If you are in your 20s or 30s, chances are you grew up with Harry Potter books or watching the movies. Who has never dreamt of going to Hogwarts, dining in the Great Hall and attending potion class?
Since many of you are currently knitting scarves for the winter season, I thought it would be fun to recreate the iconic scarves that Harry, Ron, Hermione and their friends (or enemies) were wearing in the films.
First, choose your design
There are two designs to the Harry Potter scarves:
The "Block" pattern (left/top): worn by first and second year students, the design is made of alternate colour blocks of equal size.
The "Stripe" pattern (right/bottom): for third and fourth year students, the design has one main colour, with two close stripes of a second colour at regular intervals.
Choose your colours
Most of us probably think about red and yellow when it comes to the Harry Potter scarf, since they are the colours of Gryffindor, the House the main characters belong to. But if you choose Ravenclaw, Slytherin or Hufflepuff, I will forgive you.
The picture below will help you find the equivalent shades for our DIY kits. If you are not purchasing the yarns with us, you can choose any yarn that fits the colours of the House whose scarf you would like to knit. You can find our yarn recommendations below.
*Please note that as of 18 July 2023, our Harry Potter DIY kit is no more available.
Once you have chosen your pattern and your colours, you are ready to go.
What you will need
For the "Block" pattern
- 2 balls of 100g, one of each colour. We like this yarn from Paintbox, as they are affordable, come in many colours, and can be shipped internationally.
- 1 pair of 6.00mm straight needles. You can get these from our website, otherwise we recommend these beech ones from KnitPro, which are beautifully designed and long-lasting.
- Tapestry needle with a big eye, like these ones from Amazon.
- A pair of scissors
- A tape measure
For the "Stripe" pattern
- 3 balls of 100g, 2 balls in the main colour (in bold in the picture above), 1 ball in the other colour. See our yarn recommendation above.
- 1 pair of 6.00mm straight needles. See our needle recommendations above.
- Tapestry needle with a big eye. See our recommendation above.
- A pair of scissors
- A tape measure
For Everyday Scarf kit owners
Block pattern
Follow the techniques as directed in your kit.
Start with Colour 1 and knit for a height of 15 cm.
Change to Colour 2 and knit for a height of 15 cm.
Keep alternating the colours every 15 cm. You should be able to make 8 or 9 blocks, depending on your handwork.
Stripe pattern
Follow the techniques as directed in your kit.
Start with Colour 1 and knit for a height of 15 cm.
Change to Colour 2 and knit 2 rows (should be about 0.8 cm high).
Back to Colour 1 for 4 rows (should be about 1.6 cm high).
Switch to Colour 2 again for 2 rows.
Repeat steps 1 to 4 for 4 more times.
End with a block of Colour 1 for a height of 15 cm.
If you're using your own yarn
Block pattern
Cast on the number of stitches you need to reach a width of 20 cm.
Start knitting with Colour 1 for a height of 15 cm.
Change to Colour 2 and knit for another 15 cm.
Keep alternating the colours every 15 cm. You should be able to make 8 or 9 blocks, depending on your handwork.
Stripe pattern
Cast on the number of stitches you need to reach a width of 20 cm.
Start knitting with Colour 1 for a height of 15 cm.
Change to Colour 2 and knit 2 rows (should be about 0.8 cm high).
Back to Colour 1 for 4 rows (should be about 1.6 cm high).
Switch to Colour 2 again and knit for 2 rows.
Repeat steps 1 to 4 as many times as you would like and your yarn allows you.
Finish with a block of Colour 1 for 15 cm.
Notes & tips
Colour change lines
At each colour change, you will notice a line (see picture). These lines will always happen when you change colours in knitting. For a nice finished result, all your lines should be on the same side. To do so, you have to make all your colour changes on the same side. This means that when you do your second colour change, you will have to do it on the same border as the first colour change. And same goes with subsequent colour changes.
Stripe Pattern: the easiest way to switch colours
When changing colours, we would usually add the new ball, cut the previous ball off, and continue knitting. But for this pattern, you don't need to do that. Because the stripes are so thin, you can keep both balls attached to the knit.
When making your stripes:
Block in colour 1 > add in your new colour as usual > knit stripe in colour 2 but don't cut colour 1 > knit stripe in colour 1 using the yarn coming from the ball > knit stripe in colour 2 using the yarn coming from the ball > knit block in colour 1 using the yarn coming from the ball AND cut off colour 2 this time.
Do this every time you come to the stripe section. You will see that with this method, you will save a lot of time and you will have less yarn ends to hide at the end.
This is how the colour change looks like with this method:
Optional: adding tassels
Lastly, you can add tassels to both ends of your scarf. You will find a complete step-by-step tutorial here on how to make and add tassels, no tools required. This step is optional, but they do wear it in the movie, alternating colour tassels as pictured below.
Please tag us @knittingroomhk if you try these patterns.