Rowan Black & White Box Scarf Knitting Pattern

Rowan Black & White Boxes Scarf by Kaffe Fassett

What is Being Made

The Rowan Black & White Boxes Scarf is a knitted accessory measuring 38 cm (15 inches) wide and 208 cm (82 inches) long. This seamless scarf features a striking geometric pattern of black and white boxes created using the intarsia knitting technique, combined with vibrant accent colors including lime, scarlet, fjord blue, sulfur yellow, heliotrope, French mustard, candy floss pink, and ciel blue. The finished scarf is constructed as a tube and folded flat for a polished presentation.

Techniques Used

This scarf employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its distinctive appearance:

• Intarsia: The primary technique used to create the geometric box pattern. Intarsia allows for the introduction of multiple colors within rows without carrying yarn across the back, resulting in a clean, flat fabric ideal for color-work designs.
• Bottom-up construction: The scarf is worked from the cast-on edge upward, beginning with a ribbed border before transitioning into the patterned stockinette section.
• Seamless, worked flat: Although the finished scarf is formed into a tube, it is knitted flat on straight needles rather than in the round, then seamed and folded to create the tubular structure.
• Ribbing: Both the cast-on and cast-off edges feature knit-purl ribbing for elasticity and a finished appearance.

Stitches Used

The scarf utilizes fundamental knitting stitches executed with precision:

• Stockinette stitch (st st): The primary stitch for the main patterned body, created by alternating knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side. This stitch provides a smooth, flat canvas for the intarsia color work.
• Ribbing (K1, P1): A one-by-one knit-purl rib worked over 6 rows at both the beginning and end of the scarf, creating an elastic border that frames the geometric pattern.

The pattern note indicates that the 31-row chart repeat uses an odd number of rows, requiring alternating treatment: for odd-numbered repeats, odd-numbered rows are worked as knit rows, and for even-numbered repeats, odd-numbered rows are worked as purl rows. This creates the structured appearance of the intarsia boxes across the scarf's length.

Materials

Yarn: The scarf is knitted using Rowan Felted Tweed, a durable yarn blend suited to intarsia work. The yarn quantities are as follows:

• Yarn A (Black 211): 6 x 50gm
• Yarn B (Alabaster 197): 6 x 50gm
• Yarn C (Lime 213): 1 x 50gm
• Yarn D (Scarlet 222): 1 x 50gm
• Yarn E (Fjord 218): 1 x 50gm
• Yarn F (Sulfur 220): 1 x 50gm
• Yarn G (Heliotrope 219): 1 x 50gm
• Yarn H (French Mustard 216): 1 x 50gm
• Yarn I (Candy Floss 221): 1 x 50gm
• Yarn J (Ciel 215): 1 x 50gm

Needles: One pair of 4mm (US 6) needles, appropriate for working stockinette stitch at the specified tension of 23 stitches and 29 rows to 10 cm.

Construction Details

The scarf begins with a cast-on of 176 stitches worked on 4mm needles. After the initial ribbed border, the main pattern is introduced using a 29-stitch repeat that is repeated 6 times across each row. The 31-row chart is worked a total of 19 times to achieve the scarf's full length, followed by a final repeat of chart rows 1 and 2. Once the patterned section is complete, the scarf returns to ribbing for 6 rows before casting off. The finishing process involves pressing, joining the row-end