Visually mapping each year of its life, from annual rainfall to the length of a growing season, tree rings are beautiful evidence of time’s passage. For many of us, our knitting does the same, marking challenges faced and good fortune granted. The Tree Ring Scarf, knit up in our lovely new Quartz yarn, beautifully chronicles past, present, and future, ring by ring. 

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho

You knit the Tree Ring Scarf in a simple tube, carrying the colors up the inside to minimize tails.  Over the course of the scarf, both the colors and the distance between the stripes shift in a complex rhythm, like life itself! 

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho

The delicate lines of the pattern are perfectly executed in our wonderful new Quartz yarn. Combining merino wool and suri alpaca into an absolutely lovely fingering-weight yarn, Quartz is lightweight but warm, very soft, and totally beautiful, too. With twenty enticing and gently heathered colors to play with, we’ve put together five Tree Ring Scarf Bundles (no longer available), including this glowing Rose Bark palette.

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho

Whichever colors you choose, we’re going to go out on a limb and say you’ll love knitting your Tree Ring Scarf! 

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho
Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Jake Canton. Click here to see even more of Jake’s designs!

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

Materials

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho
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  • 5 skeins of Purl Soho’s Quartz, 65% merino and 35% suri alpaca. Each skein is 420 yards/ 100 grams.
    • Color A: 2 skeins; approximately 532 yards required
    • Color B: 1 skein; approximately 259 yards required
    • Color C: 2 skeins; approximately 707 yards required
  • US 3 (3.25 mm), 16-inch circular needles
  • A stitch marker

We came up with five inspiring palettes  (NOTE: the Tree Ring Scarf Bundles are no longer available.)…

ROSE BARK

This is the palette we used to knit our sample (see above)…

Color A: Pink Starfish; Color B: Golden Green; Color C: Reed Gray

HERB GARDEN

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho

Color A: Fresh Pickle; Color B: Barn Owl; Color C: Green Dusk

LAGOON

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho

Color A: Aquamarine Blue; Color B: Blue Jeans; Color C: River Rock

MUSSEL SHELL

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho

Color A: Hydrangea Blossom; Color B: Wild Lupine; Color C: Gray Denim

GLADIOLA

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho

Color A: Cardinal Red; Color B: Rose Hip; Color C: Lavender Moon

Gauge

28 stitches and 40 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Size

Finished Dimensions: Approximately 18 inches in circumference x 74 inches long

NOTE

STRIPES IN THE ROUND

To avoid a ton of tails to weave in at the end, be sure to carry non-working yarns up the inside of the tube in between stripes. For a few tips, visit our Stripes in the Round Tutorial!

Pattern

REVERSE STOCKINETTE EDGE

With Color A, cast on 126 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

Place marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Rounds 1-3: Purl to end of round.

Round 4: Knit to end of round.

BLOCK 1: TWO-COLOR STRIPES

Join Color B.

Round 1: With Color B, knit to end of round.

Rounds 2–4: With Color A, knit to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 1–4 thirty more times, or for almost 12½ inches.

BLOCK 2: THREE-COLOR STRIPES

Round 1: With Color B, knit to end of round.

Round 2: With Color A, knit to end of round.

Join Color C.

Round 3: With Color C, knit to end of round.

Round 4: With Color A, knit to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 1–4 ten more times, or for almost 4½ inches.

BLOCK 3: THREE-COLOR STRIPES

Round 1: With Color B, knit to end of round.

Round 2: With Color C, knit to end of round.

Round 3: With Color A, knit to end of round.

Round 4: With Color C, knit to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 1–4 nine more times, or for 4 inches.

Cut Color A.

BLOCK 4: TWO-COLOR STRIPES

Round 1: With Color B, knit to end of round.

Rounds 2–4: With Color C, knit to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 1–4 six more times, or for 2¾ inches.

CONTINUE

Cut Color B.

With Color C, continue working in stockinette for approximately 26¼ inches from last Color B stripe.

Join Color B and repeat Block 4.

Join Color A and repeat Block 3. Do not Cut Color A at end of section.

Repeat Block 2.

Cut Color C.

Repeat Block 1.

With Color B, knit to end of round.

Cut Color B.

REVERSE STOCKINETTE EDGE

Round 1: With Color A, knit to end of round.

Rounds 2–4: Purl to end of round.

Bind off knitwise.

FINISHING

Weave in the ends and gently wet block.

Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho
Tree Ring Scarf | Purl Soho