Ethnic-style scarf in Royal Blue

Two turns round the neck, ends left loose

The photograph shows the simplest use: wound twice, the folds kept small, both ends hanging free at the front. There is enough length to open it out across the shoulders instead, and that is when the printed hem finally shows. A loose knot at one side holds everything without flattening the columns of diamonds.

A diamond-print scarf that reads grey from across the room

Each diamond is built up in layers: a solid blue centre, a serrated black edge, then a white line. Between them the cloth carries very fine black and white hatching, close enough to blur into grey once the scarf is more than a step away. Gathered at the neck, the large and the small patterns fold over each other, which is why it looks calmer worn than it does laid flat.

What a strong blue sits well with

This blue does not sit back, so the rest can stay plain. Black and charcoal take it easily, raw denim even more so. Against oatmeal or camel, the grey ground comes forward and the whole thing softens. For other prints and lengths, look through the scarf department and its geometric prints.

The square format behaves differently: printed squares, folded down to a triangle, stay close to the neck instead of hanging long.

Small lozenges and a wave line at the hem

The large print stops short of the ends. A black band comes first, then a row of small white lozenges with blue centres, then a white wave running over black, and finally a wide plain blue band. Since the ends hang in view, that quieter strip is what anyone sees first when the scarf is worn open.

The print and the finish in brief