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California Wrap Free Knitted Shawl Pattern- Beginner

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The California Wrap is a free rectangle shawl pattern perfect for beginning knitters. It is versatile enough to keep you covered on those cool mornings and still take you through those golden, sunny afternoons.

Wrap up your shoulders, twist it into a scarf or drape it around your waist. The California Wrap is the perfect transitional piece for any weather.

While a wrap may not seem like summer attire in most places, Northern California is an exception. The lows overnight are cold enough to be winter in the south, which makes a lightweight wrap a fabulous option.

Green striped knit shawl wrapped on mannequin held in place with wood shawl stick.

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Yarn, hooks and needles on white table.

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You can purchase the ad-free, well formatted PDF Pattern in one of my shops. Scroll down for the free pattern!


This Graceful Green colorway from Lion Brand’s Shawl in a Ball captures the scenery of California so well. Everywhere I look there are green oak trees with their dark trunks dotting the golden hills and sun shining on it all.

The warm browns, whites and “graceful” greens threaded with a golden shimmer reflect the California landscape perfectly. It’s a wonderful compliment.

I wore my wrap on our recent Northern California vacation and I’m so thankful I had it with me. It’s been a much milder summer this year (thankfully) and I used my wrap almost daily.

Close up on striped knit shawl secured with wood pin.

I found this lovely hand carved shawl stick from the Etsy shop WoodenItBeLovely. Isn’t it gorgeous? Hand carved from Texas Hill Country Juniper, yes please!

The shawl stick allows me to effortlessly switch up how I’m styling my shawl to suit me needs.

Woman in front of waterfall with light filtering through garter stitch knit shawl in greens and brown.

The sun light filtering through the wrap is just the essence of this piece. It demonstrates how loose and perfect it is for summer. We took a short hike up to Burney Falls and you can imagine how cool the air was coming off the falls.

Love easy knits?

The Umbria Knit Shawl is a beginner friendly triangle shawl knitted with Homespun yarn.

Chunky Knit Earwarmer this pattern is perfect for tots beginners-fast and easy.

Tostata Knit Triangle Scarf knits up beautifully in hand dyed yarn.


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Materials

  • #4 med worsted weight yarn pictured in Lion Brand’s Shawl in a Ball* (Metallic: 61% Cotton, 34% Acrylic, 5% Other; 481 yd / 440 m, 5.3 oz, 150 g) color: graceful green (2, 2, 3, 3 balls), see below for recommended yards per size.
  • Yarn Needle
  • Scissors
  • Measuring Tape

Yarn Recommendation by Size

Shawl length of:

52” / 132 cm needs approximately 725 yd / 663 m of yarn.

60” / 152.5 cm needs approximately 962 yd / 880 m of yarn.

68” / 173 cm needs approximately 1202 yd /1100 m of yarn.

76” / 193 cm needs approximately 1443 yd / 1320 m of yarn.

picture of free knitted shawl on cable needles

Stitches/Abbreviations

I’ve linked up some video tutorials if you’re a crocheter looking to learn how to knit, or new to knitting. There are lots of ways to use your crochet hook to help you along the way. There are also lots of different ways to do these techniques so you may consider browsing around to find one that works for you.

CO-cast on. You can use any cast on method you prefer, using a crochet hook is my fav way to cast on for longer projects. I have a long tail cast on tutorial here. For a quick, short tail cast on you can check this tutorial out.

K-knit

BO-bind off

Green and brown knit shawl wrapped around mannequin in front of beige wall.

Helpful Knitting Tutorials

Cast On With A Crochet Hook As a crocheter, this is my favorite and go-to cast on method.

The Long Tail Cast On is another easy and popular cast on method.

Eventually you will need to know how to join new yarn, the magic knot is one way.

How to change colors when you slip 1 at the beginning of a row.

Striped green and brown knit shawl draped on wood table with glasses.

Finished Dimensions

Shawl pictured is 52″ / 132 cm long x 23″ / 58.5 cm deep.

The pattern includes cast on for sizes:

  • 52” / 132 cm
  • 60” / 152.5 cm
  • 68” / 173 cm
  • 76” / 193 cm

Adjustments

The cast on for 4 shawl length is included in the chart below. To knit a longer wrap, just add more stitches. Use the gauge below to add or take away stitches. For every 12 stitches you add, you’ll be adding about 4″ / 10 cm of length, or vice versa if you’re shortening it. 

