My Version of Kristin Omdahl’s Radiance Scarf, with Artyarns Beaded Silk Light

My swatch for Kristin Omdahl’s Radiance Scarf from Seamless Crochet using a 5.0 mm hook.

I decided to make Kristin Omdahl’s Radiance Scarf1 with my one hank of Artyarns Beaded Silk Light. Since I was using a different yarn from what the pattern called for, I had to estimate how many motifs I could make. I crocheted a swatch of two motifs and weighed and measured how much yarn it took to make them.

By weight, the two motifs used 2.8 g of yarn, and by length the two motifs used 6.85 yds of yarn. I then weighed the entire ball of yarn, which totaled 56.0 g. I don’t own a yarn meter, so for total length, I relied on the yarn’s label, which said there were 160 yds in all.

Then, doing a little math, I calculated that according to length of yarn used, I could make 46 motifs2. And by weight, I calculated I could make 40 motifs3. To be safe–so I (hopefully) wouldn’t run out of yarn–I chose to make the smaller number of motifs. Interestingly, 40 motifs is the same number of motifs called for in Kristin’s original pattern for the Radiance Scarf, which used a laceweight mohair and silk blend yarn.4

I had never worked with Artyarns Beaded Silk Light before and I wondered how making a swatch and then pulling it out to reuse the yarn for the actual scarf would affect the silk yarn. Silk is a strong fiber, but it’s somewhat delicate, plus there were the beads to consider here. I unwound my swatch and there was no harm to the yarn–the yarn wasn’t kinked and didn’t appear “worn” at all.

My scarf in progress, with 40 partial motifs. Now I’m ready to start back along the chain and finish the motifs.

As I discussed in my previous post, Kristin’s design is such that you join motifs as you go and only complete part of each motif before moving onto the next. When you get to your last motif, you complete it and then start back along your chain of almost-finished motifs to complete them. To ensure that I wouldn’t run out of yarn, I decided that before starting back along my chain and finishing the motifs, I would reweigh the remaining ball of yarn to make sure I had enough to finish all 40 motifs. If I didn’t have enough to finish, I would just take out a few motifs before starting back, and have less than 40 motifs total. Thankfully I didn’t have to do that because when I reweighed the yarn it was enough to finish off all 40 motifs based on my earlier calculations.5

Starting back along the chain and finishing off the motifs.

I knew the scarf would be colorful given my yarn choice, but I wasn’t sure if it would be too much color (and garish). The more I crocheted with this yarn, and the longer my chain of motifs, the more I liked it. It certainly was going to be highly colorful, but I also thought it was really pretty. And because of the design–a long, thin scarf with a floral motif–it was going to look almost necklace-like.

This scarf will instantly add color and flair to any outfit; it will really pop against a solid-colored shirt; and the silk will feel divine around the neck. I’m really looking forward to wearing it, throwing it on like a piece of jewelry. Now I just have to block it to really open up those motifs and showcase the beautiful yarn.

My finished, pre-blocked Radiance Scarf.

The overall dimensions of my scarf, before blocking, are 2.25″ wide and 80″ long. I’ll remeasure after I block it and post an update, along with pre- and post-blocking photos.

1. The pattern is found in Kristin’s Seamless Crochet book. [↩]
2. 160 yds total divided by 6.85 yds per 2 motifs = 23.36 repeats of 2 motifs, which means 46.73 motifs total. [↩]
3. 56.0 g total divided by 2.8 g per 2 motifs = 20 repeats of 2 motifs, or 40 motifs. [↩]
4. The original yarn is Tilli Tomas, Symphony Lace with Beads and Glitter, which is a blend of kid mohair (63%), silk (10%), nylon (18%), and wool (9%). [↩]
5. I actually had 8.0 g of yarn leftover after fully completing my scarf, so I had more than plenty to crochet a swatch or two and still complete 40 motifs. Of course I couldn’t be certain of having leftover yarn until I completed the scarf; I’m glad I erred on the side of caution and unwound my swatches to give myself the most yarn possible, just in case I miscalculated and needed it in the end. [↩]