Ella Rae Wrap Knitting Pattern

Ella Rae Iris Wrap

What Is Being Made

The Ella Rae Iris Wrap is a sophisticated knitted shawl designed to be worn as a versatile wrap. This finished piece measures 19¼ inches (49 cm) wide, excluding fringe, and approximately 63 inches (160 cm) long, making it an elegant accessory suitable for layering or draping across the shoulders.

Techniques Used

This wrap incorporates several advanced knitting techniques to create visual interest and texture. The design features cable work, which adds dimensional depth through crossed stitches manipulated with a cable needle. Lace patterning is integrated throughout the body of the wrap, created using yarn overs and decreases to form openwork sections. The wrap is worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, and the construction is seamless, meaning it is created as one continuous piece without seaming required. A distinctive design element involves deliberately unraveling stitches from the cast-on edge to create decorative fringe along the bottom edge.

Stitches Used

The pattern employs fundamental knitting stitches combined in sophisticated ways. Garter stitch (knitting every row) forms the border sections at the beginning and end of the wrap, providing a stable frame for the more delicate patterned sections. The main body utilizes knit stitches, purl stitches, and yarn overs to create the lace pattern. Decreases in the form of slip-stitch-pass-slipped-stitch-over (psso) and knit-two-together (K2tog) reductions are used to balance the yarn overs and maintain stitch count. Cable crosses (C6B and C6F) manipulate groups of six stitches to create the cable texture elements.

Materials and Tools

The Iris Wrap is constructed using 6 balls of Ella Rae Huenique yarn in shade 11 Iridescent Sky, with each ball weighing 100 grams. Two sizes of needles are required: US 10 (6 mm) needles for the garter stitch borders and US 10.5 (6.5 mm) needles for the patterned sections. A cable needle is essential for executing the cable crosses. The recommended gauge is 17½ stitches and 20 rows per 4 inches (10 cm) when measured over the pattern using the larger needles. The pattern specifies using the thumb (long-tail) cast-on method to ensure the cast-on edge remains secure when stitches are intentionally unraveled to form the fringe detail.