Loop + Tuck Scarf
In our new Fiddlehead, our Loop + Tuck Scarf is elegant, clever, and a quick-knit, too!
That handy-dandy little loop is just a rectangle that you knit flat, then fold and join with some picked up stitches. You finish the length of the scarf in the round, creating two layers of comfy warmth around the neck.
The pattern is ingenious, but the beauty is in the yarn. Fiddlehead is a super bulky 100% alpaca, which means it’s shockingly soft and toasty warm. It is also tangibly gorgeous!
A fluffy alpaca roving delight, Fiddlehead has a wonderful curly texture and depth of color. It is also voluminous and as light as a snowflake!
Available in nine gorgeous colors, Fiddlehead comes in individual skeins and in two-skein Fiddlehead Bundles, just the right amount of yarn for a Loop + Tuck Scarf and packaged in pretty glassine bags. Perfect for gifting.
Pick up a bundle or two, for you or someone you love, and settle in for some joyful knitting!
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!
UPDATE: NOW IN NEW COLORS
NOVEMBER 2023
We’re celebrating eight new colors of Fiddlehead and the arrival of our Warm + Fuzzy Kerchief pattern with a colorful update to our Fiddlehead Bundle accessory collection! These quick knits are the softest, coziest, blow-you-away-beautiful-est arctic attire you can imagine. So, pick up a Fiddlehead Bundle or two for the knitters in your life, or cast on for some quick and beautiful gifts… Or treat yourself and make your own cozy Fiddlehead accessory!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Hiromi Glover. Click here to see even more of Hiromi’s work!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoLoopAndTuckScarf, and #PurlSohoFiddlehead. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
You’ll need our Fiddlehead Bundle, which includes…
- 2 skeins of Purl Soho’s Fiddlehead, 100% alpaca yarn. Each skein of this super bulky yarn is 65 yards/ 100g; approximately 130 yards required. We used the colors Ocean Air, Heirloom White, and Northern Spruce.
You’ll also need…
- US 13 (9 mm), 16-inch circular needles, or size needed for gauge
- A stitch marker
- Optional: Spare needle, US 13 or smaller, for 3-Needle Bind Off
GAUGE
8 stitches and 12 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
SIZE
Finished Dimensions: 6½ inches wide x 33 inches long
NOTES
CONSTRUCTION
You will work back and forth in rows, then fold the piece in half so the cast-on edge is parallel to the live stitches. You will pick up stitches from the cast-on edge to form the loop, and then work in the round for the remainder of the piece, finishing with either Kitchener Stitch or a 3-Needle Bind Off.
PATTERN
Cast on 13 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
LOOP
Set-Up Row (wrong side): Purl to end of row.
Row 1 (right side): Knit to end of row.
Row 2 (wrong side): Purl to end of row.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece measures approximately 10 inches from cast-on edge, ending with a right-side row. With right side still facing you, slide work to other end of needles.
Fold piece in half, wrong sides together, so that the live stitches and cast-on edge are parallel to each other. Then, turn work so cast-on edge is in front and facing you and working yarn is on the right. Use working yarn and right end of needles to pick up and knit 13 stitches evenly along cast-on edge. [26 stitches]
NOTE: For tips on picking up stitches, please visit our Picking Up Stitches Tutorial.
TUBE
Place marker for beginning of round and join for working in the round.
Round 1: Knit to end of round.
Repeat Round 1 until piece measures approximately 33 inches from bottom edge of Loop.
FINISHING
Slide 13 stiches to each end of circular needles, and holding needles parallel, use Kitchener Stitch to graft edge closed. Or if you do not wish to use Kitchener Stitch, a 3-Needle Bind Off would work just as well.
Weave in ends and gently wet block.
LEARN ABOUT FIDDLEHEAD + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Fiddlehead brings joy wherever it goes! Delightfully curly, it is 100% alpaca and as soft as you can imagine. One characteristic of Fiddlehead that’s hard to convey in photos is just how surprisingly light and airy it is, so although it is a super bulky-weight yarn, it practically floats off your needles! Available in lots of gorgeous colors and in 2-skein gift bundles, too, Fiddlehead is as fun as it is beautiful!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of (mostly free!) Fiddlehead knitting patterns
More Super Bulky-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of super bulky-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 Fibers
- 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 think this yarn would make a beautiful open-front vest! Does Purl Soho have any vest patterns that might be compatible with this yarn? Looks like the Drift Vest is a different gauge.
