Scourge of the scarf

I've probably made more scarves than anything else in my knitting career. However, I only have one I love, and several that don't work. Strangely, I have knit four scarves for others and they have all turned out well.

So what's going wrong? Let's analyse the successes and failures:

Colinette Prism keyhole scarves - success

Simple, short, soft, bulky

Debbie Bliss Maya keyhole scarf - qualified success

Same pattern as above, good colour, yarn is a bit itchy

Multidirectional Freedom Spirit scarf - success

Pretty colours, soft enough

Sublime dk scarf -success

Boring to knit, but gorgeously soft and great colour

2 eyelash scarves - failure

Yarn choice, just don't like the look of them

Fox scarf - failure

Too eyelashy, itches if I wear it for long

My so called scarf - failure

Itchy, tends to catch on my earrings, bulky in a rigid way

Koigu chevron scarf - success

Now this is the only for me that I love. Again it was insanely boring to knit, but great colour, soft, drapey and not too bulky.

Conclusions:

I have a very sensitive neck and really need to use merino if I'm going to use wool. The wool should be multi ply and tightly spun to avoid catching my earings in bits of roving. To my chagrin, the scarves I like the best are the ones that were the most boring to knit, ie. fine gauge with a simple pattern. The only saving grace is that I like the fairly short scarves.

It definitely helps to do this analysis. It shows I should stay away from quick bulky knits, and need to be really selective on the yarn choice. I think I may try a cotton or bamboo scarf; less warm but soft - and machine washable!