Cedar Wrap Cape in Spud & Chloe Outer - Downloadable PDF

Cedar Wrap Cape in Spud & Chloe Outer by Susan B. Anderson – Free Knitting Pattern Summary

About This Design

The Cedar Wrap is a free knitting pattern designed by Susan B. Anderson and published through Spud & Chloe, the brand known for its sweet, high-quality yarns suited to everyday life. This design is a wrap-style cape — a relaxed, draped garment that sits across the shoulders and wraps around the body for warmth and style. Its simple, flowing silhouette makes it an ideal project for knitters of all experience levels, and it is specifically rated as a beginner-friendly pattern, making it a wonderful introduction to textured knitting.

The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF at no cost, making it highly accessible to anyone looking to create a cozy, handmade cape without a significant investment. The finished wrap cape, after blocking, achieves a beautifully draping shape that showcases the rich texture of the ripple stitch pattern.

Construction and Structure

The Cedar Wrap is worked flat, back and forth in rows, beginning with a cast-on of 57 stitches. The construction is straightforward and repetitive, relying on just two alternating rows to build the entire fabric. This makes it an excellent project for knitters who want to practice rhythm and consistency in their work without having to track complex stitch counts or shaping instructions.

The wrap is worked until 5 hanks of Spud & Chloe Outer yarn have been used, leaving sufficient yarn to bind off. Once the knitting is complete, ends are woven in and trimmed, and the piece is blocked to its finished measurements. Blocking is an important finishing step for this design, as it opens up the ripple stitch pattern and allows the wrap to achieve its full drape and dimensions.

Techniques Used

Despite being beginner-friendly, the Cedar Wrap introduces knitters to several satisfying and visually impressive techniques that combine to create the ripple effect across the fabric:

• Ripple Stitch Pattern: The central design element is an adapted ripple stitch inspired by the book 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns by Jan Eaton. This technique creates a wave-like, undulating texture across the fabric by combining increases and decreases in a balanced, rhythmic sequence.
• Yarn Overs (yo): Yarn overs are used to create deliberate increases within the ripple pattern, adding stitches and forming the raised peaks of the wave design.
• Slip Stitch Decreases: The pattern uses both sl1, k1, psso (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over) and sl2, k1, p2sso (slip two, knit one, pass two slipped stitches over) to create single and double decreases respectively, forming the valleys of the ripple pattern.
• Knitting Through the Back Loop (tbl): On Row 2, all yarn overs are knitted through the back loop, which twists the stitch and prevents holes from forming, keeping the fabric smooth and dense despite the increase-heavy Row 1.
• Knit 2 Together (k2tog): A standard right-leaning decrease used at the edge of the wrap to maintain stitch count and keep the selvedge tidy.
• Flat Knitting: The entire wrap is worked flat in rows rather than in the round, making it straightforward to manage on straight or circular needles.
• Blocking: Wet or steam blocking after finishing is essential to this design, helping the ripple stitch fully relax and the wrap reach its intended finished measurements.

Stitches Used

The Cedar Wrap relies on a focused set of stitches that are easy to learn and satisfying to repeat:

• Knit (k) – the foundational stitch used throughout the pattern
• Purl (p) – referenced in the abbreviations for completeness and technique context
• Yarn Over (yo) – creates increases and forms the peaks of the ripple design
• Slip Stitch (sl) – used in conjunction with decrease techniques