Hi Gloria,
I totally agree! I’m afraid that we don’t have any vest patterns that match the gauge exactly. We’re so sorry about that! The pattern that comes the closest in gauge to what works for Fiddlehead would be the Classic Knit Jacket. Maybe this design will catch your eye, even though it’s not a vest!
All the best,
Lili
Does this wrap around the neck with the end tucked in the loop or is it a pull over the head cowl.
Hi Joy,
Thanks for writing in! This scarf wraps around your neck like a regular scarf, and then you can secure the end through the small loop, keeping it snug!
All the best,
Lili
do you still have a real store in NY? Arne and Carlos are going to be in NY soon, and I wanted to give them your address. Plus would love to visit your shop next time I am in NY
Hi Michele,
Thank you so much for asking about our store! After two long years, we have decided to keep our New York City shop closed. We know this may be disappointing, and for us, too, it is a really difficult decision to process. We have always cherished interacting with our customers in person, and we have really missed that aspect of our business, but we are optimistic about all the new opportunities we have ahead of us, including getting to email individually with more of our customers, and getting to share in the joys of knitting (and all crafting!) more personally this way. Please feel free to drop us a line with your finished object photos, ask a question in the comment section of the project you’re working on, sign up for our Knit-Along, subscribe to our newsletter, schedule a Zoom chat… We are here for you as much as ever!
All the best,
Lili
Do you have the pattern for the Loop and Tuck that is more condensed. An planning on sending the yarn and pattern as a gift for a beginner knitter.
thanks,
Hi Mary,
Thanks for reaching out! To download a more condensed version of the pattern to print out and send as a gift, you can follow these steps: If you’re on your computer, you’ll find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find the “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Click on this button, and a window will pop up where you can delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print. When you hover over any image or a text block, it will be highlighted in yellow and a “trash” icon will appear. Just click on this icon to delete anything that’s not necessary to the pattern! For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. Then, click on the “PDF” button in the upper left-hand corner of the pop-up window. Once your PDF has finished downloading, just click the “Download PDF” button, and it will be saved to your computer! (You can also click the “Print” button if you’d like to print the pattern.)
Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Thanks for that tip, it’s very helpful!
I’m getting stuck at the fold in half and pick up stitches to get to 26. Any tips? I know how to pick up stitches, just can’t figure out what I’m supposed to do.
Hi Whitney,
Thanks for reaching out! When you pick up stitches, you are only picking up along the cast-on edge, and you can completely ignore the live stitches at this point! Once you’ve picked up the 13 stitches along just the cast-on edge, you will have 26 total stitches on your needles. At this point, you can begin working in the round for the remainder of the scarf.
I hope this helps, but please let me know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Lili
Hi,
this may be an obvious question but when you pick up the stitches after folding the 10″ square are you using the same yarn as the “waste yarn?
thanks,
Mary
Hi Mary,
Thanks for writing in! I’m not quite sure what you mean by the waste yarn. This pattern doesn’t use any, so you will be using your working yarn to pick up the stitches along the cast-on edge and then continue on knitting in the round!
All the best,
Lili
Hello! Is it possible to do a provisional cast on at the beginning rather and than picking up stitches to form the tube?
Hi Bree,
That’s a great idea! you can absolutely use a provisional cast-on instead of picking up stitches.
All the best,
Lili
Apologies if this is a duplicate, but my comment initially said “awaiting moderation” but now it’s disappeared altogether. I’m having trouble understanding the instructions about picking up stitches. I did watch the tutorials but this situation seems different, due to the fold. When you pick up stitches, are you putting your needle through both pieces of fabric, the side with the cast on edge and the side with the live stitches? Otherwise, I’m not sure why the instructions even mention folding the piece in half. Thank you!
Hi Meghan,
We’ve seen your comment on this post, but we’ve also noticed that you signed up for a 1-On-1 Project Help session for today! We haven’t replied to your comment yet, since we figured that we’d be able to answer all your questions over Zoom. But I’d be happy to explain here as well!
When you pick up stitches, you are only picking up along the cast-on edge. You can completely ignore the live stitches at this point! Once you’ve picked up the 13 stitches along the cast-on edge, you will have 26 total stitches on your needles, and you can begin working in the round for the remainder of the scarf.
I hope this helps, but we can absolutely go over this more and demonstrate for you later today over Zoom!
