Rowan Chapham Wrap Knitting Pattern

Rowan Chapham Lace Wrap by Lisa Richardson

What is Being Made

The Rowan Chapham is a generously sized knitted wrap designed as a lightweight layering piece. This rectangular wrap measures 61 cm (24 inches) wide and 249 cm (98 inches) long, making it a versatile accessory suitable for draping over shoulders or wearing as a shawl. The wrap is worked in an elegant lace pattern that creates an open, airy fabric perfect for both casual and dressed-up occasions.

Knitting Techniques Used

This pattern employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its delicate appearance:

• Bottom-up construction: The wrap is knitted from the bottom edge upward, beginning with a cast-on of 171 stitches and continuing straight until the desired length is reached
• Seamless, worked flat: The entire wrap is worked flat on straight needles with no seaming required, creating a continuous piece from cast-on to cast-off
• Lace patterning: The design features an intricate lace pattern worked from a charted repeat, creating decorative openwork throughout the fabric

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

The Chapham wrap utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined with lace-specific decreasing and yarn-over techniques:

• Knit and purl stitches: The foundation of the pattern, worked on right-side and wrong-side rows according to the chart
• Yarn overs (yrn): These create the characteristic holes and openwork in the lace design, increasing stitches that are later decreased to maintain stitch count
• Decreases: Multiple decrease methods are employed, including K2tog (knit two together), P2tog (purl two together), Sl1 K1 psso (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over), and Sl1 K2tog psso (slip one, knit two together, pass slipped stitch over). These decreases are strategically placed to create the lace motifs and balance the yarn overs

Pattern Structure

The wrap is constructed using a 24-stitch pattern repeat that is repeated 6 times across each row, and a 28-row pattern repeat that continues throughout the entire length. This regular, repeating structure makes the pattern manageable despite the wrap's generous finished size. The charted pattern provides clear visual guidance for knitters, with symbols indicating each stitch type and technique required.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

Yarn: The Chapham wrap is knitted using Rowan Valley Tweed, a yarn specifically chosen for its suitability in creating lace garments. The pattern requires 10 x 50-gram balls of Valley Tweed yarn (photographed in the colorway Lapwing 114). Valley Tweed is a traditional yarn choice that provides excellent stitch definition for lace patterns.

Needles: The wrap is worked on a single pair of 3¼mm (US 3) needles (size 10 in UK sizing). These needles are sized appropriately for the yarn weight and create the correct gauge necessary for the finished dimensions and lace pattern definition.

Gauge and Finishing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 28 stitches and 36 rows to 10 centimeters, measured over the lace pattern using 3¼mm needles. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for the wrap to reach its intended finished measurements. After knitting is complete, the wrap is pressed according to standard finishing instructions to set the stitches and enhance the lace pattern's appearance. The pattern concludes with a simple cast-off after the final 28-row repeat is completed.