Sometimes you just want to knit. You want to take your eyes off your project, so you can watch a movie or talk with your friends, but keep your hands moving. That’s when our Elementary Wrap comes in very handy.
Knowing we’d be spending some quality time with whatever yarn we used, we chose our gorgeous Understory, a very satisfying blend of 50% alpaca, 25% baby yak and 25% silk. In stockinette stitch, it knits up into a fabulously cozy swath of fabric, scaled for a dramatic drape and a simple elegance.
We love that Understory’s depth of color creates subtle complexity throughout this perfectly not-complex Elementary Wrap. We used the color Willow Bark for a naturally beautiful look that we’ll never tire of.
A three-stitch selvage detail may disqualify our Elementary Wrap from world’s simplest knit, but it does add refinement and help keep your wrap flat. And don’t worry, it doesn’t disqualify this Wrap from being the ultimate no-look project!
Materials
- 4 skeins of Purl Soho’s Understory, 50% baby alpaca, 25% baby yak, and 25% silk. We used the color Willow Bark.
- US 7, 24- or 32-inch circular needles
Gauge
18 stitches and 26 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Size
Finished Dimensions: 20 inches wide x 73 inches long
Note
While stockinette stitch does tend to roll into a tube, the width of this piece, its selvage stitches, and the nature of Understory, all conspire to keeping this Wrap quite flat. If you find that after some wear, it starts to curl, just wet block it flat again!
Pattern
Cast on 90 stitches.
Row 1 (wrong side): K1, p1, k1, purl to last three stitches, k1, p1, k1.
Row 2 (right side): K2, p1, knit to last three stitches, p1, k2.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece measures approximately 73 inches, ending with a wrong side row.
Bind-off Row (right side): Bind off in pattern.
Weave in the ends and wet block flat.
Update: New Gauge
May 2018
We’ve updated our Elementary Wrap for a finer gauge! Knit up in our Linen Quill, this Wrap has so much subtlety and depth in the color and fiber, and its weight and drape feel wonderful over your shoulders. We’re totally crazy about this Crocus Bud color, which celebrates spring in the prettiest possible way, with cheer and levity and beauty! Pick up three skeins of your favorite color and find the pattern here!
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Would the worsted cotton yarn work for this wrap with similar drape and feel? I’m also wondering about using Cascade Venezia or Be Sweet Bamboo? I am looking for a yarn substitute that will be soft and have a similar drape to the understory. Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for reaching out! We are happy to help with alternate options! The Blue Sky Worsted Cotton knits up at a bigger gauge than the Understory that we used here. You would need to go up needle size and alter your cast on to get a wrap of the same size. I would also say that it has a very different hand and would create a physically heavier wrap as cotton is a heavier fiber. This could be quite lovely but it is worthwhile to keep in mind!
While I have not worked with either Cascade Venezia or Be Sweet Bamboo, I would say that Be Sweet Bamboo has a closer gauge to that of the yarn that we used here. Venezia has a more similar fiber content and so may drape a bit more like our Understory but having not worked with the yarns personally, I can’t be certain of their drape, rather I can say that the fiber content indicates that they should have a nice drape.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I just finished knitting this and LOVE it! Quick question, do I need to wet block it? It looks great as is (I used Understory) and I am fairly new to knitting and so am unsure if blocking is necessary. Thanks!
Hi Molly,
Thanks for reaching out! You can certainly block the finished work if you like! We like to do so to give all of the stitches a chance to relax and even out! If you are wet blocking, you are also giving your finished item a bit of a clean which is quite nice. This, of course, is all up to you! We tend to wet block most, if not all, of our samples as it gives them a nice finish but none of us are immune from being so excited, we just wear something for a little while before getting around to blocking it!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy