This post includes some suggestions for modifying the Slippery Slope Scarf pattern.

Knitters call their modifications “mods”. They may be modern or moderate or not. They certainly are changes to the basic pattern – and the variations are always infinite.

1/ Make a cleaner lead edge.

When you’re knitting a garter stitch border like this one, you can make the long edges neater by slipping the first stitch on each row. Knitters can have long debates about the relative merit of slipping purl-wise (inserting the needle as if to purl, then slipping the stitch) or slipping knit-wise (inserting the needle as if to knit, then slipping the stitch) but the most important thing is to be consistent. Slip whichever way you prefer. You’d start each row with Slip 1, K7 instead of just K8.

2/ Beads are easy to add into lace.

The easiest way to add beads is with the crochet-hook method. Essentially, you add a bead wherever you want one, by picking up the stitch before you knit it and putting a bead on it. Then you put the stitch back on the left needle, and knit (or purl) the stitch. The bead gets locked in, on the row beneath the one you just worked.

First you need beads. You’ll need beads that can slide over a double thickness of your yarn.

Then you need a crochet hook, one that grips your yarn yet also fits through the hole in the bead with the yarn on it.

Then you need to decide where to put the beads. With the crochet hook method, the beads slide down to nestle on the stitch on the row below. Because of this, I always add these beads when I’m purling back on the wrong side row. As a bonus, I don’t need to pay attention to the pattern when I’m purling, so I can pay attention to the beads.

There are lots of places you could put beads on the Slippery Slope Scarf/Stole. You could put them above each k2tog and make a diagonal line of beads. It would get heavy, though, so you might want to do alternate rows or even every third row.

You could put beads all around the perimeter of the pattern stitches. Place beads on the first and last stitches of the stockinette central pattern panel, on every second row. Just to balance things out, put beads on every second stitch on either end of the scarf.

Or, you could commit random acts of beadness. Put one bead somewhere on every second 4th row. (That’s every second purl row.) Go crazy and put two beads on one row every once in a while. You’ll get a night sky starry thing going on.

3/ Making a wider border.

You could knit 12 rows or even 16 rows of garter stitch at either end. I’m doing that on my stole, because it’s wider and I think the bigger end border balances it better.

4/ Knitting the border in a contrasting colour.

Just for fun, you could knit the garter stitch borders in another colour. Cast on with your border colour, knit the first 8 rows, then on the first row of the pattern, use that thread for the first K8. Join the yarn you’re using for the pattern stitch, then join another ball of the border colour for that last K8. Knit the length, then bind off both the colour for the pattern and one of the balls of border colour before knitting the last border with the last border colour ball. Easy. It would look really striking to border a hand-painted yarn with a coordinating solid.

5/ Adding a fringe.

I’m not a fringey chic but maybe you are. If so, go for it.

You could even put beads in your fringe.

6/ Making stripes.

You could use two or even three colours of yarn and work the pattern – for example – through once in one colour, then change to the next. Or you could work two rows – knit and purl back – in each colour, alternating them out.

7/ Knitting on larger needles.

If you knit on larger needles, the holes will be bigger and the fabric will be looser. You might like it better. You’ll also need more yarn to do as the same number of rows.

My other proposed mods are bigger, and justify being patterns in themselves. Look for them in the next few weeks. (I need to knit a bit faster to be able to show you what I mean!