Knit up in Flax Lace, the Cabana Bandana is perfect for a hot or windy day

This week, I’m knitting with Fibra Natura Flax Lace, which is a strong, light and airy, long lasting fiber that is perfect for summertime wear.

Yesterday I made a cover-up that can be worn on or off the beach inspired by the crochet pattern Mesh Up Tee. Today, I’m using a single strand of Flax Lace to create a bandana to accessorize the knitted version of the Mesh Up Tee.

Inspired by webbed lawn chairs, awnings, and beach umbrellas, I wanted to make something that mimicked that look. I love to accessorize with a scarf or shawl and they come in handy to wrap around your shoulders when the air conditioning is a little too cool. I must confess, my intention was to make a lacy shawl that could still be draped around the shoulders for chilly air conditioning and cool evenings, or be tied around the waist over your swimsuit. However, time was not on my side so my idea for a shawl was pared down to a bandana.

If you remember the old western movies, cowboys wore bandanas that came in very handy when used as a mask to rob a stage coach or during a dust storm. It could also be used as a tourniquet for rattlesnake bites, or drenched in the river to serve as a face cloth and tied around the neck to cool down. Well, we don’t have stage coaches anymore, but we do have wind in our hair, too much sun on our shoulders, and the need to cool down. A bandana can serve us well in those conditions.

Named after summery beach tents, the Cabana Bandana is made with a single strand of Flax Lace in two colors. I’ve selected Silver and Regatta (what a perfect name for a summer activity) for mine.

This bandana is triangular and worked from the narrow tip to the full width. In other words, it starts out small and fast and gets wider as you go.

materials

• 2 skeins of Fibra Natura Flax Lace – 1 Regatta (Color A), and 1 Silver (Color B)
• US 3 [3.25mm] 32” [80cm] circular needle
• tapestry needle

gauge not really important for this project

finished measurements are approximately 40” wide x 20” deep before blocking.

It’s comprised of three different pattern sections, and the two colors are carried up the one edge so you only need to sew in the ends at the start and the finish of the bandana. Let’s begin.

Cabana Bandana

With Color A, cast on 3 stitches

Set up Rows:

Row 1: With one strand of each color, K the first stitch, then drop Color B, and kfb, k1. 4 sts

Row 2: P1, k2, *pick up both colors and p1 (* do this on every wrong side row).

Striped Weave Section:

Row 3: Color B – s1 with both strands held in back, k until 2 stitches remaining, k1, m1, k1. 5 sts

Row 4: Purl until 1 stitch remaining; then pick up both colors and p1.

Row 5: Color A – s1 with both strands held in back, k until 1 stitch remaining, m1, k1. 6 sts

Row 6: P2, k until 1 stitch remaining; then pick up both colors and p1.

Repeat rows 3 – 6, 17 more times. 40 sts

Waffle Weave Section

Row 1: Color A – s1 with both strands held in back, k until 1 stitch remaining; m1, k1.  41 sts

Row 2: Purl until 1 stitch remaining; pick up both colors and p1.

Row 3: S1, k2 *p2, k2 repeat from * until 2 stitches remaining, p1, m1, k1. 42 sts

Row 4: P2, work stitches as they appear until 1 stitch remaining; pick up both colors p1.

Row 5: S1, knit to 1 stitch remaining; m1, k1. 43 sts

Row 6: Same as Row 2.

Row 7: S1, *k2, p2 repeat from * until 2 stitches remaining, k1, m1, k1. 44 sts

Row 8: Same as Row 4.

Row 9 – 17: Repeat these 8 rows once more, then repeat Row 1. 49 sts

Row 18: P2, Knit until 1 stitch remaining; pick up both colors p1.

Open Mesh Section

Row 1: S1, k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * until 1 stitch remaining, yo, k1. 50 sts

Row 2: P1, p1tbl, purl to last stitch, pick up both colors and p1.

Row 3: S1, K1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * until 2 stitches remaining, yo, k2. 51 sts

Row 4: Purl until 1 stitch remaining; pick up both colors and p1.

Row 5 – 22: Repeat rows 1 – 4, 4 times more, then repeat rows 1 & 2. 60 sts

Repeat Waffle Weave section as written 69 sts

Work Wider Striped Weave for 5 wider stripes, as follows:

Row 3: Color B – s1 with both strands held in back, k until 2 stitches remaining, k1, m1, k1. 70 sts

Row 4: Purl, then repeat Rows 3 & 4. 71 sts

Row 5: Color A – S1 with both strands held in back, k until 1 stitch remaining, m1, k1. 72 sts

Row 6: P2, k until 1 stitch remaining; then pick up both colors and p1.

Repeat rows 3 – 6, 4 more times. 84 sts

Repeat Waffle Weave section as written 93 sts

Work Open Mesh

RepeatRows 1 – 4, 7 times, then repeat rows 1 & 2. 108 sts

Repeat Waffle Weave section as written 117 sts

WorkStriped Weave

Repeat Rows 3 – 6, 9 times. 135 sts

Loosely Cast Off with Color A and sew in the ends.

If I can say so myself, I think this worked out rather well. The blue and silver color combination definitely reminds me of summer. I’m rather pleased with how it turned out, and it’ll go great with the knitted Mesh Up Tee from yesterday.

Before I wrap up for today, I want to share a tip that I used throughout these projects. If you remember in my ‘Off to the beach with Fibra Natura Flax Lace’ post, I showed you a picture of a wound cake of Flax Lace. I found a great solution to keep all my yarn intact which preserves the integrity of the cake, especially when drawing strands from multiple.

And you thought those old cookie tins were just for your button stash, or those little plastic dinosaurs. This was a great solution. I could put the lid on to secure everything in place when I packed up my knitting to go.

This was a fun project and I hope you join me tomorrow where I’ll be knitting a summer t-shirt using 2 strands of Fibra Natura Flax Lace.