The Mainprize Documentary Commemorative Scarf

This double-sided, knitted custom Mainprize Documentary Commemorative Scarf was the idea of Mrs. Murlo from Murlo Creative Expressions – by Leila.

Many hours of fun planning, plotting and figuring (Math!) went into getting the images just right. Then, many more hours knitting the scarf which turned our amazing!

The black and white acrylic heavy scarf is a ‘one of a kind’ gift for the Mainprize Documentary Producer/Director, Mr. Jack Hilkewich, a creative Canadian talent!

The scarf follows a classic movie theme with the Mainprize logo/icon you see to the left.

We were very excited to create this unique piece and present it to Jack!

The Specs

– 100% acrylic yarn – DK weight #4
– Gauge: 18 stitch x 24 rows = 4 inches
– Black & White
– 10″ (25.4 cm) wide and 70″ (177.8 cm) long
– Machine wash warm and gentle dry
– 5mm round needles (Size 8 US/Size 6 UK)
– This men’s heavy scarf is meant to be worn or on display

Scarf Design

1. The first steps is the design. Find black and white movie themed clip art designs and screen shots.

2. The next step taken was to knit a swatch with the yarn. This will help determine how many stitches across make 1 inch and how many rows are needed to make 1 inch

3. The stitch design set up:
a) Using a free stitch wizard program available at stitchboard.com. Clip art and screenshots are downloaded into the software.

b) Select knitting as well as black and white image for the design. Stitch width can be as high as 100.

c) You will need to play with the program a bit. For our purposes, setting the stitch count to 45 rendered a clear graph.

d) Based on the swatch, 45 stitches would make a 10 inch wide scarf. Each element was uploaded separately and the graphs printed.

4. Look at the row count for each image/element graph. I wanted the scarf to be 70 inches long so this is where the math begins! 😆

Scarf Construction
1. We wanted to knit the Mainprize face (see above introduction image) on both ends of the scarf and the Mainprize word in the middle. Add the row count of the elements together.

2. I wanted 70 inches of length which at 6 rows per inch would be 420 rows. I took the 420 total row calculation subtracted the element row count total. This gave me a row count that I needed to add to get to the 70 inch length.

I divided the number in half. This gave me how many plain white rows I would need to add between the face design and the Mainprize script design.

3. The same process was followed to design the other side of the scarf using film strip and film reel image.

4. Then onto the knitting. As each side is 45 stitches, 90 stitches were cast on and joined in the round. Using what knitters call the magic loop method, the knitting began using both black and white yarn.

5. Once the knitting was complete, the scarf was steamed and pinned into shape and left to dry.

6. What’s left? Sending the scarf to Jack!