I wear a scarf every day, so does Mr Artichoke. When we lived in Australia our friends called us the Scarfed Couple. Even when it’s 30°C I’ll have my scarf with me, just in case. That’s how much I love a good scarf. They don’t always have to be big and chunky like the His Scarf pattern, or lacy and summery like the Aircon scarf. Sometimes you just need a simple, sober scarf that works in any season and with any outfit.
The Braided Bridge Cable Scarf is the staple item you need in your collection. It’s a great unisex scarf with a simple cable design.
Don’t panic if you’re not familiar with knitting cables, this is a great pattern to train your skills. Check out my detailed tutorial first.
No time right now? Pin this easy cable scarf for later.
Scroll down for the free version but I recommend you purchase the ad-free PDF Pattern to get all the instructions and pictures in a nice PDF you can print and take notes on without relying on your phone or an internet connection, I’ve got you covered!
The Braided Bridge Cable Scarf knitting pattern is now available on Ravelry. Add it to your queue/favorites before you forget.
*This post contains affiliate links (only for products I love, use and spend my own money on obviously). This means I earn some yarn money if you make a purchase through one of these links (of course at no extra cost for you!), which I promise to use to create more awesome patterns like this one. All opinions are my own. See my full disclosure here.
Before you Start
Materials
- 4.5 mm / US 7 knitting needles.
- Worsted weight yarn: 2 skeins of Knitologie Merino Worsted, 100% Superwash Merino Wool (225 yd / 205 m, 100 g) in Concrete Jungle colorway. This is the January 2020 Knitcrate Membership yarn.
- Tapestry needle to weave in the ends. I love this set as it has different eye sizes for different yarn thicknesses and it comes in a small tube which is very convenient so I don’t lose them.
The Yarn
This scarf is designed with January 2020 Knitcrate Membership yarn. If you haven’t heard about the Knitcrate subscription boxes and how obsessed I am with my subscription, head over here to read all about it.
In your crate, you will not get 2 identical skeins as I used for this cable scarf knitting pattern but you will get 2 matching colorways.
You have a few options to use both your skeins to make your Braided Bridge scarf:
- You can alternate skeins by knitting 2 rows with one skein, then 2 rows with the other skein, etc. This will give you a uniform look.
- You can knit the cable section with one skein and the side borders with the other skein. This will highlight the cable design but you might need to make your scarf a bit shorter as the yarn consumption for both skeins will not be identical.
- You can make sections with each skein. Knit the first 20cm (for example) with one color then switch to the other skein for the next 20cm. This will add a color block effect to your scarf which will look gorgeous.
- Feel free to come up with your own original way to combine both skeins!
Size
The scarf is 18cm / 7” wide by 1m80 / 71” long (after blocking). You can easily adapt the width by adding or removing a multiple of 2 stitches (one on each side of the cable).
Abbreviations
- st = stitch
- k = knit
- p = purl
- C6B = place 3 st on the cable needle and hold to the back, knit the next 3 st from the left needle, knit the 3 st from the cable needle
- C6F = place 3 st on the cable needle and hold to the front, knit the next 3 st from the left needle, knit the 3 st from the cable needle
Repeat instructions between [] the indicated number of times or until the end of the row.
Gauge
The gauge is not important for this pattern.
As an indication, with 4.5mm / US 7 needles, the gauge (after blocking) in garter stitch is 20 st by 30 rows for a 10 cm / 4” square.
The Actual Cable Knit Scarf Pattern
On 4.5 mm / US 7 needles cast on 38 st.
Row 1: [p2, k2] repeat across, p2
Row 2: Knit across
Repeat these 2 rows for a total of 5 rows.
The main part of the cable scarf is done by repeating the following 15 rows:
Row 1: knit across
Row 2: k13, p12, k13
Row 3 – 6: Repeat rows 1 and 2 twice
Row 7: k13, C6B, C6F, k13
Row 8: k13, p12, k13
Row 9 – 15: Repeat rows 1 and 2 three times
Repeat until your scarf is 1m60 / 63″. It will lengthen when you block it.
Add a ribbing edge to finish the scarf:
Row 1: [p2, k2] repeat across, p2
Row 2: Knit across
Repeat these 2 rows for a total of 5 rows.
Cast off and weave in the ends
Blocking
Carefully wet block your scarf to the final dimensions. This will help even out the tension and flatten the cable.
Lisa Ogilvie
January 16, 2020 at 6:17 pmHi, I do love the look of this fabulous pattern, looked up the yarn and found it is discontinued, is there another yarn you would recommend to make it?
Hortense Maskens
January 23, 2020 at 9:28 amHi,
I’m sorry to hear that. You can use any light worsted weight yarn. A semi-solid or variegated colorway will work best to give you a similar color change effect.
Jen johnson
January 23, 2020 at 8:43 pmHello,your idea to do edging one color ,cable and main another color is great,I’m going to do borders,inside one color and the cable one color,in something different.
similar to buffalo plaid colors in style now,deep red and do inside cable in black.your scarf pattern is very pretty.thank you.
Leah
March 17, 2020 at 4:52 amHi, just finished this scarf last night! Looks beautiful and I loved the pattern. Any more specifics on blocking? This is a nicer yarn than I usually use so I’m worried about ruining it!