Alder Wrap in Rowan Kidsilk Haze - ROWEB-00760-DEP - Downloadable PDF

Alder Wrap in Rowan Kidsilk Haze by Kaffe Fassett – Pattern Summary

The Alder Wrap is a stunning, elongated wrap or shawl designed by the celebrated colorwork artist Kaffe Fassett and published by Rowan. Available as a downloadable PDF (pattern reference ROWEB-00760-DEP), this project is rated intermediate in difficulty and is worked entirely in knitting. The finished wrap measures an impressive 249 cm long and 41 cm wide, making it a generous, luxurious accessory suitable for draping, wrapping, or wearing as a statement piece.

What Is Being Made

The Alder Wrap is a long, rectangular knitted wrap — sometimes referred to as a Wickeltuch in the German-language instructions included in this pattern. Its generous dimensions make it ideal as a sophisticated shawl, evening wrap, or cozy layering piece. The design is distinguished by Kaffe Fassett's signature approach to color, using a rich palette of carefully sequenced stripes worked in Rowan Kidsilk Haze, a yarn celebrated for its delicate halo and luminous quality.

Design and Construction

The wrap is constructed in a single elongated piece, beginning with 73 stitches cast on using size 5 (UK) needles. The construction features a central panel flanked by two side borders (seitliche Blenden), which are placed on hold on auxiliary needles at an early stage and completed separately. This creates a neat, structured edge on both sides of the wrap while allowing the main body to be worked independently with its own yarn and color sequence.

The border stitches — 5 stitches on each side — are set aside on row 6, and the central 63 stitches are increased by one stitch on each side to create 65 stitches for the main body. The side borders are then completed using the yarn left attached at the edges, ensuring a tidy finish without additional seaming.

Techniques Used

• Seed stitch (Perlmuster): The wrap opens with a seed stitch pattern — alternating knit and purl stitches across each row — worked for the first several rows and used for the side border panels. This creates a firm, non-curling edge with attractive texture.
• Stockinette stitch (glatt rechts): The main body of the wrap is worked in smooth stockinette stitch, which allows the delicate halo of Rowan Kidsilk Haze to bloom beautifully and the stripe colors to read clearly.
• Stripe colorwork: The central body of the wrap is worked in an extensive, carefully choreographed stripe sequence using up to twelve named colorways of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Stripes vary in width from single rows to blocks of six rows, creating a dynamic, painterly rhythm across the length of the wrap.
• Holding stitches on auxiliary needles: Side border stitches are placed on hold and returned to working needles at the appropriate stage, a technique that requires familiarity with managing multiple live stitch groups simultaneously.
• Yarn management across multiple colors: Because many different colorways are introduced and reintroduced throughout the stripe sequence, knitters will need to manage multiple yarn ends and carry or rejoin colors at intervals — a skill that places this pattern firmly in the intermediate category.

Stitches Used

• Seed stitch (alternating knit 1, purl 1 on every row) for borders and initial rows
• Stockinette stitch (knit on right side, purl on wrong side) for the main body
• Yarn-over increases to expand the central panel after the border stitches are placed on hold

Yarn and Materials

The pattern is written specifically for Rowan Kidsilk Haze, a lace-weight yarn renowned for its blend of kid mohair and silk. This fiber combination produces a fabric with a soft, ethereal halo, excellent drape, and a subtle sheen — qualities that make it perfectly suited to a wrap of