All the best,
Lili
Thank you! Yes I scheduled in case I still needed help…and I guess I do! The fold is throwing me off…just not clear what the purpose of it is.
Probably not the best yarn for someone learning to pick up stitches…but I did it! Thankfully the loopy Fiddlehead yarn is very forgiving in the finished project, if not terribly easy to knit.
Since the stitches are so hard to locate due to the loops, I have a fear that many of my picked up stitches may not have gone through an actual stitch, but between them. Will the closed loop fall apart if so?
Love the pattern and have already purchased smoother bulky weight yarn to make another Loop/Tuck Scarf!
Hi Carrie,
That’s a great question, and it’s always good to double check! Fortunately, since you’re picking up stitches along the cast-on edge, nothing will fall apart even if you don’t pick up the stitch from exactly the center of a previous stitch. And because the yarn itself is so fluffy, you won’t be able to see any discrepancies at all!
Al the best,
Lili
completely exasperated at these directions! I consider myself to be a very experienced knitter but I am just not understanding what to do after I have picked up the 13 sts from cast on. Am ready to find a different pattern, this pattern is extremely difficult to follow.
Hi Jo,
Thanks for reaching out, although I’m sorry that this pattern is giving you difficulty! After picking up those 13 stitches from the cast-on edge, you will begin working in the round with all 26 stitches currently on your needles. You will knit each round until the scarf reaches approximately 33 inches, and finally, you will close up the tube by working either Kitchener stitch or a 3-needle bind-off. Hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
I too am finding this yarn very hard to knit with and am about to give up! Why is there mention of folding in the pattern before picking up stitches if one is only picking up stitches along the cast on end/edge? I’m not sure I have the patience needed for this project with this yarn. Maybe another yarn would be easier – would I use bulky weight?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for writing in, although I’m sorry to hear that this yarn and pattern is giving you trouble! I can certainly see how the instructions at that point are tricky to understand. When you go to pick up the stitches, you’re not exactly “folding” the scarf, but rather picking up the cast-on edge oriented so that the live stitches and cast-on edge are parallel to each other and wrong sides are facing each other. Then, you’ll turn your work and pick up the stitches!
In answer to your question about finding a substitute yarn, then another super bulky weight yarn should work. I’d recommend taking a look at the gauge of the Loop + Tuck Scarf (for reference, it’s 8 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, so 2 stitches per inch) and using another yarn that can meet that gauge! For example, Super Soft Merino would be a great choice!
All the best,
Lili
I finally figured this out! You’re “folding” the piece so that the working yarn is close to the spot where you pick up stitches on the cast-on edge. I think the pattern could be more clear and maybe include a diagram to help clarify this?
Hi Susan,
Glad to hear it! We will definitely revisit the way we’ve written out this portion of the pattern, so it’s very valuable to hear your thoughts on what would make more sense here. I’ll be passing along your feedback to our design team!
All the best,
Lili
I’m sort of a newbie, knitter and reading all of the comments on this pattern makes me nervous that it will be too difficult for me. Is there another scarf pattern that would work well with this yarn?
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for reaching out, although I’m sorry to hear that this pattern is feeling a bit intimidating! If you’re up for it, I’d recommend giving it a try, since I’m sure it will be a great way to learn and get comfortable with new techniques. And we’re always available to help out and answer any questions you may have as you knit!
If you’d like to try something else though, I’d recommend making a regular scarf in a simple stitch pattern (like garter stitch or seed stitch, for example). You can cast on the number of stitches you want for the width and then knit in your chosen stitch pattern until the scarf is as long as you want! With a textured yarn like Fiddlehead, it’s best to choose a very simple stitch pattern, since there is virtually no stitch definition.
Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
I’m really glad you have shared all these questions and comments. As I try to understand the instructions I finally got the “ah ha” moment – the scarf is tube of knitting! That is not entirely apparent from the picture. At least not me. But I think I get the picking up stitches part in order to complete the “in the round” knitting of the length of scarf. Can’t wait to try it. I loved the hats I’ve made with the fiddlehead yarn. Super easy pattern. They look great and are very cozy warm.
Thank you
Hi Mary,
Thanks so much for writing in! We’re so glad to hear the comments have been useful to you and are super grateful to you and everyone who asked questions or left comments on this pattern!
It’s awesome to hear that you are enjoying knitting with Fiddlehead. Have a great day!
