Red Herring Scarf Knitting Pattern
This handsome, unisex scarf features a herringbone stitch with a moss stitch border. This pattern is suitable for beginning knitters.
FREE! Download (pdf, 244K)
- 01/11/2009: New pattern template, but no major changes to the instructions.
- 09/23/2008: I seem to have overridden the corrected version of the pattern by accident during an update. If you downloaded this pattern between 07/11/2008 and now, please download and use this version instead. I’ve also updated the link to KnittingHelp.com.
- 01/06/2007: Error in herringbone stitch w/moss stitch border pattern fixed.
- 01/05/2007: Notes added for clarity.
Although this pattern is available free for non-commercial use, please consider making a small donation in support of the time and effort that went into this design. Thank you!
Skill Level: Beginner
Size: 8" (20 cm) wide x 60" (150 cm) long w/o fringe
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK (50% extra-fine merino wool, 40% microfiber, 10% cashmere; 142 yds/130 m per 1¾ oz/50 g), shown in #521; 4 skeins
A note on yarn selection: This pattern uses a stockinette-based stitch and thus has a strong tendency to curl. If using Rowan Cashsoft DK, you may wish to block and iron the finished scarf to reduce this tendency.
If substituting yarn, it’s recommended to choose a yarn that is mostly natural fiber. In addition, the zigzag/striping effect will show up best in a yarn with good stitch definition and a bit of sheen.
This pattern is simple enough to be a first or second project for a new knitter or a quick, easy knit for a more advanced knitter. The combination of the moss stitch and herringbone stitch would make a good exercise for learning how to read your knitting. This pattern includes:
- Increasing
- Decreasing
- Blocking
If You Like This, You May Also Like:
Knitting, crocheting, and designing keep her sane in Houston, TX. 
E-mail Yvonne
celiviel
cogknition
yvonnekao
Subscribe
I am doing this pattern for the first time and the numbers dont add up. Am I doing something wrong? I casted on 49 stitches. I did the herringbone stitch w/moss stitch row 1 and there was one stitch remaning. What am i doing wrong?
seema
Hi seema,
I don’t know exactly what you’re doing, but hopefully this will help you work the numbers out.
When you start the herringbone w/moss stitch border pattern you should have 49 stitches.
p1, k1, p1 (3 stitches worked)
[k2tog, k2, inc 1, k2] (6 more stitches worked — the k2tog and the inc 1 offset each other — 9 stitches total)
[k2tog, k2, inc 1, k2] (6 more stitches worked — 15 stitches total)
[k2tog, k2, inc 1, k2] (6 more stitches worked — 21 stitches total)
[k2tog, k2, inc 1, k2] (6 more stitches worked — 27 stitches total)
[k2tog, k2, inc 1, k2] (6 more stitches worked — 33 stitches total)
[k2tog, k2, inc 1, k2] (6 more stitches worked — 39 stitches total)
[k2tog, k2, inc 1, k2] (6 more stitches worked — 45 stitches total, 4 stitches left)
k1, p1, k1, p1 (4 stitches worked — 49 stitches total)
You’ll be doing the six-stitch repeat 7 times total, for 42 stitches, and make sure not to forget the k1 after you finish the repeats before you go back to the moss stitch border.
I’m just about to start the pattern but I have a question about the fringe. I might have missed it but I couldn’t find anything on how to add the fringe in the pattern. Should it be added before you start the scarf or after the scarf’s been finished, and how do you add it?
Hi. I’m just about to start this project and had a question. What blocking method did you use? In your pictures the scarf looks almost completely flat. Most of what I have read has been wet and steam press blocking.
What am I missing. If the border is moss stitch and the last four stitches of row 1 are:
k1, p1, k1, p1
how can the first four stitches of row four be:
k1, p1, k1, k1
How does that continue the Moss Stitch pattern? Any thoughts? Is there a correction? Am I just not getting it?
Hi Joe,
I think you’re mis-reading the pattern — it’s a 4-row repeat and row
4 (all WS rows, actually) is purled all the way across. The second
line of the pattern is for both rows 2 and 4.
Row 1 (RS) starts with p1, k1, p1 and ends with p1, k1, p1
Row 2 (WS) is purled all the way across.
Row 3 starts with k1, p1, k1 and ends with k1, p1, k1, which continues
the moss stitch border.
Row 4 is also purled all the way across.
Hope that helps,
~Yvonne
Is this the revised pattern? I’ve tried to follow the pattern, but no herring bone pattern appears.
I believe there is an error in the pattern but it is in row 3 of the Herringbone w/ moss stitch. In order to truly reverse the pattern of row 1, row three should end with, P1,K1,P1, K1. (i.e. FOUR stitches not three)
Hi scott,
That is not an error. The moss stitch border only encompasses the first THREE and last THREE stitches of each row.
Row 1 ends with k1, p1, k1, p1. The first k1 in that belongs to the herringbone panel. The p1, k1, p1 belong to the moss stitch border.
Row 3 ends with k1, p1, k1 to finish the moss stitch border.