for an exceptionally difficult task for the miners.

Most of the miners found the work involved to extract the gold from the ground arduous and time-consuming. Most of the gold was not at the surface, but rather, 10 or more feet below the ground, encased in permafrost. The rock-hard permafrost had to be thawed before it could be worked, and then the dirt had to be sluiced to extract the gold from it.

This pattern represents the dark, muddy sluice waters as the miners sifted through loamy sediment, hoping for the glint of gold through the water.

The handspun used originally in this pattern is a 2-ply blend of approximately 45% lambswool (a Tunis/Shetland cross), 45% brown alpaca, and 10% Tussah silk.

Using size 5 U.S. needles, cast on 25 stitches loosely.

Begin pattern rows with row 2 and then working through row 12. Then, repeat pattern rows 1 through 12 until scarf measures approximately 1 inch from desired length.

Work rows 1 through 6 one time more. Bind off loosely in knit. Block pattern by pinning it to the appropriate width and finished length dimensions.

Pattern: