Widening Gyre

Widening Gyre Spiral Scarf by Lisa Featherstone

What is Being Made

Widening Gyre is a knitted spiral scarf inspired by W.B. Yeats' post-war apocalyptic poem The Second Coming, which opens with the phrase "Widening Gyre." The design creates a stylish scarf or dramatic structural wrap through a spiral construction method that produces a distinctive circular motion in the finished piece.

Pattern Construction and Technique

This beginner-friendly knitting pattern uses a clever increase-and-bind-off technique to create its signature spiral shape. The scarf is constructed using a regular 6-row block structure that repeats throughout the pattern. Each row features strategic increases: one stitch increase at the end of right-side rows and another at the start of wrong-side rows. After completing 24 rows, 14 stitches are bound off at the straight edge—the side without increases. The pattern contains 4 repeats for each block of the Gyre pattern, with 14 stitches bound off at the start of the third repeat. The stitch count grows by 10 stitches in each block, creating the expanding spiral effect.

Stitches and Stitch Details

The pattern employs several fundamental knitting stitches to achieve its textured appearance:

• Stockinette stitch as the primary fabric base
• Reverse stockinette stitch used as framing rows to highlight the pattern structure
• Eyelets worked in a single row and framed by reverse stockinette, creating decorative openwork details within each 6-row block
• Increases and bind-offs strategically placed to control the spiral growth and shape

Materials and Yarn Weight

Widening Gyre is designed for 4-ply yarn, a medium-weight yarn that provides good stitch definition for both the stockinette sections and the eyelet details. The pattern requires knitting needles appropriate for 4-ply yarn weight. The specific yardage and needle size recommendations are detailed in the complete pattern documentation.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as beginner-friendly, making it accessible to knitters new to spiral or shaped garment construction. While the pattern involves increases, decreases, and eyelets, the repetitive 6-row block structure and clear shaping instructions provide a manageable learning experience for developing knitters.