Ramble Wrap
Summer always does us the favor of breaking old habits… We linger longer, explore farther, and savor more. Our Ramble Wrap is just the companion for summertime adventure, lightweight and carefree, unfussy and beautiful!
Its striking three-dimensional texture is created by a simple combination of knit and slip stitches… super easy and wonderfully waffle-y!
We knit up our Ramble Wrap in our Sweetgrass, a fingering weight blend of 65% organic cotton and 35% superfine alpaca. The cotton lends beautiful stitch definition and lightweight springiness, while the alpaca elevates with lavish softness and drape. Choose from six undyed colors, each right how nature grew it!
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!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Jake Canton. Click here to see even more of Jake’s designs!
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoRambleWrap, and #PurlSohoSweetgrass. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 3 skeins of Purl Soho’s Sweetgrass, 65% organic cotton and 35% superfine alpaca. Each skein of this fingering weight yarn is 437 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 1,203 yards required. We used Beech Bark.
- US 3 (3.25 mm) circular or straight needles
Gauge
32 stitches and 56 rows = 4 inches in stitch pattern
Size
Finished Dimensions: 13 inches wide x 70 inches long
Notes
Slip Stitches
Slip all slipped stitches purlwise.
Stitch Multiple
The stitch pattern works over an odd number of stitches.
Pattern
Cast on 105 stitches.
Row 1 (wrong side): K1, purl to last stitch, k1.
Row 2 (right side): Knit to end of row.
Row 3: *K1, slip 1 with yarn in front (wyif, see Notes), repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 4: *K1, slip 1 with yarn in back (wyib), repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Repeat Rows 1-4 until piece measures 70 inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 3.
With right side facing you, bind off in 1×1 rib stitch pattern. Here’s how…
Bind Off Row (right side): K1, *k1, pass first stitch over, p1, pass first stitch over, repeat from * to last stitch, k1, pass first stitch over.
Fasten last stitch. Weave in ends, block, and enjoy!
Learn About Sweetgrass + All Our Beautiful Yarns
Sweetgrass brings true natural beauty to this project! A mix of 65% organic cotton and 35% superfine alpaca, Sweetgrass comes in 6 undyed colors, each one reflecting the color of the alpacas who grew the fiber… Amazing! And when that alpaca fiber is mixed with creamy white cotton, you get a soft and lovely heathered quality that adds depth and fascination to the yarn. A fingering-weight yarn, Sweetgrass is absolutely beautiful for three-season scarves, sweaters, and sweet hats, or double it for super cabin-y blankets. At 437 yards per skein, you’ll go far with just a few skeins!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our inspiring collection of (mostly free!) Sweetgrass knitting patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fiber
- Shop cotton yarn
- Shop alpaca yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
I have your pattern for the red color Warp,having trouble on second roe my yarn I never in the right place went I try to wrap and turn. I’m thinking that I do not know what’s the front or what one is back. Thanks for any help you can give me. Jacqueline
Hi Jacqueline,
Thanks for reaching out! It sounds like you might be working on our Asymmetrical Wrap, which is shaped with short rows. I think our Short Rows Tutorial might be very helpful! After working the wrap and turn as shown in the tutorial, if your yarn is now in the wrong place for either the knit or purl row that is coming up next, you can just move it to either the front or back of the work as necessary.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Hi, I have two repeats of the 4 row pattern. Should it be curling?
Thanks!
Hi Gale,
Great question! Since this stitch essentially starts with two rows of stockinette, it does curl slightly at the beginning; however, it will lay much flatter after blocking!
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Hi!
Just ordered 2 skeins of pocket Posey to try out (1 free one with the preorder of the Vogue Knitting) and I know that’s not enough yarn, but would I be able to knit this with Posey? Does it have a similar gauge?
Let me know! And if so, could you tell me how much more of Posey I would need to complete this project?
Thanks!
Hi Alexandria,
Great question! Yes, Posy is another fingering weight yarn, so it would be a lovely substitute for this wrap! Even with two skeins of Pocket Posy, you would need four more skeins of full sized Posy for this pattern. If you do combine Posy and Pocket Posy in the same pattern, do keep in mind that they are dyed separately so the dye lots unfortunately cannot be matched between the two yarns.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Excited to knit this wrap. Plan to knit one in sweetgrass but wonder if you can suggest a yarn without wool that would work also.
Thanks
Hi Joyce,
Thanks so much for the kind words and for writing in! Sweetgrass does not actually contain wool – it is a blend of cotton and superfine alpaca. If you prefer a yarn that doesn’t include alpaca, I think Cattail Silk would be a lovely alternative!
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Wondering if anyone has tried this in a DK weight (wanting to use Walking Stick colorway in Good Wool) for a little heavier winter wrap? From my calculations, if I use 69 sts on #6 I should get around 13″. Any thoughts?
Hi Jamie,
Thanks for writing in! We haven’t tried it, but that sounds like a wonderful idea! Good Wool would certainly create a lovely, cozy wrap in this stitch. I can’t say for sure how many stitches per inch you will get without knitting a gauge swatch, but a US 6 or 7 does sound like a good needle size to try!
