How To Make the Fluffy Cupcake Cowl

Hi everyone, it's Jennifer from FiberFlux. In this video we're going to learn how to make a fun scarf and cowl using the new loop-it yarn from Red Heart. This is a finger looping type of yarn and you may have seen this kind of popping up in the craft stores. This is a fun yarn that is a strand of loops and instead of using hooks and needles you use your fingers to put the loops into the next loop and I'm going to show you exactly how to do that. Now for our scarf, we're going to make a scarf but you can also turn it into a cowl and I'll show you how to do that later on in the video, but I'm going to be using two balls of the loop-it. Each ball of this is 7.6 yards or 7 meters, 3.5 ounces, 100 grams, it's 100% polyester and I'm calling this the fluffy cupcake scarf or cowl because of the colors I'm using it just reminds me of like fluffy frosting on a cupcake. So this color is called Tickle Pink and Purple, it's kind of a mix of white, purple and pink and then this one is called, I have the label here, this is called In The Pink. So we're going to be using two balls of this and I'm going to be showing you in this video how to get started, how to work rows with the loop-it and then also how to transition from one ball of yarn to the next ball of yarn as well and then finally how to finish off your scarf and then if you want to turn your scarf into a cowl or an infinity scarf type of thing I'm going to show you how to do that as well. For this project you'll just need the two balls of the loop-it yarn and a pair of scissors and your fingers and that's it. So let's get started. Okay let's start with this variegated one first. So what you'll want to do is take the yarn labels off of your yarn and put those aside. So then what you'll have to do, see I'm sort of like fluffing this up because it's going to help us find the end. So here is the end of our yarn ball here and you're just going to want to pull out a little bit of yarn here. Now you can see it's a strand just full of loops, okay. Now I got this tip from Marley Bird on the Marley Bird YouTube channel so special thanks to Marley Bird. But she starts off by cutting a couple of the loops to give yourself a nice tail, okay. So what we're going to do is, see our first loop here, you're just going to go in with your scissors and trim and see how it becomes a tail. Let's do that to a couple of the loops so we get a nice tail and that will help us weave it in later. Okay cut the next loop and then cut a third loop just for good measure, just like that. So now we have a nice tail to get started, okay. And then before we get started I also want to give a special shout out also to Red Heart for sending this yarn, this brand new loop-it yarn so that I can share it with all of you as well. So special thanks to them. Okay, so once you have your tail you'll want to determine how many loops you want your row to be. Now I want to do something with a little bit of nice width so it's very fluffy and comfy. So we're going to do 10 loops across, okay. Now if you do 5 loops it'll be narrower, if you do 20 loops it'll be wider and so forth. So go ahead and kind of put your tail out here and go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, okay. So this is going to be kind of the base of what we're working on here, okay. As a side note, I'm doing the variegated yarn. If you'd rather do the solid yarn if it helps you see better, feel free. I kind of like how the loops are different colors, it kind of helps keep me straight but if you find that the solid is a little bit easier for you to see definitely use the solid instead. So what we're going to do is we're going to lay this flat on the table or if you have a lap that you can lay your work on it does help you to keep things nice and flat. So if you can lay it on your lap or a table it certainly makes it easier. Okay, so you want to keep your 10 here and I'm just going to put my finger here to kind of separate it. And then what I like to do is sort of put the strand up top here and kind of feed it down into my work, okay. So what we're going to do once again is work in a zigzag and as I do this you'll kind of see what I mean. So take the first loop or the next loop that you come to rather and put it through this loop here, the first loop of our row and just put it through there just like that, okay. Now take the next loop and put it through, take the next loop and put it through and you'll want to work slowly and carefully when you begin because you don't want to forget any loops because it'll put like a weird loop out in the front of your work like a random extra loop, okay. So just be really careful, keep everything nice and flat and sometimes the loops twist around so just be careful not to miss any of them, okay. Now this will feel, if you've never done finger knitting or finger crochet, this will feel kind of odd at first without using a hook or needles but it's super easy in concept and you'll be able to pick it up pretty quickly. It felt a little bit unusual to me when I started as well and sometimes just make sure the loops aren't twisted around when you work, okay. So here is our last loop, so we've worked our first row. Now what I like to do, see how it looks a little jumbly right now? I