What a Yarn

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

by Debra Auspitz

They’re shimmery and delicate, metallic and finely constructed -- anything but your typical knitted scarf.

These scarves are not the kind with snowflakes or trees that your Aunt Sally makes for the holidays, or the long, woolly numbers amateur knitters end up with when they start knitting and don’t know how to stop.

Rochelle Dimmerman, a longtime volunteer for Pennsylvania Hospital, was inspired to make her scarves when she saw similar work (using Eros Yarn, a specialty string with colorful, metallic hues) at Sophie's Yarns. In the shop to work on the hospital's Knitting for Kiddies program, making caps for premature babies, Dimmerman was impressed by the work made from the unique yarn. "I decided to put my own creative touch on them," she says. "I wanted to add more fringe [and make them] somewhat wider."

After making a couple of scarves for friends, who in turn requested more for other friends, Dimmerman began producing them regularly. It takes her about eight hours to make a scarf, including an hour to add the long, shimmery fringe. They could be made faster, she says, but, "I'm sort of a perfectionist, I like all of my stitches exactly right."

Dimmerman now manages the hospital's Bargain Shop, a thrift store that benefits patient care funds. Many volunteers had crafts to offer, so Dimmerman decided to dedicate a section of the shop to handmade goods, including her scarves. Though she says she's seen scarves made from similar materials retailing at $125 or more in boutiques, she sells them at cost, for about $35 (the yarn costs $10 a skein at Sophie's). She's currently out of stock at the shop, focusing right now on knitting shawls; but handmade items, like totes and pillows, are always available.

The Bargain Shop of Pennsylvania Hospital, 719 Delancey St., 215-829-3497. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.