Fair Isle Snood in Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Merino - W733 - Downloadable PDF

Fair Isle Snood in Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Merino – Pattern W733 by Monica Russel

This intermediate-level knitting pattern, designated W733 and designed by Monica Russel, guides knitters through the creation of a beautifully colorful Fair Isle Snood — a seamless, circular cowl worked in the round. With a finished size of 29.5 inches in circumference and 11 inches tall, this one-size accessory is designed to fit most adults comfortably, sitting elegantly around the neck as a snood or cowl.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a knitted circular snood, which is a type of cowl or tube-shaped neck accessory worn loosely around the neck and lower face. Unlike a traditional scarf, a snood is joined seamlessly in the round, giving it a polished, finished appearance on both sides. This particular snood features a classic Fair Isle colorwork design, making it a striking and wearable piece that showcases multiple colors in a structured, repeating pattern.

Colorwork Design and Fair Isle Technique

Fair Isle knitting is a traditional stranded colorwork technique originating from Fair Isle, a small island in Scotland. It involves carrying two or more yarn colors across each row or round, knitting with one color at a time while the other color or colors are carried — or "floated" — loosely across the back of the work. This creates a fabric with beautiful repeating motifs on the right side and neat horizontal floats on the wrong side. The technique adds both visual interest and a degree of extra warmth and structure to the finished fabric.

In this pattern, four colors of Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Merino are used to create the Fair Isle motif:

• Color A – #59 Chive (the main background color, used for cast-on and ribbing)
• Color B – #60 Blackberry Wine
• Color C – #57 Sweet Pea
• Color D – #62 Violet Ice

Each color plays a role in the repeating colorwork rounds, with the pattern using specific abbreviations such as K1B (knit using Color B) and K1C (knit using Color C) to guide color placement precisely throughout the design.

Stitches and Techniques Used

This snood pattern uses a focused set of knitting stitches and techniques suited to an intermediate knitter who is comfortable working in the round and managing multiple yarn colors simultaneously.

• Cast On (CO): The snood begins with 154 stitches cast on using Color A, joined carefully in the round to avoid twisting.
• Knit (K) and Purl (P): The foundational knit and purl stitches form the base of the pattern.
• 1x1 Ribbing (K1, P1): The first two rounds are worked in a simple knit one, purl one rib stitch using Color A, creating a neat, slightly elastic edge at the bottom of the snood.
• Stranded Fair Isle Colorwork: The body of the snood is worked in the Fair Isle pattern, knitting in the round with multiple colors per round according to the charted or written color sequence.
• Bind Off (BO): The snood is finished with a standard bind off to close the top edge.
• Knitting in the Round: The entire snood is worked on circular needles, producing a seamless tube with no seaming required.

Gauge

Achieving the correct gauge is important for this pattern. The specified gauge is 12 stitches and 26 rounds to 4 inches (10 cm), measured in the Fair Isle pattern after blocking. Blocking is particularly recommended with this yarn and construction, as it evens out the colorwork stitches and opens up the pattern to its full, intended dimensions.

Materials and Yarn

The pattern calls for Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Merino, a luxuriously soft DK weight yarn made from 100% Superwash Merino Wool