Five-Shade Chiaroscuro Wrap
From shadowy Ash Bark, through a scale of warm grays, to moonlit Heirloom White, our Five-Shade Chiaroscuro Wrap is a peaceful amble through a winter-y field of undyed shades.
Knit up in our Cygnet, a mix of 70% undyed white cashmere and 30% natural-color alpaca, we love how close to the source this yarn makes us feel. It’s also so soft and amazing to touch, you’ll definitely be dreaming about a goat farm before you’re done (or maybe you’ll credit the alpaca… Can you get both?).
To cast on for this incredible knit, start with our Five-Shade Chiaroscuro Wrap Bundle in either a scarf or wrap size, or for narrower widths and a lower price, we have a Four-Shade option (no longer available), too. Enjoy the journey from the dark into the light!
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!
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoFiveShadeChiaroscuroWrap, and #PurlSohoCygnet. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
Our Five-Shade Chiaroscuro Wrap Bundle includes…
- 5 (10) skeins of Purl Soho’s Cygnet, 70% undyed white cashmere and 30% undyed alpaca. Each skein of this fingering weight yarn is 164 yards/50 grams; approximately 164 (328) yards required per color.
- Color A: Ash Bark
- Color B: Weathered Gray
- Color C: Silver Stone
- Color D: Rock Salt
- Color E: Heirloom White
- A Purl Soho tote bag
- A postcard with an image of the finished project on it
You’ll also need…
- US 2 (3.0 mm), straight or 24-inch circular needles
Gauge
30 stitches and 51 rows = 4 inches in seed stitch
NOTE: To ensure all your stripes are the same length, be sure to reuse your swatch yarn.
Sizes
Scarf (Wrap)
Finished Dimensions: 8¾ (17½) inches wide x 69 inches long
Sample: The piece shown here is the Wrap size.
PATTERN
With Color A, use a basic Long-Tail Cast On to cast on 65 (131) stitches.
Row 1: *K1, p1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Repeat Row 1 until you have used as much of Color A as you can (approximately 13¾ inches from cast-on edge), ending at the end of a row.
*With Color B, repeat Row 1 until you have used as much of Color B as you can, ending on the same side you ended the previous skein.
Repeat from * with Colors C through E, making sure to always switch colors on the same side. For Color E, end with a couple yards left over for binding off.
Bind-Off Row: With Color E, k1, *p1, pass first stitch over, k1, pass first stitch over, repeat from * to end of row.
Weave in the ends and gently block. Beautiful!
LEARN ABOUT CYGNET + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Our Cygnet yarn makes this project extra special. A fingering-weight yarn in an exquisite blend of 70% undyed white cashmere and 30% natural-color baby alpaca, Cygnet’s five straight-from-nature shades span a range of soft gray-browns, like a bevy of baby swans! You will love the warmth, the softness, and the drape, but most of all, you will love the natural beauty.
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of free Cygnet knitting patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarn
- 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 Fibers
- Shop cashmere yarn (What makes cashmere so special? Learn all about this amazing fiber in our guide to cashmere 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 love the quality and variety of the yarns and patterns carried on the Purl Soho website. Both style currency and easy to follow patterns for sweaters and shawls have been a mainstay in my preference for Purl Soho patterns. I’ve made several Purl Soho sweaters as gifts or for my own wardrobe!
Hi Does the wrong side show change of yarn colour?
Hi Riya,
Thanks for reaching out! Since this wrap is knit in seed stitch the color transitions are virtually the same on both sides, compared to, for example, garter stitch which would have a distinct change on the wrong side of the fabric.
Warmly,
Gianna
Hi, I am knitting the 4-shade chiaroscuro scarf and I am unsure about the number of stitches cast-on. The information on your site says 53 stitches for the scarf, but the pattern accessed through the yarn purchase says to cast on 65 stitches for the scarf. Which is it?
Thank you
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out! We have two versions of this scarf/wrap, and depending on if you are making the 4 or 5 shade versions, the cast on amounts are different since the patterns overall are a bit different from each other!
If you are making the 4 shade version, the cast on for the Scarf is 53 and for the Wrap, it is 105. The Scarf width comes out to 7″ wide and the Wrap is 14 inches wide. You can find that pattern page here: Chiaroscuro Wrap
If you are making this version, the Five-Shade Chiaroscuro Wrap, the cast on for the Scarf is 65 and for the Wrap, it is 131 stitches. This is because using 5 shades instead of 4 we have changed the overall dimensions to accommodate the extra color. The scarf comes out to 8¾ inches wide, and the wrap comes out to 17½ inches wide.
I hope this clears things up!
Gianna
Thank you! Yes it does!
Hi!
I am making the 4 shade wrap and was also initially confused about the # of stitches to cast on but eventually figured out the 105.
BTW, my friend has completed this project (we each bought the Four Shade Bundle) and we both find it is measuring a width just shy of 17 inches (as opposed to the 14). With the 105 stitches and the size 2 needles, it seems unlikely this is a gauge difference. I’m happy about the wider width. This is an absolutely beautiful combo of material in the Cygnet!!
Beginner here! Would this bundle work for a crochet version of the scarf?
Hi Waleska,
Thanks for reaching out! We don’t offer a crochet version of this pattern, but you could certainly use this bundle for a crochet scarf! I would recommend looking for a crochet scarf pattern that works with fingering weight yarn and a C or D (3 or 3.25mm) crochet hook.
I hope this helps, happy crafting!
Gianna
Hi
Do you have a version of this pattern in DK weight?
Hi Alicia!
Thank you for your question! We do not have a DK weight version of Cygnet, however we have a similar pattern, the Nine-Note Seed Stitch Wrap, that you might like.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Margaret
Hi-
I’ve started this 5 note scarf version, but could you confirm the darkest color (color A)? I started knitting with the ball labeled with Ash Bark, but now that I’ve started knitting, I feel like the ball labeled with “Weathered Gray” seems darker.
Hi Sue!
Thank you for your question. The darkest color in this wrap is indeed “Ash Bark” so you should be good to keep on knitting!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Margaret
Hi Hi,
Any advice if I want to do this holding two strands so I have a nice soft change of colors? First I do 1 full skein (takes 2 held together) of the darkest color (1), then hold darkest with next color (2) for the full skeins. Then a full block of color 2. Then color 2 with color 3. Then a full block of color 3. Then 3 and 4 and finally 4 on its own (I don’t like the lightest color). Would I have enough yarn to make the full length of the wrap with the 12 skeins? Two together would probably use a needle 5 or 6. I can’t do a gauge swatch because I didn’t buy the yarn. Any insight would be great. Thanks!!
Hi Jane,
That’s exactly how I would recommend making a smoother gradient! 12 skeins would work for the wrap size with the yarn doubled, but I’d recommend making it a bit narrower just in case. I’d also be happy to do more exact calculations once you’re able to knit up a gauge swatch!
All the best,
Lili
I have lots of your discontinued merino script yarn. Could I use this for the wrap? Also, could I knit this on long circular needles to create horizontal stripes instead of vertical?
Hi Anna,
You could totally use Merino Script to knit a similar wrap to this one! That yarn was a bulky weight yarn though, so you’ll need to cast on a different number of stitches in order to make sure the wrap comes to the correct size. (You’ll also need to do this if you choose to knit it in the other direction as well!)
To figure out your new cast-on number, you will want to first knit a gauge swatch in pattern. Once you know how many stitches you are getting per inch, you can multiply that number by the width that you would like and cast on the nearest odd number. Then you can follow the pattern as written!
All the best,
Lili