A Mesh Stitch Wrap to Wear in the Open Air

We finally got a little break in the super-hot weather where I live, and while it’s a little early to be expecting fall, it probably is time we can start thinking about some knitting that will help us transition into slightly cooler weather.

The Open Air Wrap from Purl Soho is just the sort of thing to get you into the next season in style. This mesh stitch rectangular wrap was originally designed by Whitney Van Nes but was updated to use a special new yarn by Hiromi Glover. The yarn is called Handwritten, and its a Japanese organic cotton laceweight ribbon yarn that comes in 26 colors. Each spool has 900 yards so you only need two of them to make the wrap.

Two strands of yarn are held together to knit this wrap, so you can play with two brightly contrasting colors of pick similar hues for a more organic look. Either way this is actually a pretty fast and easy project even worked on rather small size 4 US/3.5 mm knitting needles. (You’ll want double-pointed needles to make it easier to work the required number of stitches.

One thing that’s interesting about this pattern is that it’s a one-row repeat of yarn over increases and decreases, but instead of knit 2 togethers the decreases are purl 2 togethers. The pattern explains that this is actually easier to do and doesn’t have the tendency to bias like a fabric full of knit 2 togethers would.

If you haven’t worked a purl 2 together before you should practice on your swatch before starting the pattern.

The finished shawl is about 20.25 by 72 inches long after blocking. The cotton yarn and the lacy stitch make it lightweight and drapey but still able to add a bit of warmth to you outfits as the weather starts to cool.

You can get the free pattern from Purl Soho, and check out all the fun color combinations.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Next Pattern:

If you’re looking for a fun project to play with brioche knitting, check out the My Buddy knitting pattern/recipe from Casuarinagirl on Ravelry.

This project doesn’t include a brioche tutorial, so it’s good to know the basics, including how to increase and decrease, but you can always practice on a swatch before you start the project if you want.

The design is meant to be flexible for the yarn you have and what size and shape of project you want to make, from a skinny neck scarf to a asymmetrical triangle or a more classic triangular shape.

The shape you end up with will depend on how often you increase (and then decrease on the other side). The pattern mentions increasing every fourth, fifth or six row (and the one shown increases and decreases every sixth row) but you can do it even more or less often depending on the shape you’re looking for an how much yarn you want to use.

You can work to whatever depth you would like, or use almost half of the yarn you have set aside for the project and begin decreasing.

When it comes to yarn, she used three strands of yarn held together to make a super fluffy shawl, but you can work it with whatever yarn and needles you like to make a wrap that’s all your own.

If you are new to brioche (or to increasing and decreasing in brioche) it might be a good idea to make a little scarf or head wrap first before diving in to the bigger pattern, just so you’re more comfortable with the technique. Or just give it a go; nothing about brioche knitting is that difficult. (But you might want to use a lifeline because I find brioche hard to rip out or fix mistakes in properly.)

You can grab the free pattern for the Buddy Wrap on Ravelry.

[Photo: Casuarinagirl]

Next Pattern:

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