Noro Shifting Sands Wrap Knitting Pattern

Noro Shifting Sands Wrap

What is Being Made

The Noro Shifting Sands Wrap is a large, elegant knitted shawl designed as a seamless, flat-worked garment. This wrap features generous finished measurements of 67 inches (170.5 cm) along the top edge and 39 inches (99 cm) in length from the top edge to the tip, making it a substantial accessory suitable for layering and draping. The wrap is classified as an easy-level project, making it accessible to knitters with basic to intermediate skills.

Techniques Used

This wrap incorporates several key knitting techniques that create visual interest and structure:

• Lace work: The design features an eyelet ridge pattern that creates openwork sections throughout the garment, adding delicate texture and visual appeal.
• Seamless construction: The wrap is worked in one continuous piece without seaming, creating a smooth, unified garment.
• Stripes: The wrap utilizes color changes to create striping effects throughout the design.
• Worked flat: Rather than working in the round, this wrap is constructed by working back and forth on circular needles, allowing for the shaping and decreases that form the wrap's distinctive silhouette.
• Asymmetrical decreasing: Decreases are worked at different rates on each side of the wrap (every 4th row on one side and every 6th row on the other), creating the tapered shape from the wide top edge to the pointed tip.
• Garter stitch edging: The first 3 and last 5 stitches of every right-side row are maintained in garter stitch throughout, providing a finished, stable edge.

Stitches Used

The Noro Shifting Sands Wrap employs fundamental knitting stitches combined into a cohesive stitch pattern:

• Knit stitch: The basic foundation stitch used throughout the wrap.
• Purl stitch: Used in alternating rows to create texture and structure.
• Yarn over (yo): A key component of the eyelet ridge pattern, creating the openwork lace effect by making new stitches and forming decorative holes.
• Knit two together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease stitch used in the eyelet ridge pattern and for shaping the wrap.
• Garter stitch: Created by knitting every row, used for the edge stitches to provide structure and prevent curling.
• Eyelet ridge pattern: A repeating pattern worked over an odd number of stitches that combines knit rows, purl rows, and a lace row featuring yarn overs and decreases (k2tog, yo) to create the characteristic textured openwork design.

Materials

The Noro Shifting Sands Wrap is designed to showcase the beautiful color variations of Noro yarns:

• Yarn: Three 200-gram kegs of Noro Kakigori yarn in three different colorways: #12 (A), #01 (B), and #13 (C). Noro Kakigori is known for its multicolored striping and rich, shifting hues that create visual interest throughout the wrap.
• Needles: One size US 7 (4.5mm) circular needle, 24 inches (60 cm) long. The circular needle is used to accommodate the large number of stitches across the wide top edge, though the wrap is worked flat rather than in the round.
• Additional tools: A cable needle for any cable techniques, and stitch markers to help track pattern repeats and shaping decreases.

Gauge and Pattern Notes

Achieving the correct gauge is essential for this project. The specified gauge is 16 stitches and 32 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) when worked in the eyelet ridge pattern using size US 7 (4.5mm) needles. The pattern includes important construction notes: a circular needle is used to accommodate the large stitch count despite working flat; decreases are worked at different rates on each side to create the wrap's tapered shape; and row counters are recommended to track the asymmetrical decrease placement. The garter stitch edging is maintained consistently throughout to frame the lace pattern and provide a polished finish.