All the best,
Cat
I’ve read through all the comments and have tried to make this work several ways, but I’m stumped. This pattern could really use a video.
Are the live edge and the cast-on edge beside each other? Or on top of each other (“parallel” makes it sound as though they are on top of each other)? If they are beside each other, which end of the cast-on piece do I begin working on? If I go right to left at this point, won’t my scarf be twisted?
Hi Kate,
Thanks for reaching out, although I’m sorry to hear that this pattern has been giving your trouble! To answer your question, the cast-on edge should essentially be on top of the live stitches (as in it creates another line of stitches in front of the live stitches, and it does not extend the line of live stitches as it would if they were beside each other).
After you pick up these stitches, you will have all of your stitches in a circle, so you can begin knitting in the round for the remainder of the pattern. I hope this helps clarify things, but if you’d like more assistance, I’d recommend signing up for 1-On-1 Project Help, where a team member will be available to help out over Zoom!
All the best,
Lili
I’d love to make a sweater with this yarn. Any suggestions on a pattern for a top down pull over?
Hi Rose,
A sweater in Fiddlehead would be lovely! I’m afraid that we don’t have any patterns that will work for this yarn as of yet, but I wanted to give you a heads up that we have some designs in the works! In the meantime, you may want to take a look at the Kaleidoscope Sweater, which was originally written for Super Soft Merino and Posy. This pattern could definitely work with Fiddlehead, but you’d probably want to leave out the streaks of color, since Fiddlehead has so much textural intrigue to it already!
All the best,
Lili
Hi — I’m not especially skilled as a knitter, but love your patterns, and this one is intriguing. Is there ANOTHER Purl Soho yarn you could recommend for trying this project? Fiddlehead looks like fun, and alpaca is wonderful, but the available colors just don’t appeal. Many thanks!
Hi Sally,
Thanks for reaching out. I’d recommend using Super Soft Merino as an alternative to Fiddlehead!
As always, we recommend knitting a gauge swatch before casting on your project, especially when you are substituting yarns. You may need to size up or down your needles in order to get the correct gauge! If you would like to learn more about this, we have a handy tutorial called All About Gauge. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
I have tried to understand this pattern. I have read all the comments and I still can’t make sense of it. It would be so helpful to have a video or at the very least a diagram. We all have the same questions! I simply don’t understand how to pick up the stitches. Can you supply a video or diagram? It would be so helpful!!
Hi Pam,
Thanks for reaching out, although I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble understanding this pattern! We happen to have a wonderful tutorial on how to pick up stitches, so I’d recommend giving that a look over. You can find it right here!
When picking up stitches in this pattern, you will pick them up from the cast-on edge. That will form the “loop” of the scarf. Then, you’ll use all 26 live stitches on your needles to begin knitting in the round, creating the main body of the scarf. The loop you formed with the first bit of the scarf is where you tuck the rest of the scarf through when wearing it!
Going forward, I also wanted to let you know about all the avenues in which we offer pattern support! If you have any questions about any of our patterns, you can send us an email at [email protected] or even sign up for a free 1-On-1 Project Help session, where a team member would be happy to chat or demonstrate techniques in real time for you over video!
All the best,
Lili
I purchased super soft merino to make the loop and tuck scarf as you suggested but I get closer to 3 to inch than 2. Is it possible to add stitches to make it closer to the 6 1/2 instead of 4 1/3?
Thanks. I love the red in super soft merino!
Hi Pat,
Thanks for writing in! Yes, you can totally add stitches to get the width you’d like. You may also want to try swatching with larger needles to see if you can get the gauge of the pattern, but adding stitches will also work perfectly!
All the best,
Lili
If one were to knit a regular scarf with this yarn would two skeins be sufficient?
Hi Helen,
I’d recommend picking up at least 3 skeins of Fiddlehead to make a regular size scarf!
All the best,
Lili
Could this scarf be knit in garter stitch?
Hi Sheila,
Thanks for writing in! You could definitely make this scarf in garter stitch! One thing to keep in mind is that since garter stitch uses more yarn, you might want to grab an extra skein or two! I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I had the same questions as other knitters with creating the loop and picking up stitches. I did get it eventually, and it also helped that I put some removable stitch markers in on my cast on edge to make picking up stitches easier. Hope that helps others – Fiddlehead really is a delicious yarn and worth that extra minute staring at the instructions.