Cloud Layer Bandana

Our Cloud Layer Bandana creates a lovely atmosphere, with hand-dyed color peeking from between veils of luminous cloud. Combine our Estuary yarn’s beautiful undyed color with one dyed color to create your own softly striped sky!

You knit this bandana in the round from the outer edge inward, shaping the square with centered double decreases at the corners and alternating colors as you carry the unused yarn along… That means just a few ends to weave when you’re finished! The knitting is super satisfying, hand-dyed hues changing and mingling with every stitch and the rounds getting shorter and shorter as you go.

An exquisitely soft single ply of fine merino wool, radiant mulberry silk, and earthy linen, Estuary brings these natural fibers into perfect balance. From its light-on-the-water luster to its rolling cloudbanks of color, this fingering-weight yarn is imbued with nature’s fascinating complexities. Knit at the loose end of this yarn’s recommended gauge, the stockinette fabric is remarkably lightweight, even when you fold the bandana in half to wear it.

Each color in Estuary‘s palette—including the mysterious Night Sky we chose—is dyed by hand, the colors shifting like clouds in the high atmosphere. Prairie Turnip is simply the warm-white undyed version at the core of every other color, so no matter which one you choose to pair with it, the two naturally belong together.

Pick up one skein of Prairie Turnip and another of whichever color you love for your own Cloud Layer Bandana and savor a simple knit full of scudding clouds and unexpected sunbeams.

Pattern designed and written by Purl Soho designer, Hiromi Glover. See even more of Hiromi’s work on her Instagram!

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

• Purl Soho’s Estuary, 65% fine merino wool, 20% mulberry silk, and 15% linen. Each skein of this fingering-weight yarn is 384 yards/ 100 grams.
  • Main Color (MC): 1 skein, approximately 335 total yards required. We used the color Prairie Turnip.
  • Contrast Color (CC): 1 skein, approximately 265 total yards required. We used the color Night Sky.
• US 4 (3.5 mm), 47- and 20- or 16-inch circular knitting needles
• A set of US 4 double pointed needles
• Stitch markers, including one unique

NOTE: If you want to use Magic Loop, you won’t need the 20- or 16-inch circular needles or double pointed needles listed above… Just stick with the 47-inch ones!

GAUGE

21 stitches and 40 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

NOTE: To make sure you don’t run out of MC, use the CC for swatching. Also, you can expect the gauge to get a tad tighter as you work toward the center of the bandana. The gauge given here applies to the outer areas.

SIZE

Finished Dimensions: 25¼ x 25¼ inches square, with a hypotenuse of 35¾ inches

NOTES

PURL 3 TOGETHER (P3TOG)

Insert right needle into next 3 stitches purlwise and purl them together. [2 stitches decreased]

CARRYING UP YARN

Be sure to carry non-working yarn up the wrong side of the work when you switch colors. For a few tips, visit our Stripes in the Round Tutorial!

PATTERN

WORK BORDER

With Main Color (MC), cast 532 stitches onto longest circular needles. Be sure to cast on very loosely so the edge of your bandana doesn’t end up too tight. 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 start counting from the very beginning! Remove markers when you work the first round.

Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches. Do not place a marker for end of round until instructed in first round.

Set-Up Round 1: P1, place unique marker for end of round, [p133, place marker (pm)] 3 times, purl to end of round. [4 total markers]

Set-Up Round 2: [Purl to 3 stitches before next marker, purl 3 together (p3tog; see Notes), remove marker, p1, pm] 4 times. [8 stitches decreased]

Set-Up Round 3: Purl to end of round, slipping markers as you come to them.

Set-Up Round 4: Repeat Round 2. [516 stitches remain]

WORK STRIPES

Carrying up the non-working yarn at color changes (see Notes)…

Round 1: With MC, [knit to 3 stitches before next marker, slip slip knit pass (s2kp), remove marker, k1, pm] 4 times. [8 stitches decreased]

Round 2: With MC, knit to end of round, slipping markers as you come to them.

Rounds 3 and 4: Repeat Rounds 1 and 2.

Rounds 5–8: With Contrast Color (CC), repeat Rounds 1–4.  

Changing to shorter circular needles, then double pointed needles, if/when necessary…

Repeat Rounds 1–8 twelve more times, then repeat Rounds 1 and 2 one more time. [23 stitches between markers; 92 total stitches remain]

Next 2 Rounds: With MC, repeat Round 1. [76 stitches remain]

Next 4 Rounds: With CC, repeat Round 1. [44 stitches remain]

Next 4 Rounds: With MC, repeat Round 1. [12 stitches remain]

Cut yarns and thread tails onto a tapestry needle. Thread MC tail through remaining stitches. Pull taut and bring both tails to wrong side to weave in.

FINISHING

Weave in the 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!

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!