I have a special thing for leaf motifs in lace. They always enchant me, because they are often surprising in how life-like they are; and at the same time they showcase lace techniques, such as yarn over eyelets, slanting decreases, and knit-purl textures. So ever since I finished dyeing my very first batch of raw silk and started looking for a scarf pattern for it, I looked for something supple, fresh, a plant motif that is memorable and also easy to knit.

I found the leaf edging in a stitch dictionary, made a reverse version of it so it can line both sides of the scarf symmetrically, and ta-dam! Frosted Hazel Leaf was born, a long oval silk scarf in an open lacy pattern, wide enough in the center to warm my arms as a light shawl, but warm enough to warm my neck when wrapped around.

The yarn, Artemis, is a textured pure raw silk yarn, fingering weight. I used the colorway Glacier, which is dyed in a long self striping pattern, where the color transitions from a deep dark indigo through lighter shades of blue to a natural cream color over the whole hank. I used two hanks joined by their light end. I started the first hank at its dark end, knit to the light end, joined the next hank at its light end, and finished in dark blue again. This way the scarf has two blue ends and a creamy white middle.

Finished size:
Approx. 70 inches (177 cm) long, 15 inches (38 cm) wide
Skills needed:
Basic lace increases and decreases
Tools:
US 6 (4 mm) straight needles, tapestry needle for weaving in ends, stitch marker or waste yarn
Materials:
Blue Earth Dyeworks Artemis (Raw Silk) 50 g Glacier colorway – 2 hanks (100 g total), or other fingering weight silk yarn

Gauge:
The example has 5 stitches and 5 rows in stockinette stitch, but gauge is not critical for this project
Pattern Notes

Structure: The scarf starts with 4 stitches on one end, and continues to increase and decrease an oval center panel in stockinette stitch flanked by two symmetrical garlands of leaves, separated by 2-stitch purl columns.