like to go and kind of pull these loops up, pull them upward and it kind of like tightens up your work a little bit and gets everything nice and neat and kind of laying flat the way it's supposed to. See how that looks when you pull them up a little bit? Okay, now we're going to start the next row. So we're going to work through this and once we get through this ball of yarn I'm going to show you how to transition on to the next ball of yarn but we're not quite there yet. Okay, so you're going to work the next row the same way. Now did you notice how I just left everything on the table as is? I didn't flip anything. Now if you start flipping your work you're going to get like a little ridge in your work like a garter stitch. We're doing stockinette stitch so if you're a knitter those terms will be familiar. If you're not a knitter that's like the flatter iconic V's that you see in knitting. The garter is where you have like the little ridges or bumps in your work, okay? So let's move on to the next row. Again I like to have my strand kind of going out the top here so grab the next loop and just work that loop and then we're just going to work these loops all the way across. Now I would focus at first on just being really careful that everything is going where it should. I wouldn't worry about speed yet. This is just a nice relaxing project. See how I'm just passing all the loops through being careful not to forget any. I was doing a sample piece prior to this video and I left a loop out and it was just this big loop sticking out of the front and it didn't look very nice. So just be careful not to leave any loops out, okay? And then already we're at the end of our row, okay? So once again take your loops and kind of straighten them out and it's helpful to recount. Make sure you have 10. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Just make sure you have the same number every time, okay? And now we're getting some nice flat almost looks like tiles. It's really interesting, okay? And then we can work on our next row. Let's do another row or two together and then we're going to kind of work on our own through the rest of this fall and we'll rejoin when we get to another color. So let's go pick up a little bit of speed and work the next two rows a little bit more quickly, okay? So we're going to do the next loop, next loop, next loop. And I apologize for my hands kind of being in the way. When I have a hook or needles in my hand it's kind of my hands are out of the way and it's a little bit easier to see. But with this project your hands are right there in your work. You're just right in the yarn, which is really fun because the yarn is super soft. If you haven't had a chance to feel this yarn yet in the store, definitely go to the store and give it a little squish test. Okay, and now I'm at my last loop, okay? So there you go. Now, once again, I like to give my little loops a tug just so they're all nice and flat. And they do lay pretty flat once you do that, okay? So now we're getting some length. So we haven't really put a whole bunch of rows in there, but we do have a couple inches so far. Okay, let's do this last row together and then we'll take a moment to work through the rest of the ball, okay? So one more time, just keeping everything flat. Now you notice I haven't moved this project at all, it's been laying on the table the entire time. Okay, and I'm just putting all these loops through. And once you get a little bit of length on your project it is easier to see everything. It does look, to me, it's a little jumbled up at first until you get a little bit of length on there, okay? And just work through being very careful not to miss any of the loops. I know I keep saying that, but I definitely did miss a loop and I had to like pull it apart and start over. Okay, so just two more, whoops, two more loops on our row here. Now, let's straighten all of these loops, the loops that we just sent through, okay? So we've added some length onto our project and it looks very pretty. It's a nice kind of abstract pattern. Now I just want to show you the back. The back of it looks like garter stitch or reverse stockinette if you want to get technical. But you see the nice little ridges. Now you can wear this, this side facing outward if you want that little bit of texture or the flatter side. It's totally up to you. Again, this is a nice easygoing kind of project. Alright, so what I'm going to do is continue to add rows to my loops and then we'll rejoin once we get towards the end of this ball and I'm going to show you how to join on the next ball, okay? One more thing I wanted to mention before we continue is that sometimes we can't get all of this done in one sitting and we need to put this down and take a break or if you need to come back the next day or whatever. So if you're afraid about your loops getting pulled apart, you can just lay it on something and leave. But if you're worried about it getting shifted or moved around or if you need to travel with your project, which so many of us do in waiting rooms and watching sports activities and everything, if you need to kind of have a more permanent storage solution for this, just grab a large hook or a dowel rod or a chopstick or a knitting needle or what have you