Kale Wrap in Rowan Fine Lace - ZB298-00015-FR - Downloadable PDF

Kale Wrap in Rowan Fine Lace – Pattern Summary (ZB298-00015-FR)

The Kale Wrap is an elegant, large-format knitted wrap designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. Available as a downloadable PDF, this intermediate-level knitting pattern produces a luxurious, lace-weight shawl or étole with a refined, decorative texture. The finished piece measures 60.5 cm wide, making it a generously sized accessory suitable for draping over the shoulders or wearing as a sophisticated wrap.

What Is Being Made

The Kale Wrap is a knitted wrap or étole — a long, rectangular shawl-style accessory. It is worked flat in a repeating point fantaisie (fancy stitch pattern) that creates a delicate, textured fabric well suited to the fine weight of the yarn. The design also incorporates a distinctive tube-forming technique at a specific point in the construction, adding a structural and decorative element that sets this wrap apart from a simple rectangular shawl. This tubular section is achieved through a carefully sequenced row of stitches where individual stitches are worked and held in waiting, creating a seamless, rolled or folded edge effect.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting on straight needles, working back and forth in rows
• Repeating stitch pattern worked over a 24-row repeat, which is repeated multiple times across the length of the wrap
• Tube formation — a specialised technique where stitches are left in waiting on the right side to create a tubular, self-finishing structural element
• Increases — one stitch increased in every stitch across a designated row to double the stitch count before forming the tube, bringing the total to 340 stitches
• Stitch pattern establishment and continuation — working additional rows in the established pattern after the initial 24-row repeat is set, maintaining pattern integrity over a further 84 rows

Stitches Used

• Point fantaisie (fancy or decorative stitch pattern) — the primary stitch pattern, worked over a 24-row repeat. The repeat is structured with specific right-side and wrong-side rows, including combinations of knit and purl stitches arranged to produce a textured, lace-influenced fabric.
• Knit stitches (endroit) and purl stitches (envers) — used throughout the fancy stitch pattern and the tube-forming row
• Held stitches — stitches left in waiting on the right side during the tube-forming row, a technique that requires careful attention to stitch order and placement
• Increases — worked evenly across a single row as part of the tube construction

Materials – Yarn

The pattern calls for Rowan Fine Lace, a lace-weight yarn, used throughout the project. The sample shown in the pattern photography was knitted in Aged 933, a specific colourway from the Rowan Fine Lace range. A total of 5 × 50g balls of Rowan Fine Lace are required. This yarn is renowned for its exceptional fineness and drape, making it ideally suited to the delicate stitch pattern and the fluid, lightweight character of a wrap or étole.

Materials – Needles

• One pair of 3 mm needles
• One pair of 3¼ mm needles

The tension (gauge) for this pattern is 28 stitches and 41 rows to 10 cm in the point fantaisie stitch pattern, measured using the 3¼ mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is particularly important with lace-weight yarn, as even small variations can significantly affect the finished dimensions of the wrap.

Difficulty and Suitability

Rated as intermediate in difficulty, the Kale Wrap by Lisa Richardson for Rowan is best suited to kn