Floral print scarf in shades of aqua green

A 110 x 180 cm cotton scarf with two prints

The measurements matter more than usual here, because 110 x 180 cm is what lets the two prints work as alternatives rather than as one busy pattern. Wrapped twice at the neck, the scarf shows only one end. Left open down the front, it shows both ends at once, and the change between them becomes the point. The cotton is light and does not hold a crease, so the fabric falls rather than sits. Cold water and line drying keep the white flowers from going dull. Other prints handle the same balance differently, and the scarf range, pale grounds and strong grounds together puts them on one page.

Aqua green on white, then white on green

The upper end carries small damask motifs set in offset rows, printed in aqua green on a white ground. The lower end reverses that relationship completely: the ground becomes a full, saturated green and the flowers come out white, arranged in a regular diamond lattice. It is the same green doing two opposite jobs, and from a distance that swap registers before the motifs themselves do.

What the white border does

A band of fine gold lines runs between the two printed ends, narrow enough to stay out of the way, warm enough to keep the greens from turning cold. The same lines reappear around the edge, where they frame a much wider border left plain white. Rolled into a rope around the neck, the scarf shows mostly that pale edge, and the prints stay buried in the folds. Tied high and loose, it gives a busy outfit somewhere to rest.

Colours it sits with

The aqua green is pale and slightly grey, which puts it at ease with off-white, natural linen and faded denim, and on uncertain ground beside a strong yellow or a bright pink. The deeper green at the other end behaves like an ordinary green and takes navy, grey and brown without argument. When the rest of an outfit is already printed, tie the scarf so that the white border stays visible.

If you wanted a square instead

Length is the whole argument for this one, and also the reason it folds badly into a small triangle. Where the knot has to stay small, at the collar or in the hair, the squares cut for shorter knots do that job better. The two shapes are not interchangeable: one is made for draping, the other for tying tight.