Just Triangles Entrelac Scarf

It seems that many of us have two reasons to knit and that these reasons are the opposite of each other! We, on the one hand, choose projects for their monotony, knowing that mindlessness and repetitive motion put us in a meditative state that even a yogi might admire.

And, on the other hand, we love a challenge, knowing that when a pattern activates our minds and surprises our expectations the result is an elated sense of achievement. Here’s a pattern for when you’re in that kind of a mood!

The Just Triangles Entrelac Scarf takes traditional entrelac knitting, which involves lots of small triangles and squares, and gives it a modern look with a blown-up scale and a pared-down style. Omitting all those squares, you’ll knit just the first and last rows of entrelac, ending up with eleven big triangles in all. Pretty fascinating and definitely fun!

And if you’re unfamiliar with the mysteries of entrelac, you’ll perhaps come to the pleasant realization that those two opposite reasons we knit sometimes become one. As your mind whirrs with wonder, you may have to suspend your disbelief and relax your skepticism. You may, in fact, just have to take a leap of faith into the unknown!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!

The secret behind this scarf’s spectacular glow is a new yarn from the wizards at Alchemy. Tweedy is a very lightweight blend of cotton, silk and mohair, loosely spun into a beautiful cocoon of hand dyed color! Each skein has in common a creamy white strand of cotton so that colors blend subtly together, shifting from shade to shade as if lit by the sun! -Whitney
Update: December 2014

We made a cozy winter version of our Just Triangles Entrelac Scarf in Purl Soho’s very own Flax Down (NOTE: No longer available)! Read all about it here!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Whitney Van Nes.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoJustTrianglesEntrelacScarf. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials

- 4 skeins of Alchemy’s Tweedy, 31% mohair, 20% silk, 49% cotton. Each skein is 225 yards/ 34 grams; approximately 900 yards required. These colors are, from the left: Platinum, Magnolia, Silver, and Teardrop.
- A US 5 (3.75 mm), 24 or 32 inch circular needle
- A Size F (4 mm) crochet hook
Shop our wonderful collection of sport-weight yarn to find a suitable substitute for this project, and remember that it’s always a good idea to check your gauge before you cast on… Our All About Gauge Tutorial shows you how!
We love our palette of soft ballet tones but could hardly resist some other gorgeous combinations! From denim blues to sunshine yellows to smokey grays, here are some other great color ideas:

These are, from the left, Platinum, Pale Blue Eyes, Moonstone and Cornflower Blue.

These are Platinum, Canary, Michelle’s Marigold and Harvest Moon.

And these are Platinum, Magnolia, Pewter and Asiatic.
Gauge
24 stitches = 4 inches in garter stitch (unblocked)
Size
7 inches wide x 78 inches long (blocked)
Notes
For this version, here’s how I assigned the colors:
Color A – Magnolia (light gray)
Color B – Teardrop (pink)
Color C – Platinum (cream)
Color D – Silver (medium gray)
Pattern
NOTE: This pattern is also available as a printer-friendly PDF. Just click here.
Begin – Triangle #1
With Color A, cast on 300 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Row 1 (wrong side): K1, turn the work.
Row 2 (right side): Repeat Row 1.
Row 3: K2, turn.
Row 4: Repeat Row 3.
Row 5: K3, turn.
Row 6: Repeat Row 5.
Row 7: K4, turn.
Row 8: Repeat Row 7.
Continue in this pattern, working one additional stitch from the cast on edge at the end of every wrong side row. End with the wrong side row that brings your stitch count to 60. Do not turn the work. (60 stitches on the right needle and 240 stitches on the left needle)
Cut Color A.

Triangle #2
Change to Color B. Work as for the first triangle, working the cast on stitches…
*Row 1 (wrong side): K1, turn.
Row 2 (right side): Repeat Row 1.
Row 3: K2, turn.
Row 4: Repeat Row 3.
Continue in pattern, working an additional cast on stitch at the end of every wrong side row and knitting to the end of the current color on every right side row. Do not work any of the previous triangle’s stitches.
Work until there are 60 stitches of the current color, ending with a wrong side row. Do not turn. Cut the yarn.**
Triangles #3, 4, and 5
Change to Color C and repeat from * to **.
Change to Color D and repeat from * to **.
Change to Color B and repeat from * to **, except this time, turn the work at the end so the right side is facing you.

Triangle #6
Now that you have worked the whole cast on and have formed five triangles, you will work in the other direction, knitting more triangles that in the end will create a rectangle. Magic!
Triangle #6 is really a half a triangle and is worked over the 60 stitches of Triangle #5.
Change to Color A.
Row 1 (right side): K1, turn the work.
Row 2 (wrong side): Knit into front and back (kfb), turn. (1 Color A stitch increased)
Row 3: K1, ssk (1 stitch of Color A together with 1 stitch of Color B), turn. (1 Color B stitch decreased)
Row 4: Kfb, k1, turn. (1 Color A stitch increased)
Row 5: Knit to last stitch of Color A, ssk, turn. (1 Color B stitch decreased)
Row 6: Knit to last 2 stitches, kfb, k1, turn. (1 Color A stitch increased)
Repeat Rows 5 and 6 until there are 30 stitches of Color A and 30 stitches of Color B, ending with a right side row.