and just run your right through all of these loops like this and then you'll be able to put it in a bag or a basket or what have you and you can kind of store your project, okay? So you can just kind of like slip it onto something like this and now your loops will be safe and sound. Now obviously these could slip off the edge but this will help keep them more in place than just kind of laying on a table. So I just wanted to give you a little tip there for that. So we're going to keep working, we'll rejoin in just a moment and switch balls of yarn. Okay, so I've been looping it and now we're ready to join on a new ball of yarn which I have right here. We're going to go on to the pink. Now I could have probably done some striping to kind of break up the variegated and the solid to do more stripes but I'm going to make mine more of like a color block just to keep things super easy for us. Okay, so I have a little tail here. Now to continue on to the next row you're only going to need a couple of loops. So I'm going to choose these first three and then the other three, see I have three more at this end here, I'm just going to cut those to create a tail. Remember how we created our tail at the beginning of the row when we began? We're going to cut these last three loops to give us a little bit of a tail here. Now this is what, how the folks at Red Heart recommending going to the next ball of yarn. So I'm going to show you straight from the yarn company what they suggest and if you have a little crumbs that's okay. Okay, so let's get everything all straightened out. Now we have our first three loops and we're going to join it on to the new row. So just get all your loops nice and straight and then let's find the end here, now I just had it a minute ago and now I can't find it, it's all wrapped up. Okay, so once you have your end of your new ball of yarn you're going to, we need a tail on this end too. So go ahead and cut about three of the loops from the new ball of yarn just right down the middle. See how I'm doing that and it just opens up that and just be really careful so you don't cut too much. Okay, so now we have a tail here. So we're going to do the same thing as when we started. So just kind of lay this up here. Now they recommend, the designers at Red Heart recommend taking a couple loops of the old strand and layering them with the new strand so I'm going to show you how I do that. So kind of like, remember we were working in a zigzag, row to row, so kind of flip this over and line these three loops with the first three loops of your new row, okay, that was kind of a mouthful, just to try to get them as nice and neat as possible. Okay, then you're going to take the first couple of loops of the new row and this tail we can weave this in later, I'm going to show you how to do this at the end of the video. But you're going to take the first couple of loops and put them under here, okay? So we're going to kind of stack everything together, okay? This is going to make a lot more sense in a moment. The first time I did this I was a little bit wondering how this was all going to work out. Okay, so take the first loop of your new row and send these bottom two loops, remember how we stacked them? Send them both through that first loop. Just like that. So you'll have two loops in there, okay? Now do that with the next loop, this is why you don't want to do too many loops, that's why I thought three would be good. So send those two loops through the next one and then, it's a little fiddly trying to keep it all, but you want to keep it stacked sort of like a sandwich. Send the next two loops through that next loop like that, okay? Now we're completely on the new ball of yarn. We're going to finish this row and then come back over and I'm going to show you how to deal with these stacked loops over here, okay? So you can just go ahead and work your row as you normally would, except we have the new ball of yarn that we're working through, okay? So just send those loops right on through with the new ball of yarn, okay? I have more, again it helps to lay it on the table, I think that keeps it the straightest. Okay? Now, almost to the end here, I'm just going to take that last loop, just like that. So you're kind of just working it the same way we've been doing, except for the stacking part back here, okay? So then, come back and work your next row, just keep going with the strand, see how I'm just coming right back across the row. Now another little tip I wanted to share with you, this is the knit stitch that we're doing, I didn't really go into too much detail at the beginning just to try to get the technique down, but see how we're doing? This is nice and flat with those iconic knit Vs, this is the knit stitch that we're doing. There are other stitches that you can do, you could do a purl stitch, you could do ribbing, all kinds of other things, and I'll provide a link, if you hop on over to the FiberFlux blog, I'll put a link on how to learn some of these other stitches, but for this project we're keeping it super simple. So when you do your loops, to keep it nice and smooth looking like this, you want to take your, this is your new row, this is the working yarn, send it through the back of the loop. See that? I've kind of been