Garter Gaiter

We all know about late night holiday knitting and 42-inch scarves, stopped short to finish in time for giving! That's why every year we come up with the perfect quick knit, one that takes less than an afternoon to make but that you can give with pride.

This Garter Gaiter is perhaps our best inspiration so far! Knit out of Purl Soho's Super Soft Merino, it is delectably cozy and totally gorgeous, but even more to the point, it is a generous chunky weight that knits up here at a speedy 2 1/2 stitches to the inch!

Our Garter Gaiter features a beautiful play of color and a striking woven texture, all of which is really just the simple trick of single round stripes of garter stitch. We love it in crisp and festive candy cane colors, but can happily imagine any of our Super Soft Merino brights paired up with Heirloom White. Or for a dark and mysterious version, we love the idea of an interplay between Timeless Navy and Soft Black!

Lots of people left on your list? Check out more of our very quick, but very special, knitted gifts: our Bandana Cowl, Eleventh Hour Scarf, Fun Kid's Hat, Hats for Everyone, and Infant Mittens. A little something for everyone!

The Materials

• 1 skein of Purl Soho's Super Soft Merino in Heirloom White for color A.
• 1 skein of Purl Soho's Super Soft Merino in Red Zinnia for color B.
• US #15, 16-inch circular needles

The Pattern

Gauge

2 1/2 stitches = 1 inch in garter stitch

Finished Dimensions

24 inches in circumference by 12 inches tall

Begin

With color A, cast on 60 stitches.

Place a marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Round 1: With color A, knit.

Round 2: With color B, purl.

Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 until the piece measures 11 3/4-inches from the cast on edge.

Repeat Round 1.

With color A, bind off knit-wise.

Weave in your ends, and ta da, you've finished the Garter Gaiter!

Comments

[katja]

Hello, and thank you for a lovely pattern! I'm not so good at knitting in the round and was wondering - how do you handle two colors? Does one of the threads just hang there while you do a round in the other color? How do you attach the second color for the first time? Or do you attach for each of the rounds??

(sorry if I'm spamming, it keeps asking me to confirm the post, maybe I'm getting the captcha wrong)

[Julie]

How much yarn does it use - would one skein of each color make two gaiters?

[purl bee]

Hi Julie-

Good question! You need both skeins to make one gaiter.

Thanks for your question!

Molly

[Raychel]

Katja-
This is what I would do- on the first round, just use color A, then on the second round, use both yarns to purl the first stitch, then complete the round with color B. On the first stitch of every round you'll knit/purlwith both colors, that way you won't have a million ends to weave in. Hope that helps. You'll leave a small tail for weaving in the ends when you first use color B.

[Hannah]

I don't see size 15 needles in size 16 inch length. Am I missing it here?

[Ann Marie Joyce]

Can I assume you can just cast on fewer stitches if you wanted it less than 24"?

[purl bee]

Hi Ann Marie-

Your assumption is correct. Please let us know if you have any more questions!

Molly

[purl bee]

Hi Hannah-

It looks like we're sold out at the moment. If you'd like to be emailed when they come back in stock please drop us a line at customerservice AT purlsoho DOT com.

Thank you!

Molly

[Monstermønster]

Love it! And what a fast knit! Thank you for that wonderful idea. Are you going to put it on Ravelry any time soon? I bet it will hit the top list very soon!

[purl bee]

Hi Katja,
Raychel has a great suggestion, that is actually how I handled it with out White Caps Cowl. With yarn this thick however sometimes you don't want to work a stitch with both, it will create a stiff row of stitches, interrupting the simplicity of the piece. You can simple carry the yarn up on the inside of the cowl, When working a white round, hold the red yarn vertically up so that it becomes tucked behind the white stitch and vv.
Hope this helps,
Laura

[anna]

Hello, I am a bit confused here. Do we have to knit round 1 and purl round 2 or is it all knit? I thought garter stitch is all knit! Sorry if I sound silly I was wondering ...

[purl bee]

Hi Anna-

When you're knitting straight garter stitch is knit every row. When you're knitting in the round it's knit one round purl one round because you're always on the same side of the stitch.

Thank you for writing in!

Molly

[Heather]

I had a lot of fun knitting this up - such a quick project! However, it was very drapy and looked far more like a cowl than I expected. The picture on the dress form looks like the neck is very tight with the rest draping out (almost like there were decreased stitches toward the last few rows). Did I miss something? I really liked this project and would like to make another one.

[purl bee]

Hi Heather-

We're so glad to hear that you enjoyed knitting this project but are sorry to hear it wasn't what you expected. There are no decreases in this project. We would recommend that you check your gauge and make sure it matches the pattern's. If that's not the issue then you might want to cast on fewer stitches for the next one to make it less cowl-like.

Please let us know if you have any more questions and thanks for writing in!

Molly

[jen]

Hello. This is so lovely and fun!

I'm writing in from Canada.
Would it also work with baby alpaca?

composition 100% Baby Alpaca weight Chunky
needle size 6mm length 100m stitches 15 rows 19 ball weight 100g

[purl bee]

Hi Jen-

It sounds like your yarn is a little thinner than the yarn we used but you can just cast on more stitches and follow the pattern. With this weight and gauge I think casting on 90 stitches would yield a similar result.

