This scarf was inspired by the Sea Witch in Seanan McGuire’s “October Daye” series, specifically the one time she shapeshifts into an octopus. The Luidaeg remains my favourite, despite not being the main character.

it’s knit flat and in one piece, including the bobbles.
While technically one size, it can come out larger or smaller depending on what yarn you choose to use.

Materials:

• Suggested Yarn: Red Heart Gemstone, 1 ball (312 yds / 285 m)
• Yarn Weight: Bulky (5)
• Needle Size: US 8 (5.0 mm)
• Gauge: 18 sts, 24 rows = 4in/10cm in stockinette. It should create a somewhat dense fabric
• Other: Blocking surface and pins required. A stitch counter and/or locking stitch markers are recommended to track rows.

With the recommended yarn, my scarves came out to about
76 in (193 cm) long and 9 in (23 cm) wide. With a finer DK weight yarn (Caron Skinny Cakes in particular), the resulting scarf was 60 inches long and 8 inches across.

I tend to use needles that are 1mm smaller than recommended on the yarn label, but this is optional. You may just end up with a more open fabric. The yarn I used has a label gauge of 14 sts x 19 rows, but with 5mm needles instead of 6mm, the gauge becomes 18 sts x 24 rows.

Blocking Notes

Hi Y’all, it’s been brought to my attention that I didn’t really explain how blocking works with the bobbles, or how to fix the bump in the edge at the middle of the scarf.

For the bump: I got rid of that by gently getting the scarf damp (only a little) to make it easier to work with, then stretching and pinning it out until I was satisfied with the shape. As I mainly used acrylic yarns for mine, I then applied steam. If you’re using wool, you can steam or use a wet blocking technique. But yeah, that gets rid of the bump in the middle, and you can make the ends a bit more spiral-y if desired.

For the bobbles: If you’re steam blocking, shape the bobble into a sucker and apply steam. Wait until it’s cooled down just enough to touch, and adjust the shape as needed. Apply steam again. I did my bobbles this way and they’ve stayed quite well.
Alternatively, you can use a marble to keep the centers in if you have some around, as well as some kind of support around the edge of the bobble to keep it from flattening too much. This method comes from the project notes of someone who made a scarf, and would also work well for wet blocking, though that would require more marbles and/or supports.

I hope this helps!

Happy Knitting!