Mira River Wrap Pattern

As promised, I have the pattern ready for the Mira River Wrap.  I enjoyed making this so much and am really proud of it, I hope you like it too!

Materials
3 balls Scheepjes Alpaca Rhythm (Polka 656) 2.5mm needles
0/8 (size 8) seed beeds (I used approx. 950 silverlined ab aqua coloured beads)
0.75mm crochet hook
Needle for weaving in ends
Blocking wires (optional but recommended)

Gauge
30 st x 30 rows in garter stitch (pre-blocked) using 2.5mm needles

Size
130cm x 15cm (pre-blocked)
200cm x 25cm (blocked size on boards)
There is some ‘bounce back’ after blocking due to the ribbing pattern, the amount of shrinking back in your wrap will depend on your tension and how tightly you pull your bead clusters.

Abbreviations
k – knit
p – purl
rs – right side
ws – wrong side
bcl – bead cluster (photos and explanation provided). Stick needle from front to back between the 6th and 7th stitch on left needle. Wrap yarn around needle and pull loop through to the front. Place bead on crochet hook, grab loop with hook and slide bead over onto loop. Place loop on lefthand needle and knit together with first knit stitch.Continue in rib pattern for next 5 stitches.

Non-Beaded Instructions
When you see “bcl” in the pattern, follow these instructions instead: Place next 6 sts (k2, p2, k2) onto a cable needle. Hold in front of work and wrap yarn around these stitches twice. Knit stitches from cable needle, continuing in rib pattern.

Pattern Notes
This pattern is made up of a stitch called Smocked Rib. I first saw it a few months ago and thought it was so pretty but wasn’t sure what to make with it. I had a lot of grand ideas, but as this is one of my very first designs I wantedto keep it simple. When I decided to do it in lace, I also decided to dress it up a little with the beads, and I’m so glad I did as I feel they are the icing on the cake!

You can find instructions for adding the beads, along with photos, on page 4 of the pattern. If you haven’t workedwith beads in knitting before, this is great practice! If beads aren’t really your thing, don’t worry, I will also be including instructions on how to work the smocked rib without the beading.

It is important to be mindful of your tension while knitting this wrap. When working the bead clusters (or the wraps, if you are not using beads) try not to pull it too tightly as this can cause the rib to bunch up. You don’t need to pull it any tighter than you would your regular knitting tension. Also, don’t worry when knitting the next row or two after doing the cluster, it’s going to look and feel weird where the loop is (loose and uneven), but this will all work itself out as you knit on and even more so when you block the wrap.

I blocked this quite aggressively, as you see in the size measurements, in order to spread the ribbing as I knew that it would bounce back to a degree. I found that blocking wires made the blocking process much, much easier. They aren’t necessary, but they are helpful if you are able to get your hands on them.

Pattern Instructions

Cast on 92 stitches.

Knit 10 rows.

Row 1(rs) k5, p2, (k2, p2) to 5 sts left, k5.
Row 2(ws) k5, (k2, p2) until 7 sts left, k7.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 four more times for a total of 10 rows in rib pattern.

** Row 11 (rs) k5, p2, (bcl, p2) 10 times, k5.
     Row 12 (ws) Same as Row 2.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 four more times.

     Row 21 (rs) k5, p2, k2, p2, (bcl, p2) 9 times, k2, p2, k5.

     Row 22 (ws) Same as Row 2.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 four more times. **

Repeat ** … ** for 600 rows or until the piece measures approximately 125cm, stopping 10 rows after completing a row of 10 clusters.

Knit 10 rows.
Bind off, weave in ends and block.

In the pattern I’ve included instructions for both a beaded and non-beaded version, although I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want the beads, they are the finishing touch! I suppose if you were going to make one for the man in your life he may appreciate a little less bling. In that case, I forgive you and will allow it! :P  Below is the method for how you attach the beads for those that won’t be printing off the full colour PDF.

You can see in the above pic some of my experimentation and the beads I finally settled on.  It’s funny that a lot of the other beads look a lot alike but there were subtle differences in size and colour.  The aqua (second from the right above the bag) was a clear winner!

This pattern is easy to adjust in size to suit your needs. If you want it longer, just keep knitting and knitting for as long as your yarn lasts.  If you want to make it wider and more like a shawl, add multiples of 8 stitches (k2, p2, k2, p2) to add sections of the smocked rib to the width.

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Copyright 2018, Tammy Canavan-Soldaat. This pattern and pictures are the property of Tammy Canavan-Soldaat. All rights reserved. Pattern is available for personal use only. No unauthorized reproduction, in whole or in part, or distribution of this pattern or content, including text or pictures is allowed. You may sell items made from this pattern but no commercial mass reproduction from this pattern is allowed without prior permission from the designer. Please give credit by linking back to www.canadutch.nl.