Free online knitting pattern
Ruffle lace scarf
A corkscrew scarf in medium weight mohair, knitted lengthways with simple yarn-over increases.
I’ve wanted to knit a corkscrew scarf for a while, but couldn’t find an example with enough interest in the stitch pattern. I chose purl ridges with yarn-over increases, creating a lacy, textured knit that works well with mohair.
I added silver lurex thread, held with the main yarn, for a subtle sparkle in the icy blue. Lurex thread is available from the Handweavers Studio in Walthamstow, London for just £0.50 for 5g (plenty for this project) – they do mailorder!
Don’t be alarmed by the stitch count of the final rows. When you’re lost in the limbo of 1000 sts, remember that the you’re only knitting one 100g skein, so it can’t go on forever!
Size information
Length at cast-on edge: 180 cm (71 in.)
Width (flat): 11 cm (4.25 in.)
Requirements
Yarn
Please read important note on yardage.
- 1 x 100g skein It’s a Stitch Up Big Fluff brushed kid mohair blend, or
- 1 x 100g skein Colinette Mohair (pictured in ‘Elephants Daydream’), or
- Approx. 200m any brushed mohair blend yarn with recommended needle size of ~5 mm
- 200 m lurex thread (optional)
Needles & equipment
- 7 mm circular needle, 100 cm or longer
Tension/gauge
12 sts over 10 cm (4 in.) in stocking stitch
Ruffle lace scarf
Instructions
CO 128 sts
Row 1: Purl
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: K1 [yo, k1] to end (255 sts)
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Purl
Row 6: Knit
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: Purl
Row 9: P1 [yo, p1] to end (509 sts)
Row 10: Knit
Row 11: Knit
Row 12: Purl
Row 13: Purl
Row 14: Knit
Row 15: K1 [yo, k1] to end (1017 sts)
Row 16: Purl
Cast off
Special thanks to Heidi for modelling in the photos.
Great grandmother here, try to knit every day to keep my hands flexible. Your patterns are so appreciated. You are of the “New Age” in knitting. The pillow has such beauty no matter how you mix match colors. Thanks so very much, keep us all informed as what is coing next. May you have the best of health, wealth and happiness. Sincerely, Great grandmother, adele
on row #3, where the yarn lst yarn overs pattern begines, are we knitting YO into a purl row? ( if row two is a Knit row, wouldnt row #3 be a purl YO row?
Hi Rae, yes that’s right, when you’re knitting row 3, the previous row facing you is a purl ridge. The purl ridge pattern involves knitting two rows then purling two rows. I hope that makes sense!
Important yardage information
I noticed from one Ravelry user’s notes that they couldn’t knit the scarf with one hank of Colinette Mohair. I knit the sample with one hank, but thre was not much left. It struck me that there might be a far bit of variance in yardage with this hand-dyed yarn. I knit a second scarf with one hank of Colinette mohair weighing 101g and came close to running out, but there was just enough.
Everyone knits differently, so if you are using Colinette Mohair or something the similar yardage, and you only have one skien, I recommend you either:
– Cast on less stitches, 115 should be safe, this will give you a slightly shorter scarf (160 cm)
or
– Omit row 16 and cast off directly after the final increase row
I have knitted this mohair scarf a number of times – by request! – and it’s a lovely, easy pattern with a really nice, lacey finish.
That’s so nice to hear! Thanks!
How many times of the 16 rows did you repeat
There are no repeats. The scarf is knitted lengthways and the entire pattern is 16 rows.
If this scarf is lengthwise instead of knitting downwards;
I am interested in these patterns
From:
Christel
Hi Christel,
Yes that’s right, it’s knitted lengthways.
Suzie
Hi, Suzie
I love your pattern Ruffle lace scarf. A time ago I was thinking of doing something with ruffles and laces, but most of that I found was in crochet. So, I found your pattern and and I jumped for joy. Thanks for that!
You have much talent and creativity like a designer. Congrats!
Ironically I am having the opposite problem! I love these ruffle and twirl scarves.. And can’t find them in crochet! I got so excited to see this post (finally! I could learn to make these beauties!), and then I saw they were knitted.
I’m so frustrated with the lack of patterns in crochet for ruffles and swirls.. Unless I want to use one of those icky feeling/looking (IMHO) “Sashay” yarns by Red Heart. Ugh!
