Scarves, Neck Warmers, Mufflers and more

 Scarves, no doubt we all have several, to match or go with different coats and or outfits.  Started crocheting this scarf some time back with groups of different stitches and Buckeye Yarn.  Tossed it in the works in progress bin and forgot about it.  Spotted it the other day and thought ...hey I should finish that, but am not liking the look or feel of it.  The yarn is quite coarse..perhaps that's way I laid it aside?  Believe I'll frog it and redo...perhaps knitting it vs crocheting it will be less coarse and give a different/more pleasing look to how the swatches of colors end up.  Then when laundered, it should/hope be soft enough to be comfortable around someone's neck.

Look what else I found in my bin.  These were one skein scarves and as such are a bit smaller then I like.  The blue is workable for someone my size (5'4"), the multi-color is not so needs to be for a child or smaller teen.  Made these while out of town once with yarn I picked up at a local yarn shop for something to do.  Love the blue which is a bit more peacock in color then shows up here in the picture.  Both these scarves are wool and were made for a different purpose.  The multi-color was my first attempt at knitting cables, which I shouldn't have done using variegated yarn.  They need a good soak and blocking before I can decide where they go.  I sorta think I actually made the blue one for myself and forgot about it, lol.

Scarves have historically been called several names, Kremer, neck-wrap, and muffler.  They were originally made for warmth, for cleanliness and for religious reasons.  Dating clear back to ancient Roman times, called a Sudarium, meaning "sweat cloth", they were worn by men for cleanliness.  Literally worn around the head, neck, and or waste and used to wipe away sweat, and were made of wool.  At some point women began wearing them, but theirs were made of cloth, pashmina/silk etc.

According to our friends over on Wikipedia, The Chinese military wore scarves which marked their rank.  In Crotia in the 17th century they were also used by the military with the officers wearing silk and non-officers wearing cotton.  The word cravats meaning croat in French preceded the mens neck tie.

In the 19th century both men and women wore scarves as a fashion statement, and in the 20th century it became an essential clothing item worn again by men and women for warmth and as a accessory to almost any outfit.

The following are our donation numbers of scarves:
2011...................471
2012...................666  (increase of 195
2013...................622 (44 less then preceding year
2014...................590 (76 less then preceding year

Our average those 4 years is 587, so while our numbers were down for the 2nd year in a row, we surpassed the average.........just barely.

Are you currently working on a scarf?

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.