More dropped stitch japes

Here's the companion lacy scarf to go with yesterday's drop stitch jumper. It uses a similar technique. This lady is smiling because she has knitted her scarf in garter stitch then deliberately DESTROYED selected rows by dropping them in their entirety in her final row.

Ready for some controlled destruction? Jolly good. You'll need 2 or 3 ply yarn and a pair of no 3 knitting needles.

Tension: 3 ply: 4 sts and 4 rows to 1 inch, after the sts have been dropped. 2 ply: 5 sts to 1 inch and 11 rows to 2 inches, after the sts have been dropped.

Measurements: Approx 38 inches by 18 inches.

To make scarf: Cast on 57 sts.

First 2 rows: K

3rd row: K 2, (inc in next st, K 3) to last 3 sts, inc in next st, K 2.

Work 146 rows garter st, but in the last row drop every 4th st down to form a ladder. Work 2 more rows garter st, then cast off. Make 2 pom poms and attach one to each end of scarf.

Drop stitch jumper

I like the idea of turning that knitting nightmare, the drop stitch, into part of a pretty design. Obviously you can't just drop stitches at random, you have to have a method to your madness,which is just what this lacy 1940s confection has.

"The Quickest Jumper you ever knitted!" claims this Weldons pattern. You knit rows of 3 ply garter stitch onto large size 5 needles, and when the work is almost completed, you drop every 5th stitch to form a ladder pattern. Bet that feeling of deliberately sabotaging your carefully-knitted work on the final row is quite nerve-wracking...

This jumper looks very demure knitted in a pale cream or beige and modelled with pearls and a bouquet of lily-of-the-valley, but if you knitted it in black, you'd have a far punkier confection on your hands.