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Larkspur Bandana
Our Larkspur Bandana pattern translates the delicate spurs of its namesake flower into a tiered triangle, while our Linen Quill yarn lends a hint of untamed charm—like tall spires of lush blossoms bursting from orderly beds.
The bandana grows from the bottom point, ascending skyward in neat step-like terraces. You use the Cable Cast On method to shape each new tier, casting on loosely for a relaxed and fluid edge.
Worked in rhythmic garter stitch, it’s an easy, meditative knit, the structure drawing you gently from one rise to the next. For the tidy Bandana size shown here, you’ll need just one skein of Linen Quill, while three skeins are enough for the generous span of the scaled-up Shawl size.
Cast on with Linen Quill and you’ll see why it’s our most popular yarn of all time. A fingering-weight mix of fine highland wool, alpaca, and linen, it pairs the springiness and durability of wool with alpaca’s long-fiber softness, while the linen gives the yarn its rustic elegance and remarkable depth of color. Spun in Peru and inspired by traditional yarns of the Andean highlands, it brings character and complexity to even the simplest stitches.
For our Larkspur Bandanas, we chose blues and purples that echo columns of layered petals—Deep Petunia, Dark Iris, Sugar Plum, and Light Cerulean—grounded by rich, sun-warmed Hazelnut Brown. With 75 nature-inspired shades to explore, Linen Quill offers a whole garden of possibility.
Balancing orderly shaping with nuanced color and the quiet wildness of linen, the Larkspur Bandana is ready to bloom on your needles—a modern heirloom to knit, wear, and treasure.
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 55 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!
Pattern designed and written by Purl Soho founder and co-owner, Joelle Hoverson.
Story written by Andrea Lotz for Purl Soho.
Want to print this pattern? On desktop, find the “print” icon in the right margin, and on mobile, scroll to the end of the pattern for it. Use the on-screen instructions to remove anything you don’t want to print!
Materials
- 1 (3) skein(s) of Purl Soho’s Linen Quill, 50% fine highland wool, 35% alpaca, and 15% linen. Each skein of this fingering-weight yarn is 439 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 439 (1185) yards required. We used the colors Deep Petunia, Hazelnut Brown, Dark Iris, Sugar Plum, and Light Cerulean.
- US 3 (3.25 mm), 16- and 32- or 47-inch circular knitting needles (NOTE: You can use just the 32- or 47-inch needles, but they may be a bit unruly at the beginning of the project when you’re working only a few stitches!)
- A removable stitch marker
GAUGE
24½ stitches and 56 rows (28 ridges) = 4 inches in garter stitch
NOTE: To check your gauge (and save yarn!), we recommend casting on and knitting the pattern for a few inches, then place your work on scrap yarn without cutting the main yarn and block your piece. If necessary, frog and re-knit on different needles.
SIZES
Bandana (Shawl)
- Finished Length of Wingspan: 36 (58¾) inches
- Finished Length of Each Short Side: 23¾ (39) inches
- Finished Length from Cast-On Point to Middle of Bind-Off Edge: 15¾ (25¾) inches
Samples: We knit the Bandana size.
NOTES
GARTER RIDGE
A “garter ridge” equals two rows of garter stitch. It looks like a prominent horizontal ridge and is an easy way to count rows!
CABLE CAST ON SET-UP STITCH
This is a preparatory step before you begin your regular cable cast on. It helps keep your cast on tidy and ensure there are no gaps between your stitches.
Knit the next stitch, but do not let it drop off the left needle. Here’s how…
Insert right needle into next stitch as if to knit and wrap working yarn like you would for a normal knit stitch (above, left). Pull the stitch through onto your right needle, but don’t let any stitches drop off left needle (above, right).
Then, without twisting it, slip the stitch from your right needle to the left needle, as you would for a normal cable cast on stitch. That’s all there is to it… you’re ready to complete your cable cast on!
CABLE CAST ON
For a video of how to do a Cable Cast On, visit our Cable Cast On Tutorial. Make sure you work this technique extremely loosely in this pattern!
PATTERN
CAST ON + SET UP
Place a slip knot on your needle. Our basic Long Tail Cast On Tutorial shows you how!
Set-Up Row (wrong side): Knit front and back (kfb). [2 stitches]
Row 1 (right side): Kfb, k1. [3 stitches]
NOTE: To help you stay oriented, place a marker on previous row to indicate the right side.
Next Row: Kfb, knit to end of row. [1 stitch increased]
Repeat last row 8 (20) more times, ending with a wrong-side row. [12 (24) stitches; 6 (12) garter ridges (see Notes)]
INCREASE
Increase Row 1 (right side): Without turning the work, make a cable cast on set-up stitch (see Notes), then cable cast on 6 (12) stitches (see Notes), knit across all cable-cast-on stitches and then knit to end of row. [7 (13) stitches increased]
Increase Row 2 (wrong side): Repeat Increase Row 1. [7 (13) stitches increased]
Knit 12 (24) rows even, ending with a wrong-side row.
In this section, 14 (26) stitches increased and 7 (13) ridges added.
CONTINUE
Repeat Increase section 13 (11) more times, switching to longer circular needles when necessary. [208 (336) stitches]
FINAL INCREASE
Beginning with a right-side row…
Next Row: Kfb, knit to end of row. [1 stitch increased]
Repeat last row 11 (24) more times, ending with a wrong-side row. [220 (360) stitches]
With right side facing you, bind off loosely to end of row.
