If you know how to knit and purl, you can make this scarf! Seed stitch is just that; alternating knits and purls every other row. This stitch hides tension issues beautifully and lies perfectly flat (these edges won’t curl up on you). It’s knit in the round on circular needles so you don’t have to worry about messy looking edges or tricky seaming.
In this pattern, i’ll cover how to get started knitting in the round and how to finish your project so you get the complete, seamless look.
What you’ll need for this project is a pair of 6mm US 10 circular needles with no greater than a 24in length cord.
You will also need a skein of weight category 4 (worsted) yarn in your color of choice. 100 grams will do or about 175 yards (160m). For beginner projects, I recommend using a yarn that has at least some wool in it. Wool has a natural stretch to it that helps your knitting stitches come out more even and it also has a luxurious feel. However, you can use any 4, worsted weight yarn you want!
Using the long tail cast on method, (about a 1 yard tail) cast on 95 stitches.
No fancy tricks required to join in the round (we’ll finish off the join seamlessly at the end), simply begin knitting with knit 1 purl 1 all the way around. The fabulous Wool and the Gang have excellent tutorials for some of the techniques used in this pattern. Here is a video of their instructions for the long tail cast on method for absolute beginners:
Since we casted on an odd number of stitches, you can continue alternating knit, purl, knit, purl all the way around. The seed stitch is made when knits from the previous round line up with the purls your making in your current round making this great TV knitting. I’ve linked below another great Wool and the Gang tutorial for this stitch that’s beginner friendly:
Find something good to binge on netflix and continue working continuous rounds until your piece measures 8 inches (20cm) wide or about 60 rows. A common beginner trait is to make scarves too thin so this ensures you have a luxurious, cushy finished scarf.
To bind off your scarf, I recommend a stretchy bind off to ensure neither opening of your infinity scarf is tighter than the other. Here is a tutorial for a simple stretchy bind off from my favorite youtube knitting guru, Very Pink Knits. Essentially you K1, *P1, purl two together, K1, knit two together through the back loop* repeat between ** until all your stitches are bound off.
Now that you’re all bound off and off the needles, you can see a slight jog at the beginning and end of your work because working in the round is basically a giant spiral.
To correct this, grab a tapestry needle and thread the tail from the side you want to even out. Thread it under both “legs” of the next whole V of a stitch that you can find. This may be about a half an inch over.
There you have it! I hope you enjoyed this scarf pattern as much as I enjoyed making it for you all. I know it will become your go-to worsted weight seed stitch scarf pattern.
Now that you’re super confident with your knits and purls, you may want to take those skills to the next level and try my Turban Style Ear Warmer pattern available at my Premium Patterns shop or on Etsy. Click the photo below for a link to that one and I hope you’ll check back soon for another free knitting pattern!
