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Banner Scarf
This March is our beloved Linen Quill’s 10th birthday, and what better way to mark the occasion than with a celebratory little streamer of a scarf? Our Banner Scarf pattern highlights all of Linen Quill’s most lovable attributes in a simple one-skein project you’ll want to knit again and again!
The knitting is as easy as can be, making this an ideal project for traveling, multitasking, or simply enjoying the natural beauty of a very appealing yarn. You cast on along the long side and start knitting in garter stitch, increasing at the end of every row. A handy stitch marker placed before the increases keeps track of how many stitches you’ve added—no need to count across a whole row. Then you simply taper back down to create a pointed tip, a jaunty banner shape ready to catch the breeze!
Cast on with Linen Quill and you’ll immediately see how this yarn has earned its enduring legacy and devoted following. Made in Peru, this 2-ply fingering-weight yarn is a perfectly balanced mix of fine Andean highland wool, lustrous long-fiber alpaca, and rustic linen, which tends to sprout charmingly from the strand. Knitting Linen Quill at the dense end of its gauge gives the Banner Scarf voluminous body around your neck and a graceful drape that lets the ends fall just so.
Every color in Linen Quill’s huge palette has a special heathered quality that comes from the way each fiber in the mix takes up dye a little differently, with a lovely flaxen note running throughout. This rich complexity is especially evident in textural garter stitch, which highlights the variation without competing with it.
Pick up a skein of Linen Quill in your very favorite color and cast on for a joyous pennant of color that announces your love of knitting, natural fibers, and beauty. Here’s to the first decade of Linen Quill and to many more years to come!
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 skein 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 430 total yards required. We used, from left to right above, High Tide, True Turquoise, Blue Thistle, and Blue Rivulet.
- US 2 (3 mm), 32-inch circular knitting needles
- Stitch markers
GAUGE
25 stitches and 60 rows (30 ridges) = 4 inches in garter stitch
SIZE
Finished Dimensions: 7 inches wide x 46 inches long at points
NOTE: This scarf is worked lengthwise, so the width listed above corresponds to the number of rows and the length corresponds with the number of stitches.
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!
PATTERN
BEGIN
Cast on 236 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
A little tip: When you’re casting on so many stitches, it helps to place a marker or piece of scrap yarn every 50 stitches, so if/when you lose your place, you don’t have to recount from the very beginning!
Set-Up Row 1 (right side): Knit to last 2 stitches, place marker, knit front and back (kfb), k1. [1 stitch increased]
Mark previous row with removable stitch marker or piece of scrap yarn to indicate right side.
Set-Up Row 2 (wrong side): Repeat Set-Up Row 1. [2 total markers; 238 stitches; 1 garter ridge]
INCREASE
NOTE: Throughout pattern, slip markers as you come to them.
Starting with a right-side row…
Increase Row: Knit to last 2 stitches, kfb, k1. [1 stitch increased]
Repeat Increase Row 49 more times, until there are 28 stitches after each marker, ending with a wrong-side row. [288 stitches; 26 total garter ridges]
DECREASE
Starting with a right-side row…
Decrease Row: Knit to last 3 stitches, knit 2 together (k2tog), k1. [1 stitch decreased]
Repeat Decrease Row 49 more times, until there are 3 stitches after each marker, ending with a wrong-side row. [238 stitches remain; 51 total garter ridges]
Next Row (right side): Knit to last 3 stitches, remove marker, k2tog, k1. [1 stitch decreased]
Repeat last row. [236 stitches; 52 total garter ridges]
FINISHING
With right side facing you, bind off loosely knitwise.
Weave in ends, gently wet block, and enjoy!
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, and be sure to read our article, Linen Quill: A Closer Look At Our Most-Loved Yarn, to learn all about what makes it so special.
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 55 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 have a question about the instructions. It states to cast on using the long tail method. If I do this, Row 1 is actually the wrong side row, and Row 2 is the right side row. The instructions indicate Row 1 is the right side row and Row 2 is the wrong side row. Is there an error in the Rows?
Hi Kathryn!