To knit a deeper shawl, just knit more rows until your desired size is reached.

The pattern is great for beginners and easy to adjust because there’s no stitch multiple to consider.

Gauge

4″ /10 cm x 4″ / 10 cm = 12 sts x 24 rows of garter stitch (knit both sides)

Pin it

Pin image of striped knit shawl draped on mannequin like scarf with text beginner knitting pattern.

You can purchase the ad-free, well formatted PDF Pattern in one of my shops. Scroll down for the free pattern!


Scroll down for the free Summer Wrap Beginner Knitting Pattern

Close up on striped knit shawl secured with wood pin.

California Wrap Free Knitted Shawl Pattern- Beginner

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 6 hours
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $10

The California Wrap is a lightweight rectangle shawl perfect for summer evenings. This free knitting pattern is beginner friendly.

Materials

  • #4 med worsted weight yarn pictured in Lion Brand’s Shawl in a Ball* (Metallic: 61% Cotton, 34% Acrylic, 5% Other; 481 yd / 440 m, 5.3 oz, 150 g) color: graceful green (2, 2, 3, 3 balls):
  • Yarn Recommendation by Size
  • Shawl length of:
  • 52” / 132 cm needs approximately 725 yd / 663 m of yarn.
  • 60” / 152.5 cm needs approximately 962 yd / 880 m of yarn.
  • 68” / 173 cm needs approximately 1202 yd /1100 m of yarn.
  • 76” / 193 cm needs approximately 1443 yd / 1320 m of yarn.

Tools

  • Size 9/5.5 mm needles, with circular cables, between 24-32″ is plenty of length. I used my Knitter’s Pride Karbonz Interchangeable Needles, which I love by the way and my 32″ cable.
  • Yarn Needle
  • Scissors
  • Measuring Tape

Instructions

Cast On by Shawl Length:
CO 156 = 52” / 132 cm
CO 180 = 60” / 152.5 cm
CO 204 = 68” / 173 cm
CO 228 = 76” / 193 cm

CO 156 (180, 204, 228)

  1. Row 1. K all
  2. Row 2. K all.
  3. Continue to repeat these two rows until work measures 23” tall, or to your desired size.
  4. BO.
  5. Cut yarn and weave in ends.

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8 Comments

  1. I have to make a prayer shawl for a priest in our parish. He asked for it, I think this would make him very happy.

  2. Hi,. Lots of scarves but my first attempt for a shawl. Can you help with how much yarn I need for long tail cast on for the 60in length? If using straight needles how many stitches for 24in width? I’m learning but I’m slow, lol. Thank you!

  3. Hi Ginger,
    Thanks for reaching out with your question. I’m glad you’re enjoying knitting and ready to take on shawls! Personally, I do not recommend long tail cast on for beginners to cast on larger projects due to the estimation methods/experience needed to get the length of tail right. However, Norman has an excellent tutorial going through the options for estimating it here https://nimble-needles.com/tutorials/how-much-yarn-do-you-need-for-a-long-tail-cast-on/
    Instead I usually recommend one of these short tail cast on methods for beginners https://christacodesign.com/2022/04/18/how-to-cast-on-in-knitting-4-easy-cast-ons/ I know learning a new cast is not always fun but estimating that long tail takes a lot of practice and sometimes trial and error!
    I hope this helps.
    Best,
    Crystal

  4. It says there’s a chart at the end for the recommended yardage per size but I see no chart. Can you help please?

  5. Hi Michelle,
    The chart did not display correctly for all screens so the yarn information is just text listed under a heading under the materials section in the top of the post, here it is
    Yarn Recommendation by Size

    Shawl length of:

    52” / 132 cm needs approximately 725 yd / 663 m of yarn.

    60” / 152.5 cm needs approximately 962 yd / 880 m of yarn.

    68” / 173 cm needs approximately 1202 yd /1100 m of yarn.

    76” / 193 cm needs approximately 1443 yd / 1320 m of yarn.
    I hope this helps!
    Thanks,
    Crystal

  6. Hi Meryl,
    Great question, yes you can knit this shawl on straight needles as it’s knit in back and forth rows, so no you don’t need circular needles for this one!
    Have a great day,
    Crystal