I don't know about you guys, but it gets pretty cold in my studio and in my husband's workshop during the winter. Worse, due to poor ductwork in the house and the fact that a majority of our windows haven't been replaced since the 1920s, the cold is not confined to the work spaces of our house... unless, of course, we turn the heat up to 80 degrees and accrue massive heating bills every month.

The solution, until we can fix our window and duct situation, is to dress in layers and warm clothes so we won't have to turn the heat up so high. My favorite way to stay warm is with scarves, but most department stores sell them for ridiculous prices that I'm simply not willing to pay, and I currently don't have the time or gusto to teach myself how to knit or crochet.

A little searching yielded this interesting finger-weaving technique that requires very few materials and takes very little time, so your neck can be warm and toasty and you can still have the satisfaction of saying "I made it myself!" when someone asks you where you got that awesome scarf :D

Step 1: Materials and Safety

List of materials needed for the No-Knit Scarf:

- One (1) skein of yarn. Nice and fluffy.

- Two (2) hands

Safety tips:

- Watch those digits: they can poke your eyes out, if you're not careful.

- If you own cats, be prepared for battle while you're making this scarf. The yarn moves in fun and interesting ways that attract crazed felines.

- Please do not wear the completed scarf while you're operating power tools, cooking, welding or fire-eating.

- Do not bounce the finished product. Treat it like a case of Wonderflonium.

Step 2: Tying the First Row

Take the end of your yarn and loosely tie it to your thumb. This makes casting the first row less frustrating. (You don't want this knot on your thumb during the whole process, so you can take it off after the first couple of rows.)

Keeping your palm faced upwards, thread the yarn in between your fingers (NOT including the thumb) four times, until there are two rows of yarn on each finger.

Starting with your pinky finger, grasp the lower row of yarn and pull it over your finger until it's resting on the back of your hand. The top row of yarn should be left surrounding your pinky. Repeat this step with the other three fingers.

You should now have the beginnings of your scarf on the back of your fingers (see bottom image).

Now re-weave the line of yarn between your fingers once, until you have two rows of yarn on each finger. Start with the pinky again and pull the bottom row over your fingers until one row remains on each digit. Refer to the videos if you need a refresher on the weaving technique.

Step 3: More Rows and Scarf Length

Repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

I'm not gonna lie to you: it can be a bit tedious and boring to just sit there and weave this scarf. Once you get the movements down, you might want to consider putting your headphones on, taking this project with you on a long plane ride, or throwing Lord of the Rings into the DVD player.

As you continue weaving your rows, you may notice that the scarf is a bit thin. That being said, you'll want your scarf to be pretty long so you can wrap it around your neck enough times to make it effective as a body-warming device.

The scarf in the pictures was made in approximately two hours. I used about 7/8 of a 122 yard skein, and the end product is about 28 feet long.

Step 4: Tying the Ends Off

Since the resulting scarf is thin and obscenely long, I like to tie the ends together to make it a more manageable length-- tying the ends together also makes it less time consuming to wrap around your neck when you're feeling chilly, and it won't ever slip off! :)

Make sure you have a length of yarn remaining at the end of your scarf (6 or 7 inches long, just to be safe-- you can always trim it up when you're done.) When you're ready to tie the end of your scarf off, you should have one loop around each of your four fingers.

Pull the length of yarn through the remaining loop on each finger. When you have the yarn through the loop, you can safely slip it off of your finger. Repeat for each remaining finger.

(yes, that IS doctor horrible's sing-along blog playing in the background :) )

NOTE: This scarf is made of a very simple weave that unravels VERY easily. This is good if you make a mistake, but it can cause problems if you're not careful-- when you're tying your scarf off for the first time, I strongly recommend pulling the yarn through one finger at a time, in order to prevent your last three hours of work from going to waste.

When you have the end that was attached to your fingers tied off, take the extra length of yarn that was attached to your thumb at the beginning of the process and tie the ends together. A double, triple, or quadruple-layered box knot ought to do the trick (like tying your shoes, except without the bow).

TA DA! You know have a warm, soft, fuzzy, cool-looking scarf to keep you warm! No knitting or crocheting required :)