Thanks so much for reaching out with your question. I’m so glad you’re interested in the Banner Scarf and I’m happy to help!
You’re right. After casting-on you would ordinarily find yourself on the wrong-side of the garment. Some projects will establish the opposing side as the right-side, though… this pattern is like that! Since it’s a garter stitch, it’s ok to have the right-side established on either side.
I hope this helps! Please feel free to reach out with any other questions you might have!
Happy knitting!
Hills
I could make this wider just making sure I have the same number of stitches after each marker?
Hi Diane!
Thanks so much for reaching out! I’m so glad the Banner Scarf called out to you!
This pattern is worked lengthwise. So you’ll cast-on the longer side, knit increases on either side (maintaining the mirrored stitch count after your markers as you indicated… great work!), and then decreases which also mirror your increases. To make this scarf wider, you would need to repeat the increase row more times than the pattern calls for…I’ve pasted the row in question below. If the pattern calls for 50 increases total, you could work the repeat 60 times (and then mirror with decreases), and your scarf would be wider, but not longer. You may want to consider if you would also like the scarf to be longer to match the new width or if you want to keep it as-is. You would need to cast-on more stitches at a 6.25 stitch per inch rate.
I so hope this helps, and happy knitting!
Hills
Thanks for another fabulous pattern! So many of Purl SoHo’s designs are in my queue.
I knit your ribbon scarf with fantastic results (although the provisional cast on was a challenging new technique for me).
If I wanted my Banner Scarf to be narrower, similar to the Ribbon scarf, could I just knit fewer increases?
Hi Sun Pak,
Thank you so much for reaching out and for your kind words. We’re really so glad you’ve loved our designs so far! It sounds like you’re really growing your skills…great work!
Yes! This is correct. This scarf is worked lengthwise. So you could work fewer increases, and then match your decreases on the other side of the point to create a narrower scarf. We would so love to see the results!
I hope this helps, and please feel free to reach back out!
Happy knitting,
Hills
Any wool free substitutions for linen quill that you would please suggest?
Hi Amanda,
We’re so happy that you love the Banner Scarf pattern! For non-wool yarns, I would suggest Cattail Silk, Santolina, or Oleander as great alternatives. Based on the pattern’s estimated yardage of 430 yards, you would need either 1, 2, or 3 skeins of each yarn respectively.
Happy knitting!
Mia
A quick question: how soft is Linen Quill? Could it be itchy to the neck?
Hi MC,
Thanks for writing in! Linen Quill is a slightly more rustic yarn with exquisite fine linen throughout, and a slight halo from the alpaca. Some folks with sensitive skin might consider using Quartz, a merino wool and suri alpaca blend, as a great fingering-weight yarn alternative for the Banner Scarf pattern.
I hope that helps!
Mia
I would love a pattern similar to this one but for straight needles!
Hi Lyn,
Thank you for your interest in the Banner Scarf pattern! While the pattern is written for circular needles due to the large number of cast-on stitches, we do have a few patterns that can be knit on straight needles.
If the shape of the scarf appeals to you, the Magnolia Ascot would be a great alternative. If the garter stitch appeals to you the Color Tipped Scarf or the Value Study Scarf would be a great place to start.
I hope this helps, but please let me know if you need any other ideas.
Happy knitting!
Mia
Hi! I’m interested in knitting the banner scarf. In the picture you sent to my email (below the model) there are 4 different scarves pictured. I love the colors on all of them but can’t seem to match them up when I view your linen quill colors. Can you tell me what colors they are?
Thanks!
Hi Stephanie,
Great question! The colors of Linen Quill used in the samples are High Tide, True Turquoise, Blue Thistle, and Blue Rivulet.
I hope that helps!
Mia
I have one skein of Sweet Grass and 2 skeins of Santolini. Can this be knit in either of those yarns?
Hi Patricia,
We’re so happy that you love the Banner Scarf pattern! You would certainly be able to knit the pattern with either of those two yarns. You also have the correct number of skeins of either yarn to complete your scarf based on the estimated yardage of 430 yards if you obtain the correct gauge.
Happy Knitting!
Mia