Tag Archives: Ice fire wrap

Our Ice Fire Wraps

Today is the final day of the Ice Fire Wrap KAL, and we’ve loved seeing your projects under the #IceFireKAL hashtag on Instagram! Most of the Knit Picks team finished their wraps by today, although the eagle-eyed among you may spot a few wraps still on the needles in these photos.

We all started with the same pattern, but through color choice, pattern modifications, and yarn substitutions, we each ended up with unique pieces. One of the most fun aspects of doing knit-alongs is getting to see how versatile patterns can be when they’re in the hands of different creative people. Here’s a bit more about each project.

Regan substituted many colors of Wool of the Andes for his Ice Fire Wrap in place of two colors of Chroma Worsted, so he had full control over the color sequences and stripes. He ripped back a few times as he figured out how he wanted to transition through all of his colors, but as the fasted knitter in the office, that was no problem for finishing on time!

A little breeze came through as Stacey was getting photos of her wrap taken, and it really brought her breezy-looking color scheme to life! Stacey used two colors of Chroma Worsted like the pattern suggested, but her color choices creating a totally new look that feels fresh and summery.

Alena’s Wonderfluff version of the Ice Fire Wrap, turned out wonderfully big and fluffy! She knit hers in two pieces, with each half knit from the ribbing up, and then she grafted them together at the center. This gave her a perfectly mirrored piece with her Wonderfluff Ombre transitions, and the extra efforts paid off!

Like Alena, Andi also substituted yarn with a different weight, but where Alena went heavier, Andi went lighter to create a scarf. She used Capra DK, and simply substituting a lighter weight yarn did all the work to make a narrower piece that can be comfortably worn as a scarf.

As our busy Brand Director, Alexis didn’t quite finish her Ice Fire Wrap, but she made an impressive amount of progress for how much she was doing on top of it. She used Chroma Twist Worsted, which created exciting and unexpected color transitions.

Lee was working from home the day we took these photos, but Mannequin-Lee was happy to step in and model her Ice Fire Wrap turned sweater! Lee knit two rectangular pieces following the wrap pattern, and then she seamed them to form the body of a drop-shoulder pullover sweater. She picked up stitches for her sleeves and is knitting those in the round. The team thought the short sleeves were cute, but she plans on making them full length.

Carlene knew she wouldn’t wear a big dramatic wrap, so she knit her Ice Fire Wrap shorter and wears it wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl or tucked into itself as a scarf! Although both of her yarns are  Chroma Worsted, Carlene chose to use one solid color, so the color transitions of the second color really stand out.

Like Carlene, Jen chose to pair her colorful Chroma Worsted with a solid color, but her solid color is her favorite yarn: Swish Worsted. Her color scheme reminds us all of ocean waves, which is fitting because she took her wrap on a trip to the coast to try to finish it for the end of the KAL.


An Ice Fire KAL Update

We’re grooving along on our Ice Fire Wrap KAL projects! The KAL is coming on an end on July 31st, and some of the team have their eyes on the finish line, some are already finished, and a few decided to put their projects into hibernation.

An incomplete handknit wrap on knitting needles with squiggly stripes in shades of blue and solid white.

Jen has a long ways to go one her Ice Fire Wrap, but she’s determined to have it finished by the end of the KAL. She’s using Chroma Worsted for her main color and Swish Worsted as the solid contrast.

An incomplete handknit wrap on knitting needles with squiggly stripes in orange and gray.

Andi is making a slightly narrower scarf by using Capra DK, and she’s decided to also make her project shorter, so she’s about 2/3 done.

A handknit sweater body with squiggly stripes in yellows, oranges, and pinks

Lee is modifying the pattern into a drop-shoulder sweater using Chroma Twist Worsted. She’s finished the body pieces and is working on the rest.

Two halves of a handknit wrap on knitting needles with squiggly stripes in mustard yellow and a cream-to-pink ombre

Alena is making a bigger wrap by using Wonderfluff and Wonderfluff Ombre. To get full control of her ombre transitions, she decided to knit her wrap in two pieces and will graft them at the center. She also simplified the ribbing and worked it in a single color.

