Swath Wrap In New Colors
One light worsted yarn, one fingering yarn, and one set of needles, our Swath Wrap is fiber fascination at its finest!
You cast on the long way with our baby alpaca, extra fine merino, and linen Flax Down, knit two skeins in simple stockinette, then switch to our thinner Linen Quill, a fine highland wool, alpaca, and linen blend, and knit that entire skein…
The result is a swath of stockinette with a subtle shift from plump close-knit Flax Down to finer Linen Quill, knit on slightly too-big needles for a lighter, airier finish to the wrap.
The trick is to use the same color in both yarns so that the entire play is one of texture, touch, and feel, of the way one side settles around your shoulders while the other flutters across your chest.
And now with new colors of both Linen Quill and Flax Down, choosing a Swath Wrap Bundle is even more inspiring! Eight new palettes join the party, including this incredibly deep and gorgeous Wild Violet. Pick your palette!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoSwathWrap, #PurlSohoLinenQuill, and #PurlSohoFlaxDown. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
Our Swath Wrap Bundle (no longer available) comes in lots of colors! Each bundle includes…
- Yarn A: 2 skeins of Purl Soho’s Flax Down, 43% baby alpaca, 42% extra fine merino wool, 15% linen. Each skein is 219 yards; approximately 438 yards required. (NOTE: We no longer offer Flax Down, but choose from one of our other light worsted/dk weight yarns.)
- Yarn B: 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Linen Quill, 50% fine highland wool, 35% alpaca, and 15% linen. Each skein is 439 yards; approximately 429 yards required.
You’ll also need…
- US 7 (4.5 mm), 40-, 47- or 60-inch circular needles
- 6 stitch markers (optional)
Gauge
20 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, using either Yarn A or Yarn B
Size
Finished Dimensions: 17½ inches wide x 72 inches long
Pattern
For the free pattern, please visit our original Swath Wrap story.
this wrap is soooooooooooooo beautiful. i can almost feel it. thank you a zillion for sharing freely. hm
I feel this is too narrow. This doesn’t come to the top of the bend in her arm and she does not appear to be tall.
How can the width be increased without changing the length, e.g 21 inches wide instead of 17.
Hi Deb,
Thanks for reaching out! The cast on edge is the the length of the wrap (72″) so no need to adjust how many to cast on, if you would like to increase the width of the wrap all you need to do is knit additional rows. You may want to purchase and additional skien of each to ensure you have enough yarn, and if you don’t end up using the additional skeins you can return them for store credit within 6 month as long as they are still in skein form!
You will have to let us know how this goes! Happy knitting!
Gianna
How many yards of yarn do I need to start casting on 355 stitches for this wrap? Thanks!
Hi Diane,
Thanks for writing in! This pattern requires approximately 438 yards of Flax Down and 429 yards of Linen Quill, starting the cast off withe Yarn A (Flax Down.)
Happy knitting!
Gianna
That’s not the question- how long a tail in yards fir the cast on?
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for writing in! For Long Tail Cast On we suggest using a tail 3½ times the width of what you plan to make. So for this 72 inch wide scarf (since you are casting on horizontally), measure out approximately 7 yards of yarn.
Warmly,
Gianna
Can you provide a simple alternative treatment for both the long edges and the short ends so they look right with the pattern but don’t curl (apart from blocking)? I love the yarn and everything else about the design. Thanks.
Hi Kris,
Thanks for reaching out! In this pattern we actually do a stitch variation along the vertical edge of the wrap to keep a more straight edge with less curling! The first row you k2, purl to the last 2 and then k2 and then for row 2 you K1, p1, knit to last 2 stitches, p1, k1! If you don’t like this variation you could also do a slip stitch boarder along the vertical edge! For the horizontal edge you could do a k1 p1 repeat along the first row and the last row of the wrap, that should help reduce any curling! I definitely recommend a good wet blocking once you finish knitting to help with any residual curling!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
I am a short older woman rounding off to 60” tall. I am afraid 72” is just way to big for me. I would like it to come down further so will just continue knitting. How many should I cast on to make a version that will not be such a long “wrap” for me?Something comfy to throw over my shoulders in AZ. I like working with a light worsted weight yarn so I think this will be a nice project. Thank you
Hi JJ,
Thanks for reaching out! I think this will be a great project for you! I would recommend a length of about 63″ to insure you still have a good amount to wrap over your shoulders, so for that length you would cast on 315 stitches!
I hope this helps and feel free to reach out with any more questions going forward!
All the best,
Gianna
Very inspiring pattern. I wonder whether it will work do make the “thicker” part by knitting 2 threads of thinner yarn together, and then switch into single one.
Hi Agnieszka,
Thanks for reaching out! I am sure that holding the thinner yarn double would have a similar effect as the one thicker yarn! I would recommend working a gauge swatch to be sure it is consistent before beginning!
Happy knitting!
Gianna
I just finished this pattern and I have to admit I am disappointed because it took forever and it doesn’t appear to behave at all in reality as it appears to in the photographs. 72 inches is very wide, and the 17 inch height is not quite enough for it to function as a wrap around my shoulders–the proportions need to be slighly different–maybe 10 inches less wide and the rest in added height. It really wants to roll up. It seems like it’s going to really only work as a very chunky scarf around my neck. Oh well. At least the yarn is beautiful and a joy to work with.
Hi Molly,
Thanks for reaching out! I am so sorry to hear that you are disappointed with how the wrap turned out… Our sample in the photographs was heavily blocked, if you haven’t blocked yours yet I definitely recommend doing so! After blocking ours we got a great width and less curling on the edges! Our Blocking tutorial is a great resource to use and shows exactly how we do it for the best results.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Gianna
Gianna, this wrap will be perfect for me. I am 58″ tall and will have to do the adjustment to 315 sts. like JJ posted. Now I have to give thought on a “color”. I want something comfy for myself . Reside in S. E. Michigan. Weather changes every 15 minutes, never know what to expect.
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for writing in! I am so glad to hear that you interested in making this wrap, please let me know if you have any questions that come up along the way!
Happy knitting!
Gianna
I was thinking of knitting it in the round and then steeking it so I could avoid all that purling :). Any suggestions on how to modify the pattern to accommodate?
Hi Will,
Thanks for reaching out! That should be pretty easy to accomplish! You can simply cast on the same amount of stitches, join the work in the round, and work the pattern basically as written, except omit the wrong side rows.
Please let us know how this turns out, happy knitting!
Gianna
Is there a skein of yarn (or two) that would offer the same lightness as the linen quill?
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for writing in. Many of our other fingering weight yarns would be similarly light! In particular, you may be interested in Line Weight. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili