by Jean Miller

Named for the mathematical definition of the point at which a curved line changes from concave to convex, Inflection is a lovely curved scarf that can sometimes look like a shawlette. Worked with lace weight yarn, this light scarf has great versatility as an accessory that can be draped, wrapped, or pinned during any season. Ruched short rows create dense gussets that curve the scarf in one direction or another. Bi-directional gussets and wedges of these gussets can be varied to create different shapes and lengths. This pattern is written for the two scarves shown in the photographs, but a simple paper wedge technique gives almost infinite design possibilities.

Perfect for gift giving, Inflection knits up very quickly requiring only one skein of laceweight yarn, unless you go totally crazy with your wedges.

Sometimes I like to imagine a long randomly curving scarf emulating an aerial photo of a large winding river…but you’ll never know how close these green scarves came to be named after a caterpillar.

SIZE
Short [Long]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 30[54] inches
Width: 6.75[5.5] inches

MATERIALS
Yarn
Long [shown above]
Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lace Paint [100% Baby Alpaca; 437yd/400m per 50 g skein]; color: Flotsam; 1 skein

Short [shown below]:
Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lace [100% Baby Alpaca 437yd/400m per 50 g skein]; color: Turtle; 1 skein


Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
1 16-inch US #6/4mm circular needle

Notions
yarn needle
stitch marker

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

p2tog tbl: Purl two together through the back of the loop.

pbf: Similar to pfb except that I think purling through the back then the front of the same stitch is faster when you have quite a few of these increases to work.

sm: slip marker

Paper Wedge Design Process
In order to plan the shape of these two scarves, I created paper wedges from my swatch which had clusters of three gussets.  You can design your own scarf by using the wedge template included here.  Cut out as many wedges as you think you need to create your favorite shape and play around until you have the length and number of curves you want. Then note down the number and sequence of Left- and Right-pointing wedges.

DIRECTIONS
Left Edge
CO 42 sts.

Rows 1-4: K all sts.

Row 5 [WS]: K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.

Right-pointing wedge
Row 1 [RS]: K all sts.

Row 2 [WS]: K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.

Row 3 [RS]: K all sts.

Row 4 [WS]: K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.

Row 5 [RS]: K all sts.

Row 6 [WS]: K3, *wyif sl1 purlwise, yo, rep from * to last 15 sts, pm, p12, k3. 66 sts. 24 sts increased.

Row 7 [RS]: K15, sm, *k yo and next st tog tbl; rep from * to last 3 sts, k3. 42 sts. 24 sts decreased.

Begin to work short rows:
Row 8 [WS]: K3, pbf to marker, sm, w&t. 66 sts. 24 sts increased.

Row 9 [RS]: sm, k 51 sts.

Row 10 [WS]: K3, p24, w&t

Row 11 [RS]: K27.

Row 12 [WS]: K3, p26, w&t.

Row 13 [RS]: K29.

Row 14 [WS]: K3, p28, w&t.

Row 15 [RS]: K31.

Row 16 [WS]: K3, p32, w&t.

Row 17 [RS]: K35.

Row 18 [WS]: K3, p38, w&t.

Row 19 [RS]: K41.

Row 20 [WS]: K3, p2tog to marker, sm, p12, k3. 42 sts. 24 sts decreased.

Row 21 [RS]: K3, *wyif sl1 purlwise, yo, repeat from * to last 3 sts removing marker, k3. 78 sts. 36 sts increased.

Row 22 [WS]: K3, *p yo and next st tog tbl; rep from * to last 3sts,  k3. 42 sts. 36 sts decreased.

Repeat Rows 1-22 two more times to complete first Right pointing wedge.

Work 1[2] Right-pointing wedges in total for S[L] scarf (unless you have designed your own curvature).

Begin to work short rows:
Row 9 [RS]: K3, k38, w&t.

Row 10 [WS]: P38, k3.

Row 11 [RS]: K35, w&t.

Row 12 [WS]: P32. k3.

Row 13 [RS]: K31, w&t.

Row 14 [WS]: P28, k3.

Row 15 [RS]: K29, w&t.

Row 16 [WS]: P26, k3.

Row 17 [RS]: K27, w&t.

Row 18 [WS]: P24, k3.

Row 19 [RS]: K3, k2tog to marker, sm, w&t. 42 sts. 24 sts decreased.

Row 20 [WS]: Sm, *wyif sl1 purlwise, yo, repeat from * to last 3 sts, k3. 66 sts. 24 sts increased.

Row 21 [RS]: K3, *k yo and next st tog tbl; rep from * to marker, remove marker, k to end. 42 sts. 24 sts decreased.

Row 22 [WS]: K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.

Repeat Rows 1-22 two more times to create first Left-pointing wedge.

Work 3[5] Left-pointing wedges in total for S[L] scarf.

Work 1[2] further Right-pointing wedges for S[L] scarf.

Right Edge
Row 1 [RS]: K all sts.
Row 2 [WS]: K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 3 [RS]: K all sts.
Row 4 [WS]: K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 5 [RS]: K all sts.
Row 6 [WS]: K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.
Rows 7-10: K all sts.

BO all stitches loosely.

FINISHING
Weave in loose ends of yarn with yarn needle.
Block scarf one of two ways:

Method 1: The longer, dark green scarf was blocked in the following manner and creates a narrower, more scarf-like piece.  After dampening with your preferred method, allow the 3 st garter selvedge to curl under which it will do naturally along the curves.  Pin to shape with the turned under edge in place.  Scallop the rushed gussets on the outside curvature by pulling them to the desired size.

Method 2: The shorter light green scarf was blocked as follows and ends up looking more like a shawlette.  After dampening, pull this piece a little tighter and stretch the selvedge edge out fully.  Because it is stretched more, the ruched gussets do not scallop as much as when using Method 1.

Jean Miller is a "retired" engineer staying at home with two young sons. She gets her kicks from biking and running very long distances. She also loves to knit and try her hand at designing and writing knitting patterns.

Jean blogs here and you can find her on Ravelry as ecocrafter.