FINISHING
Weave in ends and gently wet block.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Learn About Linen Quill + All Our Beautiful Yarns
We designed this project to highlight the uniquely beautiful qualities of our Linen Quill, a wonderful fingering-weight yarn that is a blend of 50% wool, 35% alpaca, and 15% linen. It feels amazing in your hands, and in 70 jaw-droppingly gorgeous colors, Linen Quill is the candy store of yarn! Want to play with lots of those amazing colors? Check out our Linen Quill Minis, available in 40- and 20- color bundles!
More Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our vast collection of (mostly free!) Linen Quill knitting patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarns (What does fingering-weight yarn mean, really? Our guide to fingering-weight yarn will answer your questions and more!)
- 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, our Yarn Substitution article, and our Complete Guide To Yarn for lots of helpful information.
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop wool yarn
- Shop alpaca yarn
- Shop linen yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our knitting patterns (including tons of 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!
Can I use the line weight as a substitute for the linen quill since they’re both fingering weight?
Hi Olimpia,
Thanks for writing in about this! You can absolutely substitute Line Weight, and I think it will make a beautiful bandana! Line Weight is just a bit lighter than Linen Quill, so you may want to size up your needles to get the same gauge (or you could just knit the pattern as is and you may end up with a slightly smaller bandana).
We hope this helps! Let us know if you have any questions.
Kindly,
Allison
hello! this pattern is so cute and so simple! thank you for providing it for free. Is there a typo with the cable cast on setup?
original instruction:
“Then, without twisting it, slip the stitch from your right needle to the left needle, as you would for a normal cable cast on stitch”
suggestion:
“Then, without twisting it, slip the stitch from your left needle to the right needle?”
Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out about this! We checked on this, and the pattern instruction is correct!
For the cable cast-on, you’ll form the new stitch with your right needle, but then you’ll place it on your left needle to work as a usual stitch. The Cable Cast-On Setup Stitch shows the newly cast on stitch on the right needle (in the second photo), which then has been placed on the left needle (in the third photo).
We hope this helps clarify! Let us know if you have any questions.
Kindly,
Allison
Where are your lace patterns? I hate straight garter/stockinette stitch; it’s so boring! For me, the harder, the better!
Hi Hollis,
Thanks for reaching out about this! If you love lace, I recommend checking out the Botanical Lace Wrap, the Laurel Wrap, and the Garland Shawl. The Aperture Pullover is also lace-like and features lots of interesting techniques!
We appreciate your feedback. We hope this helps!
Kindly,
Allison
I am incredibly new so not sure the right length needles to acquire for this project, sounds like straight & circular are both required (I got the 4-5 size!)
Hi Deanna,
Thanks for reaching out about this! For the Larkspur Bandana, we used US 3 (3.25 mm) circular knitting needles in two different lengths: 16- and 32- or 47-inch. The pattern starts with a single stitch and gradually increases in stitch count, so we found it most comfortable to start this project with shorter needles (16″). As we continued knitting and had more stitches on our needles, we switched to longer needles (either 32″ or 47″ will work for this). You won’t need straight needles for this if you have circular needles!
I’m not sure exactly what you mean by 4-5 size needles, but we used US 3 (3.25 mm) throughout the entire project, so that’s what we’d recommend. If you use larger needles, your stitches will be larger and in turn your overall project will be larger, but for a bandana that may work out just fine!
We hope this helps! Let us know if you have any questions.
Kindly,
Allison
Can this be knitted in DK yarn? How much yarn would be needed?
Hi Sharlene!
I’m so glad you wrote in with this question. The Larkspur can absolutely be knit in a DK weight yarn… I’d suggest something with a bit of drape, like Plein Air. Since it is a thicker gauge, you will need more yarn, and to go up a needle size. If you plan to make the bandana size, you will need at least 602 yards, and for the shawl size, at least 1623 yards. That would be 3 or 8 skeins of Plein Air, respectively. (For an alternative yarn suggestion, I would recommend Cashmere Merino Bloom…the yardage is the same, so the skein recommendation remains the same).
I hope this works out nicely for you, and please let me know if you have any other questions!
Happy knitting!
Hillary
The instructions note that you knit the bandana size–but is the brown one in the photo also the bandana size? Seems like it might be larger than the others?
Hi,
Thanks for reaching out about this! We knit the Bandana size for all our samples.
We hope this helps! Let us know if you have any questions.
Kindly,
Allison
The cable cast on set-up stitch leaves a noticeable hole even though I am pulling the yarn tight. Any suggestions to avoid this?
Thank you,
Theresa
Hi Theresa!
Thanks a bunch for reaching out today. I’d love to help you steer clear of any holes. One idea is to try using a smaller needle for your cast-on sections.
Feel free to ask if you have any other questions; I’m here to help!
Hope this helps you avoid holes and that you have a wonderful time knitting your Larkspur Bandana.
Happy knitting!
Hills
This is a beautiful pattern and I love the look of the linen quill yarn, but I can’t manage the smaller needle sizes well. Would this yarn lend itself to being held double and worked with a size 5 or 6 needle? And do you think that would translate ok for this pattern? Thank you!
Hi Anne!
Thanks so much for reaching out. I would recommend swatching and seeing if you like the feel and look of the resulting fabric. If so, knit away! You might end up with a slightly larger finished bandana (as a heads-up). I would recommend picking up two skeins, instead of one, for the smaller size since you’ll use up more yarn faster (and its way easier to hold two skeins separately!).
I hope this helps!
Happy knitting!
Hills
Hi how much yardage is needed to knit your larkspur bandana?
Hi Carolyn!
Thank you so much for reaching out with your question!
We used close to the entirety of the skein of Linen Quill on average in our samples, so just to be safe we’d recommend 439 yards of Linen Quill. Please keep in mind, if you would like to substitute a thinner yarn, your project may use more yards.
I hope this helps! Please feel free to reach out with any other questions you have.
Happy knitting!
Hills