Knit Olympic Rings Double as a Stacked Bracelet

I wanted to knit a little something to celebrate the Olympic Games, so I came up with the idea to knit Olympic rings, since they are an icon of the Games that can come out every two years.

As I was thinking about how I would do it, it occurred to me that if I made the rings the right size they could also be used as a giant stacked cuff bracelet.

I don’t know if this idea was brilliant or crazy, but I like the way it turned out and am totally going to make more bracelets this way with different colors and textures of yarn in the future.

This is more of an explanation than a pattern, because it’s super simple. You’ll need a small amount of medium-weight yarn in each of the ring colors –blue, yellow, black, green and red — and two size 8 US/5 mm double-pointed knitting needles or one circular needle.

The rings are each made of five-stitch I-cord: cast on 5, knit 1 row, *slide the stitches to the opposite end of the needle without turning the work, then knit 1 row. Repeat from * until ring is desired size. Bind off, leaving a tail to sew the ends together.

Make one ring of each color, then sew the strips into rings as you sew them together in the order of the Olympic rings: blue, yellow, black, green and red.

Arrange alternating up and down to display, or stack the rings on top of each other to wear as a bracelet.

This is a super quick, easy and fun project that I hope you’ll try, and if you do I’d love to hear what you think!

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Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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