Farrow Rib Scarf Pattern

A closeup on the farrow rib scarf

Sarah E. White

Project Overview
  • Skill Level: Beginner

Farrow Rib is a simple ribbing pattern stitch that uses only knits and purls but is a little more interesting to knit than straight garter or stockinette stitch. It's simple to remember stitch repeats make it a perfect pattern for beginners eager to expand their skills. The resulting fabric has great texture, and the scarf's width and length are ideal for both men and women.

Sizing / Finished Measurements

Width: 6 inches

Length: 72 inches

Gauge

18 sts and 16 rows = 4 inches in Farrow Rib

Gauge is not critical but should be close to get a scarf of similar size.

Abbreviations

  • k = knit
  • p = purl
  • rep = repeat
  • RS = right side; the public side of the work
  • st(s) = stitch(es)
  • WS = wrong side; the inside of the work

Farrow Rib [multiple of 3 plus 1 sts]

Row 1 (RS): *k2, p1; rep from * to last st, k1.

Row 2 (WS): p1, *k2, p1; rep from * to end.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • US 10 (6.0 mm) knitting needles
  • Yarn or tapestry needle
  • Scissors

Materials

  • 300 yard bulky weight yarn

Instructions

  1. Cast On Stitches

    Using the knit cast-on or your favorite method, cast on 28 sts.

  2. Begin Farrow Rib

    Row 1 (RS): *k2, p1; rep from * to last st, k1.

    Row 2 (WS): p1, *k2, p1; rep from * to end.

    Rep rows 1 and 2 until piece measures 72 inches or desired length.

  3. Finishing

    Bind off. Cut yarn leaving a 6 inch tail. With yarn or tapestry needle, weave in ends.

    1:39

    Watch Now: How to Weave in Your Knitting Ends

Make It Your Own

Of course, you can make a scarf in any width or length you like. Farrow Rib uses multiples of 3 plus 1 stitches, so to make a narrower scarf -- this one is pretty wide -- you could use, say 19 or even 13 stitches. You can also make it longer or shorter, whatever you like, bearing in mind that you will need more yarn if you want a longer scarf.

If you want to make a scarf in this pattern but don't want to use bulky weight yarn, you can do that too. Find a yarn weight you like, and use the corresponding size needle suggested on the ball band. Make a gauge swatch by casting on your best guess at what will give you four inches in width, and knit for four or five inches in pattern. Bind off or take the swatch off the needle, and measure the number of stitches in four inches. Divide by four to find the number of stitches in one inch.

Decide how wide you want your scarf to be and multiply that width by the number of stitches in one inch. Round your number up or down to a multiple of 3 sts, plus 1, before you begin.

More Farrow Rib Patterns

There are not actually a whole lot of knitting patterns out there that use Farrow Rib, which is a shame, because it's a nice-looking stitch that doesn't roll and is easy to knit. If you like this stitch pattern and want to try more projects using it, here are a few options.

Bee Made uses the pattern in a cowl, which you could also easily do by just making this pattern a little wider if you want and sewing the cast on and bound off edges together.

Knit Picks has another cute cowl using the stitch pattern, which looks like a kerchief or collar wrapped around the neck.

Try Farrow Rib socks with a pattern from Allison Sarnoff.

For $5 you can get your hands on this pattern for gauntlets using Farrow Rib and cables for a fun textured look, from Kristin Llyr.

Denise Canela has a great bulky Farrow Rib hat that would be a great accompaniment to this scarf. It also features a contrasting pom-pom on top, which is fun. The patterns cost $2.99. There's also a hat and scarf pattern combo for $1.99 from Diana Troldohl.

I also really like the little Farrow Rib headband from Suzette Lenzen. It's a $3 pattern from Etsy but it's a cute basic shape that you could use with a lot of different stitch patterns if you wanted to.