How to Knit a Scarf: The Beginner Garter-Stitch Method (2026)

How do you knit a scarf?

Cast on enough stitches for the width you want, knit every row until the scarf is long enough, then bind off and weave in the ends. Take the cast-on number from your pattern's gauge instead of guessing, and start with a smooth, light-coloured worsted yarn. Lion Brand's free Garter Stitch Scarf is a clean worked example: 33 stitches on size 7 (4.5 mm) needles, knitted every row.

This guide is built from the Craft Yarn Council's published standards and teaching guide, Knit Picks' scarf tutorial and Lion Brand's free patterns rather than first-hand use, and every stitch count on the page is quoted from those sources (checked October 2026).

What you need for a first scarf

The Craft Yarn Council (CYC), which represents the leading yarn companies in the industry, publishes a teaching guide for people showing a friend how to knit. Its shopping list for the first project is short: a skein of light-coloured worsted weight yarn and a pair of size 8 (5mm) knitting needles. It adds that needles 10" long are easier for a beginner to handle than the 14" length, and it asks for no dark colours and no fancy yarns with a lot of texture on a first project, a sensible rule when you need to see each stitch to fix one.

• Worsted, by the numbers. CYC's Standard Yarn Weight System groups worsted, afghan and aran yarns in one category, with a knit gauge range of 16–20 stitches per 4 inches of stockinette and recommended needles of US 7 to 9 (4.5–5.5 mm). The chart is labelled as guidelines only, and the same page says to always follow the gauge stated in your pattern.
• A large-eyed blunt needle for weaving in the ends. Both Lion Brand scarf patterns used below list one in their materials. Check price on Amazon
• Scissors and a tape measure, plus the pattern itself, printed or on a screen.

Knit Picks and Jimmy Beans Wool both sell yarn and needles for a first scarf: Check the price at Knit Picks or Check the price at Jimmy Beans Wool.

How many stitches to cast on

Gauge decides the number. Gauge is how many stitches fit across a set width of your knitting, and Knit Picks' scarf tutorial turns it into a single rule: multiply your gauge per inch by the width you want in inches, and the total is your cast-on. Its own example uses a worsted yarn knitting at 4.5 stitches per inch for a scarf 8 inches wide, which gives 36 stitches.

The same tutorial pairs worsted weight yarn with US 6 to 9 needles and a gauge of 4.5 to 5 stitches per inch, and bulky yarn with US 9 to 11 needles at 3 to 4 stitches per inch. Thicker yarn means fewer stitches for the same width, so never borrow a stitch count from a pattern written for a different yarn.

A pattern has already done the maths. On a first scarf you rarely need the formula, because the pattern prints the result. Lion Brand's Garter Stitch Scarf gives a gauge of 19 stitches = about 4 in. (10 cm) in garter stitch, casts on 33 stitches and finishes about 7 x 56 in. It also says outright that exact gauge is not essential to the project. CYC's teaching guide makes the same call from another angle: the first real project should be something easy, without a lot of shaping, such as a scarf.

Three free scarf patterns and Knit Picks' example, side by side

Pattern (publisher)	Yarn the pattern names	Needles	Gauge	Cast on	Finished size
Garter Stitch Scarf, L70310 (Lion Brand)	Comfy Cotton Blend, 1 ball; listed as 3 Light / DK	size 7 (4.5 mm)	19 stitches = about 4 in. in garter stitch	33 stitches	about 7 x 56 in.
Simple Everyday Scarf, M25114 (Lion Brand)	Heartland, 2 balls	size 9 (5.5 mm)	16 sts = about 4 in. in seed stitch	33 sts	about 8 x 40 in.
Fringed with Ribbon Scarf (Craft Yarn Council)	12 oz worsted weight yarn	size 8 (5 mm)	9 sts = 2"	35 sts	8" x 72"
Scarf example in Knit Picks' tutorial	worsted weight	US 6 to 9	4.5 stitches per inch	36 stitches	8 inches wide

Two things stand out. The two Lion Brand patterns cast on the same 33 stitches yet aim at different widths, because their yarns knit to different gauges. And there is no standard scarf length: these patterns run from about 40 in. to 72". Lion Brand's garter pattern sidesteps the question by telling you to keep knitting until about 1 yd. (1 m) of yarn remains.

