Classic Elite Yarns Bishop of Aberdeen Knitting Pattern

Bishop of Aberdeen Stranded Knit Scarf

Project Overview

The Bishop of Aberdeen is a seamless, worked-in-the-round scarf pattern originally published in Cathedral 1312, a printed collection of designs by Classic Elite Yarns. This sophisticated accessory combines stranded colorwork techniques with a reversible construction, creating a scarf that displays intricate patterning on both sides.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a finished scarf measuring approximately 74 inches in length. The scarf features a symmetrical design that mirrors itself, allowing the piece to be worn with either end as the starting point. The construction begins and ends with the same stitch count of 112 stitches, creating a balanced, professional appearance.

Techniques Used

• Worked in the Round: The scarf is knit circularly using the seamless method, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a tube-like construction that can be worn reversibly.
• Stranded Colorwork: Multiple colors are carried across rounds to create the pattern charts, with careful attention paid to tension and color management throughout the piece.
• Seamless Construction: By working in the round from the cast-on edge, this pattern avoids traditional seaming, resulting in a smooth, continuous fabric.
• Reversible Design: The scarf is intentionally designed so that Chart 1 is worked in reverse order during the second half of the project, creating a mirror image effect that makes both sides of the scarf equally attractive.
• Decreasing and Increasing: Strategic decreases and increases shape the scarf, with 2 stitches decreased evenly after the first chart section and 2 stitches increased evenly near the completion.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Bishop of Aberdeen employs charted colorwork patterns worked over multiple stitch multiples. Chart 1 uses an 8-stitch pattern repeat worked 14 times per round across 86 rounds, creating a dense, intricate pattern. Chart 2 features a 22-stitch pattern repeat worked 5 times per round, with 9 transition rounds at the beginning, 15 complete repeats of the 22-round pattern, and 8 transition rounds at the end. The combination of these two charts, with Chart 1 reversed in the second half, creates the scarf's distinctive symmetrical appearance.

Materials and Yarn

This pattern is designed to be knit in Classic Elite Yarns' Liberty Wool Light, a yarn weight suitable for creating fabric with good stitch definition for colorwork. The pattern requires circular knitting needles appropriate for the yarn weight and stitch count, allowing for seamless, in-the-round construction. Multiple colors of yarn are required to execute the stranded colorwork charts.

Finishing Techniques

To minimize finishing work, the pattern recommends knitting in the tails of each new color for several stitches after joining. Once several inches of knitting have been completed past the color joins, these woven-in tails can be trimmed flush with the wrong side of the scarf. All stitches are bound off loosely at the completion of the project to maintain elasticity and prevent a tight edge.

Design Characteristics

The Bishop of Aberdeen is a sophisticated stranded colorwork scarf that showcases the interplay of multiple colors in a carefully planned pattern. The reversible nature of the design means that both sides of the finished scarf display the colorwork pattern, making it a versatile accessory. The scarf progresses from 112 stitches to 110 stitches at the midpoint, then returns to 112 stitches at completion, maintaining structural integrity while allowing for subtle shaping.