Very glad you found what you were looking for! That’s such a great feeling after searching for so long! How exciting! Enjoy making your scarves!
This Kim Hargreves pattern would be right up your street! http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flourish
The book is available here
I knitted a smaller version of this, i absolutely loved it! Thought you might like to see the pics;
http://maycontainknits.livejournal.com for the photos. I have fully credited and linked to you pattern, I hope this is ok? Please email me if you would like it taken down for any reason!
love the site!
Kirsty
Hi Kirsty,
Your scarf is beautiful! Thanks for sharing the pics! I’m very happy for you to do so :)
Suzie
Hi Suzie! I really like your scarf. I want to make one for myself, but I don’t know knitting terms. Could you please explain abbreviations of rows 3, 9 and 15?
Hi Elina,
K1 = knit one stitch, P1 = purl one stitch
Yo = yarn over, this is a type of increase, instructions can be found here: http://cache.lionbrand.com/faq/195.html
Everything in the square brackets is repeated until you get to the end of the row. Hope that helps!
Suzie
Thank you very much for your quick reply! Everything is clear now! I hope I have such a beautiful scarf soon! :)
Love the pattern.
What are your thoughts on modifying length/width for a child? Halve the cast-on edge perhaps, not sure about width because I still want the ruffles.
Thanks for your tips.
Hi Alexis,
I think making it about 75% as long as the adult scarf would be about right. I don’t think it would be over the top to have the full number of rows.
Suzie
hello…i would love to make this ..i am new at knitting…is there a way to make it a bit shorter….and can you knit where it says to purl ?? thanks
Hi Diane,
You can make the scarf any length you want, just make sure you cast on an odd number of stitches. If you knit every row the scarf will be slightly narrower.
Suzie
Hey! This pattern looks gorgeous, I can’t wait to try it out! I’m kinda new to knitting and I was just wondering why you’ve specified using circular needles as opposed to normal needles? And how you use circular needles differently from normal needles?
Thanks,
Amy
Hi Amy,
Circular needles are essential for this pattern because on the last few rows, there are simply too many stitches to fit onto normal needles. In this case, circular needles are used in exactly the same way as regular needles, working back and forth. If you haven’t tried circulars before I recommend giving them a go. I much prefer them to straight needles, I find them faster and less awkward to use.
Happy knitting!
Suzie
This is the BEST pattern. I have knitted about 6 of these scarves in all lengths using 1 yarn and single thread…beautiful. My favorite is
Rowan Milk Cotton dk…a delicate, scarf that has a nice drape to it. Everywhere I go, everyone loves this scarf and EVERYONE wants one.
I used Denise interchangeable (circular) needles which measure 56+ inches when put together to lengthen to an appropriate length.
I have used a cheaper yarn (I Love This Cotton) 1 single thread. A little bulkier and very attractive. Still has a nice drape. Just started another today…just can’t stop!
Hi Suzie
I want to make a slightly shorter scarf and you’ve said to cast on any odd number of stitches. The original pattern is to CO 128, which is an even number… To save me getting it wrong and having to frog, could you clarify whether it should be an odd or even number of stitches to cast on, please :-)
It will actually work with ANY number of stitches. Very sorry for the confusion! That will teach me to actually read the pattern before suggesting mods! Good luck with it!
Question,\
After row 16 it says cast off.
Do you mean cast off purlwise or knitwise? Does it matter?
Hi Sandy, ‘cast off’ would always be knitwise unless otherwise stated.
Suzie
Ive knitted this and I love it, I wear it all the time. Im going to knit another now in a different colour. Its such an easy pattern even a novice like me can knit it. Thanks so much for posting the pattern.
Or longer is right. Do not attempt with a 40 inch circular. You need at least a 60 inch to make this whopper! I’m on row 14, and holy cow, bunch city. Hoping I can make it to the end ;)
Then again, using handspun sportweight……maybe that’s my problem?
i dont understand why circular needles.cant it be done with regular needles?
Hi Esther,
Regular needles are simply not long enough to hold the 1000 stitches you have in the final rows, that’s why you need circulars.
Suzie
I found, that this wasn’t long enough, while using size us 5 with a lightweight cashmere, does anyone have any suggestions?