A completed handknit wrap with squiggly stripes in neon shades and dark gray

Carlene used two shades of Chroma Worsted and opted to make her project shorter to be a more casual wrap.

A completed handknit wrap with squiggly stripes in blues, greens, and yellows

Stacey also used two shades of Chroma Worsted and made her project the full size, showing how the original design would look as written with different colors.

A completed handknit wrap with squiggly stripes in neutral colors

Regan used many shades of Wool of the Andes for his wrap, and as the speediest knitter in the office, he was the first to finish.


Episode 367 – Botanic and the Ice Fire KAL
An Asian-American woman smiles while wearing a lace wrap knit with 4 shades of pink mohair yarn.

We’ve got a beautiful new lace book out, Botanic: Nature-inspired Lace, and Lee and Stacey share the inspiration and some behind-the-scenes details. Stacey also gets excited about our new Foursquare Sunstruck needles. Plus, Lee and Stacey announce our summer break. We’re taking July and August off from podcasting, but we’ll be back with fresh episodes on the first Wednesday of September!  

Also in this episode, Lee and Stacey are joined by Andi, Jen, Regan, and Carlene to discuss how our Ice Fire KAL WIPs are turning out. Despite starting at the same time, everyone is at very different points, and we bet you can guess who is already done. 

Mentioned in this Episodes

Lee’s garden Instagram highlight
Knit One Knit All book by Elizabeth Zimmermann
2-Piece Baby Jacket pattern (Ravelry link)
Lee’s baby jacket project (Ravelry link)
Stroll yarns
Knit Picks on YouTube
Botanic print book
Botanic ebook
Foursquare Sunstruck needles
Foursquare Sunstruck 6″ Double Pointed Needles
Ice Fire Knit Along
Ice Fire Wrap pattern
Wool of the Andes yarns
Knit Picks Blog (You’re already here!)
Capra DK yarn
Regan’s finished wrap dramatic photoshoot
Knit Picks Instagram KAL story highlight

Time Stamps

00:07 Welcome to the Knit Picks Podcast

00:30 Lee and Stacey discuss what they’re been up to, and Lee and Producer Andi get a little too excited talking about plants.

10:57 The show is taking a summer break! We’ll be back in September with new projects to talk about.

16:05 We’ve got a new lace collection, Botanic: Nature-inspired Lace. 

23:50 Stacey’s secret favorite needles, Foursquare Sunstrucks, are finally available for everyone!

27:13 Knit Picks Team members Carelene, Regan, and Jen join Lee, Stacey, and Andi to talk about their Ice Fire KAL projects.

37:22 The team discusses mistakes and modifications they’ve made on their projects

43:10 Everyone discusses the challenging two-color rib and more mistakes. 

50:32 Credits


The Ice Fire KAL Starts Today

Today is the day to cast on your Ice Fire Wrap! With the KAL running June 1st to July 31st, there are 8 weeks to knit your wrap, and it’s no coincidence that the large repeat is worked 8 times! To get your wrap finished by July 31st, all you need to do is work a full repeat of rows 5-76 once every week until you bind off. 

If you ever get stuck, be sure to check out the resources in our Learning Center for help, or leave a comment here or on social media! Use the hashtag #IceFireKAL to share your own progress.

Resources for the Ice Fire Wrap KAL 

How to CO using the Long Tail CO

How to BO using the Basic BO

How to knit

How to purl

How to W&T

How to work 1×1 rib stranded colorwork


Yarn Substitutions for Wraps & Scarves
From bottom to top, Ice Fire Wraps knit with bulky, the original worsted, and DK weight yarns. Note the size differences!

Most guides for yarn substitution are aimed at projects that need to fit very specific measurements, like sweaters or socks. So how much of that applies when substituting yarn for something where final dimensions aren’t terribly important, like with the Ice Fire Wrap? Wraps and scarves have some flexibility to their final measurements because they can have a range of sizes that are several inches different and still be perfectly functional. When choosing your yarn for a project like that, here’s what you need to keep in mind!

Alexis’s yarn sub, Chroma Twist Worsted, is the same weight as the original yarn.