doing it, but I didn't really say to send it through the back loop, so see I'm just sending it through that back loop like that each time, because, let me just show you something. If I sent it through the front of that loop, see how it's going to give you a little bit of a ridge in the front? And that might be what you're after, but we're going to try and keep it all the same. So always send it through the back, that was my other tip I wanted to share. Okay, now we're back at the area where we joined on the new ball of yarn. So all you're going to do is simply take those two loops from before, and just send them, where are we? Oh yeah, okay, I got myself twisted here. Send this loop through those two loops, and pull up on it, like that. See now we only have one loop, okay? Do the same thing. Take the next loop here, send it through the back, take the next section, and send it through. Okay? So we've completely added our new ball of yarn, okay? Now because I'm going from variegated to solid, I'm going to have more of a color blocking effect, but for learning purposes, you know, this is a nice, easy, simple project. Another tip I wanted to share before we get too far along, is as you're working each row, when I'm working a row, I like to flip it over and look at the back, and see how the back looks a little bit different. Make sure there's no random loops sticking up. That means you left one off of your working, or you kind of skipped over. So just check it every so often, and make sure you're not skipping any loops either. Okay, let's go ahead and work one more row together, and then we'll break off and continue with our scarf, or cowl, whatever you like it to be, and I'm going to show you how to do the cowl at the end of the video. Okay? So I'm just bringing the loops through. So remember, to get this knit stitch, send the loop through the back of the loop on the row. Okay? And I am just going to keep working on my scarf, slash cowl, until I'm out of yarn. Okay? So it's going to be like a longer cowl, like an infinity scarf. You can kind of double it up. It's very, very cozy. And this yarn is very kind of fuzzy and fluffy, like chenille, or something like that. It's very nice, soft stuff for around the neck. Okay, so now I've finished a row, and I'm just going to peek at the back real quick, make sure there's no random, now I do have tails, we'll deal with those later, just make sure I don't have any random loops sticking out though. Okay, so you can get all your loops straightened out. I am going to continue working on my project, and then in just a bit, we're going to rejoin, and I'm going to show you how to, if you like, how to connect the ends of your project to create a cowl, and also how to deal with all these ends. So stay tuned, and we'll finish up our project. Okay, so I've been working the solid section of the fluffy cupcake scarf, and I just have a little bit of yarn left. So I'm going to show you how to bind off. Now if you're a knitter, this is a familiar term. This just simply means we're going to get these loops finished off, so there's no more active stitches on our scarf, okay? When we're done that, I'm going to show you how to seam this together if you want to make it into a cowl or infinity scarf. Okay, so what we're going to do is we finished off a row, and I'm ready to work another row. So instead of working it like we've been doing, I'm going to show you how to bind off these loops. Okay, so I've been working the pink section of the fluffy cupcake scarf, and now we're ready to bind off. So I have just a little bit of yarn left here that I've saved, and if you're a knitter, binding off will seem like a familiar term. If you've never knit before, it's okay. It just means we're taking these active stitches here and we're going to finish them off, okay? So what you're going to do is work the first two loops of your row. So put the loop through the first loop, and then the next loop, work the next loop. Same thing we've been doing, but then we're going to take that loop we just worked and put it through the first loop, just like that, okay? Now, what we're going to do is work the next loop of our row, and then take that loop and put it through that first loop here, and then do the same thing all the way across. Work the next loop, then send that loop through the loop that's already been worked, and then we're going to go to the next loop, work the next loop, and then send that loop through the loop that's already on, that we've already worked. Let me just zoom in a little bit so you can see. Okay, then we're going to work the next loop. We're going to just do this all the way across, send that loop through the loop that you've already worked, always checking the back to make sure you don't miss any loops. Work the next loop, send that loop through the loop that you've already worked. I like to give them a little tug each time because there's a lot of stuff sitting on here. Work the next loop, put that loop through the loop that you've already worked, and then we just have a few stitches left. Work the next loop, put that loop through the loop that you've already worked, and finally we're at the end. Work that very last loop, put the loop through the one you've already worked. Okay, so the top is