I would like to make this scarf using a silk mohair yarn. A 7mm needle is equivalent to a 10 1/2 or 11, is that correct? Joy Hamon
I love this scarf. I’m going to try it as soon as I can buy some longer circular needles. Thanks so much.
I am wondering about what the yardage is for the scarf since it differs from grams dpending on weight. Is the yardage on this yarn about 200 yds? I also wondered how short I could go on this scarf and if I use a bigger or smaller needle how this would affect it. I have about 65g of Cascade Eco Alpaca that I am thinking about trying.
Lovely pattern that worked out well. Made it using Adriafil Carezza angora yarn on 5mm circular needle so ended up smalled which was just what I needed. Ended up with a little bit of decorative fluffiness to keep my neck cosy.
Love this scarf pattern although the cast-off row takes forever! Dumb question – a scarf like this can’t really be blocked, right?
I don’t think it needs blocking, but I have seen pictures of it being blocked in a spiral. If you are a Ravelry user, you can see a picture from another knitter here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/florapie/ruffle-lace-scarf
Dear Suzie, I’m trying to knit a similar scarf which I came across elsewhere (I do NOT have the knitting pattern) which uses a 10mm needle and start off with 51 sts and end up with 801 sts. Please advise on possible knitting pattern. Thank you very much.
Beautiful scarf. I want to do this with straight needles. I purchased a very pretty dressy yarn in Michaels the other day and they are small balls, bought about 8. Have never worked with this yarn so i do not know how it works out but for a spiral thin scarf I think I will use as much of the yarn as I have, therefore, I am afraid to use it on circular needles. Can you transfer the instructions into straight needles and will it be curly like yours. Thanks again, just beautiful. Phyllis
Hi Phyllis,
So glad you like the scarf! It’s not possible to knit on straight needles because of the large number of stitches on the final rows- they just wouldn’t fit!
Suzie
Hi, just finished a boa version. cast on 200 stitches using two cones of green and a silver thread. Casting off took forever – I had a deadline to meet! It looks fantastic and corkscrews really well.
Fantastic! Do you have a photo? I’d love to see it!
Hi, I love this scarf! I tried to knit similar scarf like this with a beautiful aran weight sequined yarn that I have, last night and I was bored rigid after the 10th row! I just find the knit stitch nice to look at but boring to knit (my fault – attention span of a goldfish!) so I was really pleased to find this pattern, I need something to do the yarn justice and this is perfecto! Plus I was very pleased when I seen that you found such reasonable lurex blending filament! I use Garnstudios but this looks like there is more (have to check but think I’m right). Thanks for the pattern and keep ’em comin’! x
Will I need to twist it periodically to get it to corkscrew, or will it do that on its own?
It does it all by its self :)
Would adding more rows to widen be right ?
I just love this. Have made it last winter.
Yes, you can make it wider by adding extra rows. The amount of yarn you will need increases considerably if more rows are added.
How long did it take you to make this? If you know how many hours “ish” that would be great. Trying to figure if I could get this done by Christmas… btw LOVE this pattern- so luxurious! Can’t wait to make!
Hi Erin – I knit quite fast but I can easily knit it in a day. I’d guess 5 hours ish? It really depends how quickly you knit!
Hi! Just finished knitting this scarf in Debbie Bliss Angel and am very pleased with it-really a great pattern. But now wonder how to best block this? Maybe just with steam? Thanks!
Love this pattern. J am very new at knitting and was wondering can I use fingering weight yarn and would about 420 yards. Cover the pattern? I have a beautiful hank but don’t know enough about changing / substituting yarnsto figure out how much yarn will be enough.
Hi Donna, sorry for the delay in replying to you. Yes, 420 yards will be plenty to make this scarf, although it will turn out smaller if you aren’t using a fluffy fibre like mohair. I would recommend you substitute for something thicker. Are you a member of Ravelry? You can see how other knitters’ projects turned out with different yarns here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ruffle-lace-scarf/people
How is it possible to keep all of the stitiches on one needle since they are increasing to almost 1000+? I can barely keep on 200 stitches…
Hi Zixera, under the heading “Needles and equipment” you will see the needle recommendation “7 mm circular needle, 100 cm or longer”. If you use a brushed yarn you will have no problem fitting the stitches on a 100cm circular needle.