purlJam

# Howling Wolf & Grapevine Colorwork Throw

A bold worsted-weight throw featuring a central wolf-face medallion framed by trailing grapevines worked in stranded and intarsia colorwork. The design is charted (see the **attached stitch chart**) and finished with a tidy seed-stitch border. This is an intermediate-level colorwork project: the stitches themselves are simple knits and purls, but managing multiple colors across the picture motif is the main skill.

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## MATERIALS

- **Yarn:** Worsted weight (CYC #4), approximately:
  - **MC – Background Cream/Oatmeal:** 700 yd (640 m)
  - **CC1 – Charcoal Gray (wolf face/markings):** 350 yd (320 m)
  - **CC2 – Light Silver Gray (wolf highlights):** 200 yd (185 m)
  - **CC3 – Vine Green (grapevine leaves/stems):** 200 yd (185 m)
  - **CC4 – Deep Purple (grapes):** 120 yd (110 m)
  - *Total ≈ 1,570 yd — within the recommended 1,200–1,600 yd range for worsted.*
- **Needles:** US 8 (5.0 mm) 32" or longer circular needle (worked flat). Use a circular for stitch capacity; do not join.
- **Notions:** Yarn bobbins (10–14 for intarsia areas), stitch markers, tapestry needle, blocking mat and pins.

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## GAUGE

- **19 sts and 26 rows = 4" (10 cm)** in stockinette colorwork, blocked.
- *Always knit and block a swatch in colorwork before starting. Stranded colorwork can pull in; keep floats loose and even.*

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## FINISHED_SIZE

- **32" wide × 48" long (81 cm × 122 cm)** after blocking.
- **Size note:** Your request listed "320 × 480." A finished blanket in millimeters (32 cm × 48 cm) would be doll-sized, while centimeters (320 cm × 480 cm) would be larger than a king bed. I have interpreted this as a **32" × 48" throw**, the most common reading. If you intended a different size, adjust the cast-on proportionally (19 sts and 26 rows = 4").

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## ABBREVIATIONS

- **k** – knit
- **p** – purl
- **st(s)** – stitch(es)
- **RS** – right side
- **WS** – wrong side
- **MC** – main color
- **CC** – contrast color
- **seed st** – seed stitch (k1, p1; on following rows knit the purls and purl the knits)
- **St st** – stockinette stitch (k on RS, p on WS)

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## NOTES

1. The blanket is worked **flat, in one piece, from the bottom up** on a circular needle.
2. The central wolf face and grapevine background are worked from the **attached stitch chart** (see the *Attached Stitch Chart* section). The chart covers the **140 central colorwork stitches** and **296 colorwork rows**.
3. A **6-stitch seed-stitch border** runs up each side, plus an **8-row seed-stitch border** at top and bottom. These border stitches/rows are **not** shown on the colorwork chart — add them as instructed below.
4. **Color technique:** Use **intarsia** for large isolated areas (the wolf face, individual grape clusters), using a separate bobbin for each color block and twisting yarns at color changes to avoid holes. Use **stranded (Fair Isle)** technique only where two colors alternate within a few stitches (vine tendrils), carrying floats loosely no longer than 5 sts.
5. The stitch count stays **constant at 152 sts every row** — there is no shaping. If your count drifts, you have made a knit/purl error.

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## CHARTS

This pattern uses a **separate attached stitch chart** for the wolf-and-grapevine colorwork. Please see the **Attached Stitch Chart** section below for placement and reading instructions. No inline chart grid is reproduced here.

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## ATTACHED STITCH CHART

1. **Use the separate attached chart panel** for the complete visual colorwork grid (wolf face + grapevine background). Do not look for a grid in this text — it lives in the attached chart asset.
2. **Placement in the pattern:** The attached chart is worked across the **center 140 stitches** of every right-side and wrong-side row, **after the first 6 seed-stitch border sts and before the last 6 seed-stitch border sts**. Vertically, it is worked over the **296 colorwork rows** that fall **between the 8-row bottom seed border and the 8-row top seed border**.
3. **How to read the chart (knitting, worked flat):**
   - Each square = 1 stitch; each square's fill color = the yarn color to use for that stitch.
   - **RS rows (odd):** read the chart **right to left**.
   - **WS rows (even):** read the chart **left to right**.
   - Work all chart stitches in **stockinette** (knit on RS, purl on WS) in the color shown.
   - **Row 1 of the chart = the first RS row after the bottom border.**
4. **Color/yarn management notes:**
   - At each color change, **twist the old and new yarns around each other** on the WS to lock the colors (intarsia) and prevent holes.
   - Keep stranded floats **no longer than 5 sts**; catch longer carries on the WS.
   - Wind a **separate bobbin** for each isolated color block (estimate 1 bobbin per grape cluster and per major wolf marking).
   - **Stitch-count integration:** 6 (border) + 140 (chart) + 6 (border) = **152 sts** — this must hold on every row. Count after each chart row.

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## PATTERN

**Cast on 152 sts** with MC.
*Check: 6 border + 140 chart + 6 border = 152 sts.* ✓

### Bottom Border (8 rows)
- **Rows 1–8:** Work in seed st across all 152 sts: (k1, p1) to end. On following rows, knit the purls and purl the knits.

### Main Body (296 chart rows)
- **RS rows:** k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1 (6 seed-st border sts), work the **attached chart** across the next 140 sts (reading right to left), then p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1 (6 seed-st border sts).
- **WS rows:** k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1 (6 seed-st border sts), work the **attached chart** across the next 140 sts (reading left to right, purling chart sts), then p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1 (6 seed-st border sts).
- Continue, keeping the 6 seed-st border at each edge and working all 296 chart rows in order.

*Check: Body rows = 296. Total so far = 8 (bottom border) + 296 = 304 rows.*

### Top Border (8 rows)
- Work 8 rows in seed st across all 152 sts (as for bottom border).

*Check: 8 + 296 + 8 = 312 rows total. 312 rows ÷ 26 rows per 4" = 48". ✓*

**Bind off** all 152 sts loosely in pattern, keeping border sts in seed st and body sts in their charted colors (or bind off in MC for a clean edge).

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## BORDER

The side and top/bottom borders are worked **integrally** as described above (6 seed sts each side, 8 seed rows top and bottom). No separate pick-up border is required. For a heavier frame, you may optionally pick up and work 4 additional rounds of seed st around the entire perimeter in MC after blocking; pick up approximately 19 sts per 4" along sides and across top/bottom, working corners with a center increase each round.

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## FINISHING

1. **Weave in all ends** securely on the WS, working ends back along their own color areas to avoid show-through. Color-change ends should be woven in the direction of their color block.
2. **Blocking (essential for colorwork):** Wet block. Soak the finished blanket in cool water with a little wool wash for 15–20 minutes. Gently squeeze out water (do not wring), roll in a towel, then lay flat. Pin to **32" × 48"**, squaring the corners and evening out the colorwork so the wolf motif sits symmetrically. Allow to dry completely before unpinning.
3. **Even out floats:** While damp, gently stretch the fabric in both directions to relax any tight stranded floats so the picture lies flat.
4. **Optional finishing:** Add small tassels or pompoms in MC and CC1 at each corner for a rustic, woodland feel.

Enjoy your Howling Wolf & Grapevine Throw!