Step by step: knitting the scarf

1. Make a slip knot, then cast on

Patterns skip this step. CYC's guide to reading patterns notes that they never tell you to make the slip knot, they just assume you know it, and that in knitting the slip knot always counts as a stitch. Its example: for "CO 12 sts", make the slip knot, then cast on 11 more stitches.

Any cast-on works for a scarf. CYC says some methods give a nice stretchy edge and others a firm base, and that unless the pattern says otherwise you should use the method you were first taught. Its teaching guide calls casting on the hardest thing for a beginner to learn. Once you can work the knit stitch, the "knitting on" method is the easiest. Knit Picks' tutorial links a long-tail cast-on video if you prefer that edge.

2. Knit every row

Knit across the row, turn the work so the full needle is back in your left hand, and knit across again. Knitting every row of a flat piece makes garter stitch, which CYC describes as reversible, with very little difference between the right side and the wrong side. Knit Picks adds that both sides get the same slightly textured look, so there is no "back" of the scarf to hide.

3. Count your stitches

CYC's teaching guide has learners count the stitches at the end of each row, to be sure no stitch has been dropped. A scarf that slowly grows or shrinks in width is the classic first-project symptom. Our gift guide jokes about the first-scarf stage, accidental stitches and all. If the yarn splits, CYC's advice is blunt: that stitch has to be pulled out and remade. A locking stitch marker clipped through a dropped loop stops it running down further while you fix it. Check price on Amazon

4. Measure flat, without stretching

CYC's measuring rule applies to every project: place the piece on a flat surface and do not stretch it out. A garter scarf hanging from the needle can read longer than it really is.

5. Bind off when it is long enough

Stop when the scarf reaches the length you want, or when only about a yard of yarn is left if you follow Lion Brand's rule. Knit two stitches, lift the first over the second and off the needle, knit one more and repeat. When a single stitch remains, cut the yarn and pull the tail through that last loop.

6. Weave in the ends and block

Thread each tail onto the blunt needle and run it through the edge stitches before trimming it. Lion Brand's finishing step is simply "weave in ends". Wetting the scarf and letting it dry flat usually evens out the stitches. Our explainer on how blocking evens out uneven stitches covers pinning and drying.

Swapping in a different yarn

The patterns above name specific yarns, but you can substitute. Match the weight category first, then check your gauge with a swatch, measured flat, because CYC's chart is a guideline and the pattern's gauge is the target. CYC's fringed scarf builds this in: its needle line reads size 8 (5 mm) "or size required for gauge". Our guide to matching weight, gauge and yardage when you swap yarn walks through the yardage maths.

After the first scarf

Once garter stitch feels automatic, the next step is the purl stitch. Lion Brand's Simple Everyday Scarf works seed stitch over 33 sts with one repeated row, "K1, * p1, k1; rep from * to end of row", and CYC's fringed scarf alternates blocks of five knits and five purls. Both keep the shape of a scarf, so the only new skill is the stitch itself. For needles and notions picked for new knitters, see our full shortlist.

Sources

1. Knitting Teaching Guide (Each One Teach Two) — Craft Yarn Council (checked October 2026)
2. Standard Yarn Weight System — Craft Yarn Council (checked October 2026)
3. How to Read a Knitting Pattern — Craft Yarn Council (checked October 2026)
4. Fringed with Ribbon Scarf (Knitting Pattern) — Craft Yarn Council (checked October 2026)
5. How to Knit a Scarf — Knit Picks (checked October 2026)
6. Garter Stitch Scarf, Pattern Number L70310 (free pattern PDF) — Lion Brand Yarn Company (checked October 2026)
7. Garter Stitch Scarf (Knit), L70310 — Lion Brand Yarn Company (checked October 2026)
8. Simple Everyday Scarf, Pattern M25114 HL (free pattern PDF) — Lion Brand Yarn Company (checked October 2026)