Blue Sky Fibers Manitoba Mosaic Wrap Knitting Pattern

Blue Sky Fibers Manitoba Mosaic Wrap

What is Being Made

The Manitoba Mosaic Wrap is a four-color charted mosaic knit wrap designed by Patty Cronkwright. This intermediate-level shawl features eye-catching stitch definition created through mosaic patterning, resulting in a finished wrap measuring 76¼ inches in length and 21½ inches in width. Soft and cozy, this wrap provides warmth on cold winter days and can be finished with optional fringe on the short edges.

Techniques Used

This wrap is constructed using several key knitting techniques:

• Bottom-up construction: The piece is worked from the cast-on edge upward in a single, continuous process
• Seamless, flat construction: The wrap is worked back and forth without joining, creating a flat rectangular piece rather than a circular garment
• Striped colorwork: The design incorporates four distinct colors worked in alternating sections throughout the pattern
• Mosaic patterning: A charted mosaic technique is used to create the diamond motifs, which is available only in chart format rather than written instructions
• Garter ridge edging: Garter stitch ridges frame the mosaic diamond sections at regular intervals
• Lace elements: Yarn overs and decreases create openwork details, as indicated by the setup rows incorporating yo and k2tog stitches

Stitches Used

The Manitoba Mosaic Wrap employs fundamental and intermediate knitting stitches to achieve its distinctive appearance. Garter stitch forms the foundation ridges that separate the mosaic sections. Mosaic stitch serves as the primary pattern stitch, worked from a detailed chart to create the diamond motifs with precise stitch definition. Knit stitches form the base fabric throughout, while yarn overs and knit two together decreases create the lace-like openwork elements visible in the setup rows and throughout the pattern structure. Stitch markers are used to track pattern repeats and maintain consistency across the 129 cast-on stitches.

Materials and Specifications

The Manitoba Mosaic Wrap is designed specifically for Baby Alpaca yarn in sport weight, a luxuriously soft fiber that provides the cozy warmth characteristic of this design. The pattern requires size 5 (3.75mm) circular needles measuring 24 inches or longer to accommodate the large stitch count, though the piece is worked flat rather than in the round. The gauge is 24 stitches and 46 rows over 4 inches in mosaic pattern using the main color and color A, when blocked.

The yarn quantities specified are: 12 hanks of main color (MC) in Natural, 4 hanks of color A in Denim, 2 hanks of color B in Eggplant, and 2 hanks of color C in Pomegranate. An additional hank of main color is recommended for optional fringe, requiring approximately 25 grams per short edge. Additional tools include a crochet hook for fringe application, stitch markers for pattern tracking, and a tapestry needle for finishing.