I hope that helps, and happy knitting!
Have tried the directions for Ramble Wrap and not gotten the picture product. Took it to my knitting group and we still did not succeed with the correct pattern results . Had any mistake in directions ? Thanks ,
Betsy J .
Hi Betsy,
Thanks for reaching out, and I am so sorry to hear that you are having trouble with this pattern! We have test knitted this wrap and haven’t found any errors in the instructions. If you can send a picture of your work to [email protected] we would be happy to take a look and see if we can help figure out what is going wrong!
Best,
Julianna
Hello! I was wondering if you had any suggestions for a hat pattern that would go well with this wrap? Something squishy like this! Thank you.
Hello Laura,
Thank you for reaching out! I think that our Mock Cable Hat or our Color Dipped Hat would be beautiful companions to this wrap.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Just sat down to work on the ramble wrap. Using sweet grass and size 3 circular needle. Worked up the first 4 rows and measured about 19 inches wide! Ripped and did a gauge (ugh) and got about 6.5 st to the inch. I’m thinking I should reduce to 85 stitches instead of 105 or going to an even smaller needle – what’s do you advise? Also, do you recommend knitting “from the front or back”? Thanks for your help?
Hi JC,
Thanks for reaching out! While we liked the look of Sweetgrass at 8 stitches per inch, if you are happy with how the knitted fabric looks and feels at 6.5 stitches per inch, you could certainly reduce the cast on to have your wrap turn out the same size as ours. You might want to knit a second swatch on a smaller needle so you can compare the two and decide which one you prefer! In all knitting patterns, unless there are instructions to the contrary, you should assume that all stitches are knit in the front, as knitting in the back will twist your stitches.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
My edges are not great, can you help with a selvidge stitch?
Hello Nancy,
Thanks for reaching out! Edges can be so frustrating. Are you edges loose or is there something else happening? Often times blocking will help to straighten up you edges.
I hope I can help and happy knitting!
-Marilla
I have 3 skeins of Linen Quill in 3 different colors my daughter picked out for her scarf, and size 4 needles. Would this pattern work in stripes? I’m a little nervous about working stripes, and am interested in the Speckled Scarf pattern also, but her 2 darker colors are different (denim gray and trout brown), so it would be a 3-color Speckle (the contrast is peony pink).
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for reaching out! We haven’t tried it, but I think this wrap could be very uniquely beautiful worked in stripes! I would suggest trying it out in your swatch so you can determine whether you want to do two or four row stripes. The Speckled Scarf would also be quite lovely with an additional color! If you decide to go with the scarf, I would suggest using your two darker colors as Color A, and alternating two rows of each, with rows of Peony Pink as Color B in between.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
I’m a beginning knitter and I must be missing something! When I knit it, my slipped stitches are essentially stuck at the third row while the knit stitches make a curled loop. Do you know what I’m doing wrong? I love this stitch and would love to see a video and/or a sweater in this pattern!
Hello Tiffany,
Thanks for reaching out! The first thing I would check is that you have the correct cast on number. You should be slipping the same stitch twice in rows 3 and 4, by that I mean that the stitches that you slipped in row three will get slipped again in row 4. This can be an easy way to keep track of where you are in the row. You might be doing everything correctly and you just need a bit more length to see the pattern start to form.
I hope this is helpful and let us know how it goes or if you have any questions!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
Ohhhhh I did totally read the pattern wrong. I was repeating rows 3-4 over and over instead of 1-4. That makes so much more sense.
Hi,
Should the yarn on the two consecutive rows of the slipped stitches be on the same side of the stitch or opposite sides? In row three, the language ‘slip 1 with yarn in front’ is tripping me up.
Thanks!
Hi Laura,
Thanks for writing in! Yes, you will be slipping the same stitches on Rows 3 and 4 with the yarn held on the same side of the fabric. To slip with the yarn in front, you will move the yarn to the front of the work between the needles the same way you would if you were switching between a knit and a purl, slip the stitch purlwise, then return the yarn to the back of the work to knit the next stitch.
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
Love the pattern and knitting for a friend that prefers a cowl to a wrap. Any tips for how to do that? I’m almost done and thinking if I keep the stitches live on the needle I could still turn it into a cowl. Any tips would be so appreciated! Thanks for creating such a lovely pattern.
Hi Jenn,
Great question! Since you weren’t planning on knitting a cowl, I’m guessing that you started with a regular cast on instead of a provisional cast on, so I think it would be easiest at point to cast off and then seam your cast on and cast off edges together. You might also want to make the wrap a little shorter, as an average double-wrapped cowl measures about 50 to 60 inches in length. In the future, if you know before you start that you want to turn a wrap or scarf into a cowl, you can start with a provisional cast on and then join the two ends together with kitchener stitch for a seamless cowl!
I hope that helps, and happy knitting!