finished off. No more loops across the top except for this one loop here. So then what we need to do is to create a tail. So I'm just going to cut the yarn, okay, and then cut that very last loop, just being careful not to cut your work, just the tail part. Okay, so now you have a little bit of a tail. It could be two loops, three loops, it doesn't matter. Okay, the last thing you want to do is just send this tail through the last loop and just pull it gently so that the yarn does not snap. Okay, so our scarf is complete. Now, of course, you can keep this as a scarf and it's very fluffy and cozy, or you can make this into a cow or infinity scarf, and that is super easy to do. So all you want to do is turn your scarf inside out, being careful not to twist it, unless you'd like a decorative twist, and that's totally up to you as well. But turn your scarf inside out, and then we want to create a strand that we will be weaving. Okay, so you may have strands. I'm just going to make these. Let me zoom out a little bit so you can see a little bit better. Okay, so you may have a tail that's long enough to seam these two ends together. I'm not really thinking mine's long enough, so I'm going to show you how to create a piece of yarn. It's the same thing we did with when we made our tail. So you're just going to cut. Now, obviously, if you want to make this into an infinity scarf or cow, you'll need to save some yarn over here, okay? So I didn't work till the very, very end of the yarn. I saved a little bit so I could show you how to do this. But we're going to create a strand of this yarn that's not loopy, just enough to get the end seam. Now, our scarf isn't very wide, so we don't need a huge strand, and if you cut too big of a strand, then you'll be pulling and pulling and pulling it through. Okay, so this is fine. This is about 12 inches or so. All right, so line your ends up, and you might get some little crumbs. That's okay. So line your edges up, just like a little sandwich, and then you're going to send the tail in. Whoops. Now, sometimes it can kind of snap off like that. That's okay. Just pull it through. Just be very careful not to break it because it is a little bit, the strand is fragile. But once you get the ends woven in, it'll be fine. Okay, so just go through. Now, your sandwich edges will be a little bit different. This is where we started, and it just kind of starts nice and clean with the stitches. This will have a little bit of a braided edge. So you'll want in the braided edge, the bind off, you'll want to go through both strands. At the top, you'll see a series of Vs. You want to go through both of those Vs. Just pull it through very gently, and then go through the top of the other layer where we began. If you're not familiar with knitting, we call that the cast on. Okay, and just pull it through nice and gentle. We're just going through each one of these Vs and across the tops of the stitches of the other side. Okay, and this yarn, as a side note, is very fluffy and forgiving. So any, it's not lined up perfectly or, you know, you miss something here and there. That's perfectly fine. The yarn is very forgiving. Okay, which is always a good thing because sometimes, especially when we're doing this by hand, for me it's not, I'm normally using a needle, so it feels a little bit unusual to me to do this by hand. Okay, we're just going into both layers here with our seaming. Okay, we're almost to the end, and then I'm going to show you how to weave in the ends. Okay, go in the top of that braid, or V rather, pull your strand through, and we're almost to the end. Just taking it all the way to the edge so we don't have any sloppy corners. Okay, and now we're at the edge. Now we, okay, so we're just going to tie these two ends together. Now with this yarn, you can do one of two things. You can cut the tails flush, and they kind of like blend into the yarn. Let me scoot all this stuff out of the way. Or you can take your fingers and just kind of weave it in and out of some of these stitches along the back. Make sure your piece is still inside out when you do this so that it doesn't show through onto the front because we did get some really pretty stitch work with the loops. Okay, and then if you, if you like, you can just kind of tuck it in there. It's not an exact science, and again, this yarn is very forgiving. So you can either cut them flush or, now this one kind of goes to the front, so I'm going to kind of weave this one back to the back, and that way it'll be a little bit more camouflaged. Okay, now any ends that you see all over your scarf, now see we had where we joined our colors, we have some here too. Now again, you can cut those flush and they kind of disappear, or you can weave them in, whatever kind of situation you're presented with. Okay, so our fluffy cupcake scarf is complete. Now I've turned mine into an infinity scarf, so this is going to be really cushy to kind of wrap around the neck, and it's going to feel like a cloud. So that is the fluffy cupcake scarf slash cow using the loop-it yarn from Red Heart. I had so much fun making this scarf, and I hope you do too. Thanks so much for watching, and be sure and click the subscribe button to get all the latest FiberFlux video updates. Thanks again!