# Oiseau de Feu
(firebird) - scarf by Caoua Coffee
materials:
380yds/350m thin fingering weight yarn in a $\bullet$ solid or semisolid color. (sample: knit in 2 strands of 2/18NM heavy lace weight leftovers held together, Merino/Silk)
$\bullet$ US3 / 3.25mm needles (circular or straight) or size needed to obtain gauge optional: 1 short dpn US3 or smaller (even a $\bullet$ toothpick works fine) ${\sim}10$ inches of smooth scrap yarn $\bullet$ tapestry needle
size:
$\bullet$ width: 5.5 inches (14cm), length: 65 inches (165cm)
gauge:
$\bullet$ 28-30 sts $=4$ inches
abbreviations:
$=$ cast on dpn $=$ double pointed needle k $=\,\mathrm{knit}$ k2tog = knit 2 together P $=\mathrm{{\purl}}$ RS $=$ right side / public side sl yf $=$ slip stitch as if to purl while holding yarn in front Ssk $=$ slip 1 as if to knit, slip this stitch back onto left needle, knit 2 together through the back loops (this is a variation of the usual ssk, which makes the result look nicer since it lays more flat) Sts $=$ stitches WS $=$ wrong side / private side W3 $=$ wrap yarn around 3 stitches, then knit 3 (see stitch explications below) W5 $=$ wrap yarn around 5 stitches, then knit 5 (see stitch explications below)
Oiseau de Feu - scarf by Caoua Coffe
# stitch explications:
W3 and W5: the yarn is wrapped round 3 or 5 stitches thrice, using one of the following ways: either with the help of a short spare dpn: slip 3 or 5 stitches from the left needle onto the spare dpn as if to purl, wrap the yarn clockwise round these stitches until you did three full circles, then slip the stitches back onto the left needle and knit 3 or 5 stitches. or without an extra needle: \*[bring yarn forward, slip 3 or 5 stitches as if to purl onto the right needle, bring yarn to back between the needle tips, slip 3 or 5 stitches back onto the left needle] repeat from \* another 2 times, then knit 3 or 5 stitches.
construction notes:
the scarf consists of a feathers border, the main pattern (fence and princesses) and another feathers border. to make the most out of the amount of your nice yarn, you first knit one border and place it on a piece of scrap yarn. then you knit the second border plus the main pattern of the scarf until you nearly run out of yarn. at the end, you just graft the two pieces together. as written, the pattern makes for a rather narrow scarf. if you would like to get a wider scarf, you can simply knit more of the 12-stitch-repeats. for each additional repeat widthwise you will have to cast on 12 extra stitches - and of course you will need more yarn.
instructions:
first feathers border:
very loosely CO 43 stitches (I used a long tail cast on with 2 bigger needles held together). knit the first row as follows: WS: sl yf, knit to end (resulting in a garter ridge) work rows 1 - 18 of feathers border chart once. cut the yarn, leaving a tail long enough to weave in later. put all the stitches of your first border on a piece of smooth scrap yarn.
Caoua Coffe 2009 - patten isfor non-commercial, personal use only. all rights reserved! Oiseau de Feu v.2-page 2/4
# second feathers border:
make another feathers border as described above, this time don't cut yarn at the end
main pattern (fence $+$ princesses):
work rows 1 - 16 of main pattern chart. repeat these 16 rows until you nearly run out of yarn or until scarf is long enough. end after knitting row 1. Cut yarn, leaving a tail of at least 40 inches (1m) to graft the scarf to the first feathers border.
finishing:
put the stitches of your first feathers border back on a knitting needle (with RS facing, needle tip pointing to the right). hold the first border and the end of the long scarf together with RS outwards (WS facing together), both needle tips pointing in the same direction.
thread the long yarn tail on a tapestry needle and kitchener stitch the two pieces together. weave in all ends and block lightly, spreading out the two ends a bit wider then the rest of the scarf to make the feathers show nicely. don't block aggressively to preserve the 3-D structure of the pattern. enjoy!
charts:
feathers border
Oiseau de Feu - scarf by Caoua Coffe
about this pattern:
Igor Stravinsky's ballet “l'oiseau de feu" (firebird) tells the story of Prince Ivan, who one day captures a bird with brilliant plumage, the Firebird. in exchange for her freedom, the bird gives him one of her feathers and her promise to come to his aid if ever he needs her. after the bird has flown away, Prince Ivan catches sight of 13 princesses who are captives in the magic garden of Kashchei, the evil magician. though warned, he tears open the fence to follow the girls, whereupon he is suddenly confronted by Kashchei himself. when the magician tries to turn him to stone, Ivan pulls out the feather and summons the Firebird, who appears true to her word, kills the magician and frees the prince and the princesses. the main pattern of the scarf shows the fence of the magic garden with the beautiful princesses behind, while in the border you find the feathers of the firebird. the three-dimensional mesh effect of the fence pattern with the lacy details caught my attention in a Japanese pattern book ( knitting patterns book $250^{\circ}$ by Shida Hitomi, Nihon Vogue) and I used it with some minor modifications. the feather borders just came to be as a continuation of the main pattern. Caoua Coffee 2009 - this pattern is for non-commercial, personal use only. all rights reserved! there's one exception: you are explicitly encouraged to make or sellitems made from this patern for charity purposes if you have error reports or any suggestions concerning this pattern, you can contact me on Ravelry as 'Caoua Coffee' Caoua Coffe 2009 - pattern isfor non-commercial, personal use only. allrghts reserved!Oiseau de Feu v.2 -page 4/4
