Hardy Meets The Romans Scarf Pattern
Hardy Meets The Romans Scarf
“This conversation had passed in a hollow of the Heath near the old Roman road, a place much frequented by Thomasin.” From Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
This scarf was initially inspired by two events happening in June 2023, The Thomas Hardy Fair in Dorchester on the 4th June and The Roman Festival in Cullompton on the 10th June.
There are three stitch patterns used in this shawl which give the scarf its name.
Roman Road Stripe
There is currently an archeological dig happening in Cullompton uncovering the Roman past in the area and so the Roman Road stripe section reflects the dig. This link from BBC Radio Devon shows how in the current excavation they are hoping to find evidence of a Roman Road between Cullompton and Exeter.
Egdon Heath Moss
As Dorset girls we grew up in the area that is meant to be the setting for Egdon Heath which is featured in Hardy’s novel Return of The Native and in this he mentions the old Roman Road so it seemed fitting to have a moss stitch section.
If you are in the area this link gives you a walk route based on Thomas Hardys Return of the Native from the Thomas Hardy Society.
Aquaduct Eyelets
The third stitch is the Aquaduct Eyelets which is inspired by the Dorchester aquaduct. It serves as a bridge between the Romans and Hardy in our shawl but also a link between our shops in Durnoveria and Cullompton Camp and Fort.
This scarf is designed to be made in any yarn you like and to your own desired length. Match the needles to those on the label of your yarn.
For our scarf we used a ball of James C Brett Shhh D.K with 4mm needles.
It can also be knitted a bit like those Choose your own adventure books (I wonder if Thomas Hardy would like them?). After the cast on and first knit row you can knit the sections in any order you like and make them as wide as you like. You could choose a colour changing yarn like the Shhh or you could change colour for different sections.
On our scarf we started with these three sections in the order below then repeated them.
Roman Road Stripe
Aqueduct Eyelets
Egdon Heath Moss
Aqueduct Eyelets
We would love to see your finished scarves tag us on social media using @fudgeswool
The pattern is available free in store with the purchase of yarn of your choice to go with it. It is available to purchase and download from our online shop
If you are purchasing yarn online from our shop then request a copy in the order notes and we will send a free copy with your yarn.
Cara & Tori xx