Next Row (wrong side): Knit to last 3 stitches, ssk, k1, turn. (1 Color A stitch decreased)
Next Row (right side): Repeat Row 5.
Repeat the last two rows until two stitches of each color remain, ending with a right side row. Turn the work.
Next Row (wrong side): K2tog, turn.
Next Row (right side): Slip, slip, slip, k3tog. 1 stitch remains.
Cut Color A.

Triangle #7
Change to Color C and with the right side facing you, pick up 59 stitches along the left side of Triangle #5. (60 stitches total)

*Turn the work.
Row 1 (wrong side): Knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1, turn. (1 Color C stitch decreased)
Row 2 (right side): Knit to last stitch of Color C, ssk (1 stitch of Color C together with 1 stitch of Color D), turn. (1 Color D stitch decreased)
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until two stitches of each color remain, ending with a right side row. Turn the work.
Next Row (wrong side): K2tog, turn.
Next Row: Slip, slip, slip, k3tog. 1 stitch remains.
Cut Color C. **

Triangles #8, 9, and 10
Change to Color B and with the right side facing you, pick up 59 stitches along the left side of Triangle #4. (60 stitches total)
Repeat From * to ** of Triangle #7 section, substituting “Color C” with “Color B” and “Color D” with “Color C”.
Change to Color A and with the right side facing you, pick up 59 stitches along the left side of Triangle #3. (60 stitches total)
Repeat From * to ** of Triangle #7 section, substituting “Color C” with “Color A” and “Color D” with “Color B”.
Change to Color D and with the right side facing you, pick up 59 stitches along the left side of Triangle #2. (60 stitches total)
Repeat From * to ** of Triangle #7 section, substituting “Color C” with “Color D” and “Color D” with “Color A”.
Triangle #11
This final triangle is another half triangle, this one worked a little differently than the first.
Change to Color C and with the right side facing you, pick up 59 stitches along the left side of Triangle #1. (60 stitches total)
Turn the work.
Row 1 (wrong side): Knit all 60 stitches, turn.
Row 2 (right side): K1, ssk, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1, turn. (2 stitches decreased)
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until four stitches remain, ending with a right side row.
Next Row (wrong side): Knit, turn.
Next Row (right side): Ssk, k2tog, turn. (2 stitches)
Next Row: K2tog. (1 stitch)
Cut the yarn and pull it through the remaining stitch.
Crochet Edge
With Color A and the right side facing you, start at the right bottom corner of the scarf and make 28 single crochets (sc) along the short end of the scarf.
Chain 1 to turn the corner and make 30 sc along the edge of the first triangle. Continue along the long side of the scarf, making 59 sc for each triangle, until the last one. Make 30 sc along the edge of the final triangle.
Chain 1 to turn the corner and make 28 sc along the other short end of the scarf. Chain 1 and slip stitch into the cast on edge to finish. Cut the yarn and pull it through the remaining stitch.
Finish
Now weave in the ends and gently block your scarf. You’re all done!

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So lovely! Makes me wear it right away 🙂
Beautiful pattern. I've never tried entrelac before and think I'd like to try this. Thanks for posting.
If I want to use just two colors – do I need 2 skeins of each? Does the pattern use up all of the yarn of the 4 skeins? This is beautiful and a perfect first entrelac project – thank you!
Hi Vicki,
Yes, I did use most of the four skeins, so I would recommend getting 2 skeins of each color. Too bad, right? Sorry!
Thanks for your question and comment and I love the idea of two colors!
Whitney
Hi, can you further explain the ending of the 7th triangle and the other larger triangles? If you have 4 stitches left and you turn and knit two together, I think you would have 3 stitches so how can you slip slip slip and knit 3 together with only 3 stitches left? Thanks much!
Hi Lily!
You should have 3 stitches left just as you mentioned! I think what is intended is an SSSK. You would slip 3 stitches separately as if to knit, then slip them back to the left needle in the new orientation, and knit all 3 through the back loop.
Happy Knitting!
Thomas
Love the scarf and the soft look of the transitioning triangles – do you have a preferred cast on method for this scarf – long tail, cable …???
Hi Debra!
We usually just use a long tail cast on if we don’t specify! You might want to use a cable cast on because of the high number of stitches, but I would suggest using a larger needle to give it a little more stretch.
Happy Knitting!
Thomas
So, I feel a little bad for saying this, but this scarf is taking forever and I’m more than ready to be done. Any way I can skip Triangle 10 and go directly to 11? Just snip off Triangle #1? It seems plenty long enough.
Hello Danielle!
Of course you can adjust the pattern to your liking. That would work great! Enjoy! -Alyson
In 2014 I bought the yarn for this project. I’m finally getting around to doing it (so many projects, so little time).
The problem is that the yarn I bought for the pattern that was available in 2014 calls for Flax Down, 5 skeins. Is it possible to access that older pattern that calls for Flax Down?
Thank You – Tami
Hi Tami,
Thanks for writing in! We are so glad that you ready to cast on! The version of this scarf knit in Flax Down can be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2014/12/04/just-triangles-entrelac-scarf-in-flax-down/
On that page there will be a link back to this one for the pattern. The only difference between the two versions, apart from the yarn, is that we use a US 7 for the Flax Down version as opposed to the US 5 for the original.
I hope that this helps and happy knitting!
Cassy