When substituting a different color or brand in the same yarn weight and fiber, you can expect very similar results. This is one of those times where it’s okay to skip a swatch and work off knowledge of your knitting style to either use the suggested needles or go up or down a size based on what you most commonly do. Most Knit Picks team members who are not using regular Chroma Worsted for their Ice Fire Wraps have chosen worsted weight yarns, like Regan’s Wool of the Andes Worsted or Alexis’s Chroma Twist Worsted, paired with the suggested US 9 (5.5 mm) needles, and none of them chose to make a gauge swatch because fit is not an issue. Their yardage use will also be very close to the pattern’s yardage listed.

Alena’s yarn sub, Wonderfluff, is heavier than the original yarn.

Heavier yarn will produce a wider wrap if no other modifications are made, and it likely will not require as many repeats of the primary stitch pattern to hit the target length. Alena is using Wonderfluff and Wonderfluff Ombre, bulky weight yarns, and US 10.5 (6.5 mm) needles to make her Ice Fire Wrap, and she will be making an extra wide wrap by following the instructions as written, but she expects to only need 5 stitch pattern repeats to reach her desired length instead of the pattern’s 8. She likely will use less yardage than the pattern lists.

Andi’s yarn sub, Capra DK, is lighter than the original yarn.

Lighter weight yarn will produce a narrower wrap that’s more like a wider scarf if no other modifications are made, and it will likely require more repeats of the stitch pattern to hit the target length. Andi is going this route with her Ice Fire Wrap by using Capra DK paired with US 9 (5.5 mm) needles. To reach the suggested length, she expects to need to add at least one more repeat of the stitch pattern and has 2 extra balls of yarn in each color to accommodate that. She likely will use more yardage than the pattern lists.

Regan’s yarn sub, Wool of the Andes Worsted, has the same fiber content as the original yarn.

Modification-free yarn substitutions work best when the fiber content is relatively similar. The original yarn for the Ice Fire Wrap, Chroma Worsted, is 100% wool, and using a yarn with mostly wool or other animal fibers will produce wraps with similar drape. If you want to substitute the fiber, look for worsted weight yarns with some loft and elasticity, like Brava Worsted a 100% premium acrylic yarn, and avoid yarns that are dense and have limited elasticity, like most plied 100% cotton yarns.


Ice Fire Wrap Knit Along

When we saw the Ice Fire Wrap by Donielle Showvay from Good Vibes & Groovy Lines, so many Knit Picks staff members wanted to knit it that we knew we had to plan a KAL around it! We’d like to invite you to join us in knitting this gorgeous, striped wrap starting June 1st and finishing July 31st.

You’ll have two weeks to pick out your yarn and order it. The pattern uses 2 colorways of Chroma Worsted, with 4 balls of each colorway for a total of 8, and it’s knit on US 9 (5.5mm) needles. The wrap shown in the pattern collection features Chroma Worsted colorways Seahorse and Sedona, with the blues representing ice and the reds fire, but any combination of Chroma colors would be beautiful! This pattern also lends itself to other yarn choices, and we’ll be sharing a few of our yarn substitutions next week. 

Chroma wool yarn balls in colorways Seahorse (shades of blue and yellow) and Sedona (shades of red, orange, and purple) are laid on the wrap.

This wrap is perfect for an adventurous beginner, and its simple shape is very forgiving. The pattern begins with 1×1 ribbing in stranded colorwork, but this decorative element can easily be replaced with solid color 1×1 rib. After that, only one color at a time is used throughout the main stitch pattern. The two colors are alternated every right side row in garter stitch, and the flame motif is created using easy W&T short rows. The motifs are balanced, so after you block the project, it will be a smooth rectangle.

Follow along with us on Instagram with the hashtag #IceFireKAL, and we’ll be sharing progress updates both there and on Facebook. We’ll also be sharing tips and updates here on the Knit Picks blog! 

Just the Details

What: Knit the Ice Fire Wrap along with us

When: June 1st – July 31st

Skills to Know: CO, BO, knit, purl, W&T short rows, stranded colorwork

Why: For the joy of knitting along with others this summer.