Finish-Or-Frog-It #2: Kelli Bias Scarf
The Kelli Bias Scarf is a pattern from Toni Lipsey of TLYarnCrafts. It is a corner-to-corner pattern using a modified granny stitch and color-changing fingering weight yarn. This beginner-friendly pattern was released as part of Toni’s 2024 Crochet Academy. Crochet Academy is sponsored by Lion Brand, so it’s no surprise that the pattern features a Lion Brand yarn: Mandala String.
I started working on this project in September 2024, as part of the Crochet-Along (CAL) that follows the learning part of Crochet Academy. Each year, Toni releases several patterns especially for Crochet Academy, and i’m always excited to see what new patterns she’s designed. They are always beginner-friendly, which makes for low-stress stitching for those of us who have more experienced.
I’d seen the Mandala String yarn when it was released, but hadn’t worked with it, so this was my opportunity. It is a #1 weight yarn, so it falls into the category of “Super Fine,” or fingering weight. Unlike most fingering weight I’ve used in the past, the Mandala String is 100% Acrylic. Like other members of the Lion Brand Mandala family, Mandala String is a color-changing yarn, and comes in a wide variety of colorways. Out of a lot of appealing options, I chose Harmony, which includes shades of lilac, faded magenta, lavender and turquoise.
The pattern is just what I’d hoped for: a soothing repetitive stitch pattern with just enough variety to keep it from getting boring. So why did this project end up in hibernation?
Sadly, it’s the yarn itself. It is absolutely beautiful. There’s no denying that. But I hate working with it. It’s stiff, more like, well, string than yarn. It doesn’t flow nicely when I’m working with it, and I don’t like the feel of it in my hands. And when I took it out of the plastic tub where I’d bee storing it for the last few months since I put it aside, somehow the remainder of the skein that I had been working from had managed to tangle itself into a massive knot that it took me over an hour to untangle.
It I hadn’t already decided, that would have been the final straw for me. This project is getting frogged. Well, actually, I already frogged it. After spending all that time untangling it, I wasn’t going to risk it happening again. So I frogged it and wound it into a cake. I may make the Kelli Bias Scarf in the future using a different yarn, because I enjoyed the pattern, but I can’t see myself using this yarn again. This one is going into my destash!
When you love the pattern but hate the yarn, do you push through and finish the project?
Talk soon, Eileen