Thank you!

Molly

[Hayley]

I knit two of these as Christmas presents - one in the red and white and one in green and white. They knit up quickly and they look funky and festive! It's going to be a very purl-bee Christmas :).

While I didn't use any decreases, I did cast off tightly on the second one I made, which made the cowl drape like the one pictured. So it may be that to get the desired draping, you need to tighten the cast-off to make it a little tighter around the upper neck.

happy knitting!

[Heather]

Thanks for the comments and replies! I am knitting up another one and have cast on fewer stitches. I think that, plus a tight castoff, will do the trick!
By the way, I gave the first one to my mom and she adored the drapiness. The next will be for me. Thanks for a cute pattern.

[Patrice]

Oh my this is perfect for our Warm Scarves for Newtown project! We are trying to get 80 green (&white) scarves for each staff member at Sandy Hook. My daughter is student teaching at Newtown High School as a graduate student this year and she's helping me with the project! I'm going to share this for sure!

THANK YOU, and please share our project with your readers. If we get enough scarves, we'll be doing ALL of NEWTOWN SCHOOLS.

[Iris]

Hi! This has already been asked but I'm still a bit confused ('m 15 and a newbie when it comes to knitting with two colors and circular needles haha). Since you cast on the stitches with the color A, while your doing knit stitches with that color for a round, how do you iinclude the color B for the next round with purl stitches? I think in a comment you said not to knit both yarns together or else you may end up with stiff results. I don't really understand when you say to hold the yarn verticially to tuck it in :/

Your blog is great by the way

[purl bee]

Hi Iris-

When you get to the marker simply stop working with yarn A and begin purling with yarn B. When you get back to the marker stop working with yarn B and start knitting with yarn B. This way both yarns will move up along the marked point as you knit.

You might want to give it a try because sometimes its easier to understand these kinds of things as you do them.

Hope this helps- please let us know if you have ant more questions.

Best-

Molly

[Pam G]

would love to make the gaiter and see your stock of the new merino yarn is very low-could you email me when you get a bunch more colors, please?

[purl bee]

Hi Pam-

Will do!

Molly

[Vicki]

I'm just finishing this pretty gaiter in navy and black. The color combo does give it an elegant edge. The yarn has a luxurious feel and knitting with it is bliss. I "caught" the yarn when beginning the next round, too. Makes for a decorative faux seam. A fun, quick and easy pattern.

[Chris]

I tried this pattern as well, but I definitely wanted that snugger-at-the-neck shape. So I CO more stitches (80), then every other KNIT row, when I was at the marker (which I thought of as my "back seam," to be always placed at the back), I K2tog. It shaped it beautifully, then I did Jenny's Super Stretchy Bind Off, and the recipient loves it (and it's a guy!) He thought it was shaped that way to stick down in his jacket, so everybody was happy in the end!
Thanks for all these free patterns and great advice--I turn here for inspiration quite often 8D

[Noodle]

Thank you so much for this pattern - it's the first time I've used circular needles as well as the first time I've used a purl stitch (!) but I'm really pleased with my results (I used Debbie Bliss 'paloma' yarn in a soft grey and a caramel). I'm so chuffed that I'm sat in bed wearing my cowl, grinning like a loon!

[Ginny]

I love this pattern, I used the blue and red from the merino range and it looks lovely. However I cast off way too tightly and so its a bit tricky to get over my head :) Just need to give it a good pull. The seam at the back is also not so neat but for my first attempt I'm happy !

Going to try using the black and dark blue or a male friend of mine! Thanks for sharing this pattern.

[Marie]

Hi, I love this pattern. I'm a beginner at knitting. I have Artesano aran wool that's 50% superfine alpaca, 50% Peruvian highland wool. The tension is 17 stitches in 21 rows in 10 cm. Will this yarn work?

Also will I get comparably similar results if I use US 11/8mm needles? I love the drape. Thanks!

[purl bee]

Hi Marie-

It seems like your yarn is a little thin, but if you can get the correct gauge (which is 2 1/2-stitches per inch) it can work. You could also try doubling the yarn.

Thank you for your question!

Molly

[Sarah]

Hi - First of all, I adore Purl Soho (spent too much money there this week!) and the Purl Bee. But I have to let you know that this pattern needs to be re-written with instructions about the best way to change colors. I just read through all of the comments and questions here, and many of them are about this very issue. Though I am most definitely not a beginner knitter, even I had questions about changing colors. Though the project overall is perfect for beginners, it needs to be re-written with clearer instructions. Just a tip.

[Colleen]

Ok, I get the change of colors, but do I cut a tail to weave in for each row? Otis it a hang there at the marker? That sounds right to me, but my knitting friend says it would get tangled and to cut a tail for each color change?

Thank you for your help
Colleen

[purl bee]

Hi Colleen-

Don't cut the yarn, carry it up as you go. Leave the yarn hanging at the beginning of the round marker and it won't get twisted. Give it a try and let us know if you have any questions!

Thank you!

Molly