Valley Yarns Katmai Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Katmai Lace Wrap

What is Being Made

The Katmai is a lightweight lace wrap designed by Julie Turjoman, measuring 15 inches wide by 74 inches long when finished. This versatile wrap is engineered for layering during cool summer evenings and year-round wear whenever additional warmth and coverage are desired. The wrap's generous length and airy construction make it suitable for draping around the shoulders or wearing as a neck wrap during chilly situations.

Craft and Project Type

This is a knitting project classified as an intermediate-level shawl and wrap. The Katmai is worked as a seamless, flat-knit design, meaning it is constructed in a single piece without seaming. The wrap is worked from one short end to the other, with the lace pattern continuing throughout the entire length of the garment.

Techniques Used

The Katmai employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its elegant, airy aesthetic:

• Lace knitting: An allover lace pattern creates the wrap's signature openwork design, with the pattern worked from end to end across the entire piece
• Seamless construction: The wrap is knit in one continuous piece, eliminating the need for seaming
• Flat knitting: The wrap is worked flat in rows rather than in the round, allowing for straightforward pattern repeats and easy adjustments
• Pattern management: Locking stitch markers are used to track pattern repeats and align stitches throughout the work, with markers moved up as the piece grows
• Strategic pattern variation: The lace pattern is modified in the center section of the wrap, where only rows 13–24 of the 24-row pattern repeat are worked to create slightly more density around the neck area, while the full pattern repeat is worked in the 12-inch deep borders at each end
• Blocking: The finished wrap is blocked to measurements to even out the lace pattern and achieve the correct finished dimensions

Stitches Used

The Katmai features a 12-stitch lace pattern repeat that forms the foundation of the wrap's design. The pattern includes the s2kp2 stitch (slip 2 stitches together knitwise, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over), a double decrease commonly used in lace knitting to create decorative decreases. The wrap is cast on using the Long-Tail cast-on method, which provides an elastic, finished edge suitable for lace garments. All stitches are bound off at the completion of the wrap to secure the final edge.

Materials and Specifications

The Katmai calls for Valley Yarns Whately, a yarn blend composed of 68% baby alpaca and 32% organic Pima cotton. This fiber composition creates the wrap's characteristic lofty lightness and provides the ideal amount of warmth for layering. The yarn is supplied in 50-gram balls with 164 yards per ball; the pattern requires 6 balls total. The sample shown is worked in the Garnet colorway (color number 09).

The wrap is knit on US size 9 (5.5 mm) needles, or the size needed to obtain the correct gauge. The required gauge is 19 stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches in lace stitch when blocked. Additional materials include locking stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends during finishing.

Construction Overview

The Katmai is worked in three distinct sections. Section 1 establishes the lace pattern with a full 12-inch deep border, working the complete 24-row pattern repeat. Section 2 forms the body of the wrap by repeating only rows 13–24 of the lace pattern until the piece measures approximately 63 inches from the cast-on edge, creating a slightly denser fabric in the center. Section 3 concludes the wrap with another full-pattern border, working the complete 24-row repeat twice, then rows 1–16 once more to reach the final length of approximately 74 inches. The wrap is worked flat in rows from the short end, with 73 stitches cast on and all stitches bound off at completion.