There’s a time for the diaphanous neckerchief, but winter is not one of them. For winter’s trials and tribulations, there is the more-than-a-foot wide Braided Rib Wrap, long enough to loop around your neck a couple of times, or drape around your body like the cocoon you want to be in when the mercury drops.

Braided Rib Wrap | Purl Soho

Our Braided Rib Wrap is knit up in our new Understory, a 50% baby alpaca, 25% baby yak, 25% silk blend that we find so infatuating for its beautiful depth and, of course, its coziness. In the color Pink Earth, the whole things just exudes warmth!

Braided Rib Wrap | Purl Soho

The Braided Ribbing Stitch is a cable stitch that you work right on the needles (so put away that cable stitch holder), and we have a new video tutorial that shows you exactly how to do it. But that’s not what you’ll be thinking about when your Wrap is draped around your neck. No, you’ll just be glad you made it.

Braided Rib Wrap | Purl Soho

Up close, you can see just how you make the Braided Rib Wrap: hearty ribs are created by alternating delicately entwined cables with a couple of reverse stockinette stitches. It’s surprisingly intricate looking but not at all complicated. And did we already mention how warm you’ll be?

Braided Rib Wrap | Purl Soho

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoBraidedRibWrap, and #PurlSohoUnderstory. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Materials

Braided Rib Wrap | Purl Soho
  • 4 skeins of Purl Soho’s Understory, 50% baby alpaca, 25% baby yak, and 25% silk. Each skein is 250 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 1,000 yards required. We used the color Pink Earth. (NOTE: We no longer offer Understory, but choose from one of our other light worsted/dk weight yarns.)
  • US 7 (4.5mm) straight or circular needles

Gauge

24 stitches and 30 rows = 4 inches in stitch pattern

Size

Finished Dimensions: 17 inches wide x 66 inches long

Notes

To make your Wrap a different width, cast on any multiple of 5 + 2 stitches.

For a demonstration of how to work this stitch pattern, please watch our Braided Ribbing Stitch video…

Pattern

Using Long Tail Cast On, cast on 102 stitches.

Row 1 (right side): P2, *k1, insert needle from back to front between 1st and 2 nd stitch on left-hand needle and knit the 2nd stitch, then knit the 1st stitch and let both stitches drop off the left-hand needle, p2, repeat from * to end of row.

Row 2 (wrong side): K2, *p1, skip the 1st stitch and purl the 2nd stitch on the left-hand needle, then purl the skipped stitch and let both stitches drop off the left-hand needle, k2, repeat from * to end of row.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece measures approximately 66 inches, ending with a right-side row.

Next Row (wrong side): Bind off in pattern. Here’s how…

K2, bind off 1, *p1, bind off 1, skip the 1st stitch and purl the 2nd stitch on the left-hand needle, bind off 1, then purl the skipped stitch and let both stitches drop off the left-hand needle, bind off 1, [k1, bind off 1] two times, repeat from * to end of row.

This bind off is demonstrated in our Braided Ribbing Tutorial, simply skip ahead to 2:53 minutes.

Weave in ends and block as desired.

Braided Rib Wrap | Purl Soho