Julianna
Hi. Just received all the yarn and needles for this lovely shawl. The pattern stated #3 needles but didn’t state length. I ordered the longest you had, 16 inches, which is what I received. Now that I have them, I am not sure that they are long enough. What length should they be? Now I think I have to return them and wait for longer ones to arrive. If so, what length? Thank you.
Hi Janice,
Thanks for reaching out about this! It should be possible to manage the 105 stitch cast on and width of the wrap on your 16″ needles, but if that’s a little too tightly packed for your knitting comfort, you might want a 24″ length needle instead. The wrap has a finished width of about 13 inches, so what you have should work! I hope this helps – happy knitting!
Best,
Cassandra
I’m really having trouble with following this pattern. Can you suggest something easier, but still have a shawl about the same dimensions? I’ve had to rip the whole thing out too many times! Maybe it’s pandemic brain! Thanks.
Hi Janice,
Thanks for reaching out! I’m sorry you have had to rip back multiple times! A great option would be the Elementary Wrap in Spectrum Silk It is a similar size and needle to the one you are already using. I hope this helps!
Happy Knitting
Jessica
Great idea. Looks much easier. Thanks.
Hi-
Can this pattern be done in cattail silk? Since it is a fingering weight I thought it might be appropriate.
Thanks.
Hi Jane
Thanks for writing in! The Cattail Silk would be a great choice and stunning! Since the skeins are even larger you will only need 2, but make sure and check your gauge because the yardage is very close!
Happy knitting
Jessica
I’ve just made a small sample, and looks lovely on the right side, but on the reverse side it looks like a lot of bumps. Is this correct? The shown image suggests a more attractive reverse side.
Thanks Leoni
Hi Leoni,
Thanks for reaching out! This stitch has a definite wrong side, so your swatch sounds exactly correct! Although you can’t see the wrong side in most of our images, if you take a look at the last picture which shows the scarf folded in half, you can catch a glimpse of the wrong side, which looks somewhat similar to seed stitch.
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
Hello and thank-you for your beautiful pattern.
Your notes say to slip all slipped stitches Purl wise but I read the pattern to suggest the 3rd row is a purl row and the 4th row is a knit row – yes?
In which case for the 3rd row the working yarn is already in the front as you purl? To sl1 wyif on the purl side, I’d leave the working yarn in the front and simply slip one stitch purlwise from the LH to RH needle, which creates a bar in front of the stitch that i slipped.
And the 4th row is a knit row so the working yarn is already in back. To sl1 wyib(slip 1 stitch with yarn in back) i would slip the next stitch from the LH to RH needle purlwise without moving the working yarn between the needles.
Hi Liz,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, you will be slipping all stitches purlwise, no matter whether you are on a knit or purl row, and it sounds like you’ve got the technique down perfectly! If you still aren’t sure, this stitch works over any odd number of stitches, so you can always cast on a small swatch to get the hang of things before you start the full wrap!
All the best,
Julianna
Sometimes I end up with an extra stitch at the end of slipped stitch row. Any idea of what I’m doing wrong 😫
Hi Liz,
Thanks for reaching out! It could be a few things but my best guess since it is happening on the slip stitch rows that when you are slipping the stitches with yarn in front and then knitting the next stitch the yarn may be wrapping over the needling causing an extra stitch. Going forward I would count the stitches as you work through the row to make sure your aren’t accumulating any more!
I hope this helps and please reach out if you have any further questions!
Happy knitting!
Gianna
Thank you for your response !
I would love to make this into a cowl in similar size/shape as the Floats Cowl… any idea how I could do that? Can I knit in the round and how many should I cast on? Also can I use Field Linen for this.. my favorite color in Sweetgrass is sold out.
Hi Lucy,
Thanks for reaching out! The easiest option to transform this wrap into a cowl would be to knit it up to the length similar to the Floats Cowl and then seam the two edges together to make it a cowl! And yes, any fingering weight will work for this pattern so you can definitely use Field Linen for this but it will have a different texture than the Sweetgrass. I would also recommend working up a gauge swatch in the new yarn to make sure it is consistent with the pattern!
Please let us know how this turns out and happy knitting!
Gianna
I’m making this wrap in Good Wool, colorway Driftwood Gray. I cast on 79 stitches on size 6 needles for a width of 13 inches. It’s coming out beautifully!
Lovely stitch pattern. However, when I tried to translate it to knitting in the round, it doesn’t work. Would you happen to have this stitch pattern in the round?
Hi Allie,
Thanks for reaching out! We don’t offer this stitch pattern in the round, but thank you for expressing your interest I will be sure to pass this along to the rest of the team!
Warmly,
Gianna
I want to make this wrap 18” wide, how much yarn will I need?
Hi Mindy,
Thanks for reaching out! You’ll need 4 skeins of Sweetgrass to knit a Ramble Wrap measuring 18 x 70 inches. If you’re getting the same gauge as the pattern (32 stitches and 56 rows = 4 inches in stitch pattern), you can cast on 145 stitches so the width of the wrap is 18 inches. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
Thank you so much, will place my order now.
Hi Mindy,
You’re so very welcome! Wishing you all the happy knitting!
All the best,
Cat