| Size | 48 × 9 stitches |
|---|---|
| Colours | 3 · Generic yarn |
| Total stitches | 432 |
| Difficulty | Easy (2/5) |
| Finished size | 9.4 × 1.3 in (24 × 3.2 cm) |
| Licence | CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for personal use with credit |
Materials
| Colour | Code | Name | Stitches | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y02 | Cream | 336 | 78% | 336 sts · ~6.8 m | |
| Y44 | Forest | 56 | 13% | 56 sts · ~1.1 m | |
| Y19 | Rust | 40 | 9% | 40 sts · ~0.8 m |
About this design
The OXO band is one of the oldest motifs in Fair Isle knitting, a simple alternation of a ring and a cross that turns up in countless traditional jumpers and hats. This version uses three shades from our yarn palette: Y19 Rust for the Os, Y44 Forest for the Xs and Y02 Cream for the ground. Each rust O sits where the arms of a forest X would cross, and the arms of neighbouring Xs meet to frame open cream diamonds between them, so the band reads as one continuous chain.
Knitting the band
Five of the nine rounds use all three colours, which is a step up from two-colour knitting. If you prefer to hold only two yarns, knit those rounds in forest and cream and add the small rust Os afterwards in duplicate stitch; each O is just ten stitches. Floats are mostly short, but the second and eighth rounds hold only the tips of the Xs, with ten cream stitches between pairs of forest stitches. Trap the forest yarn once in the middle of each of those runs so no float is longer than five stitches. Block the finished piece to even out the stranding.
Sizing and repeats
At 20 stitches and 28 rows per 10 cm, the 48-stitch chart is 24 cm wide and the band is about 3.2 cm tall. In the round, cast on a multiple of 12 stitches: 84 stitches (42 cm) for a child’s hat, 96 stitches (48 cm) for a snug adult hat, or 120 stitches (60 cm) for a cowl. Placed just above a jumper’s ribbing, the band repeats around the whole body as long as the total is a multiple of 12.
Colour plan
Cream does the most work, 78% of the 432 stitches, followed by Forest at 13%. Every colour is used at least 40 times, so there are no tiny one-off details to hunt for. Every square of the grid is filled.
Working notes
The longest float is 10 stitches, and 7 rows have a float longer than 5 that should be caught on the wrong side. 5 rows use three or more colours; work those with bobbins (intarsia) or duplicate-stitch the extra colour afterwards.
Row by row
All 9 rows written out, row 1 at the bottom
- Row 1 (RS, right to left): 48 Cream
- Row 2 (WS, left to right): 1 Forest, 10 Cream, 2 Forest, 10 Cream, 2 Forest, 10 Cream, 2 Forest, 10 Cream, 1 Forest
- Row 3 (RS, right to left): 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 3 Cream, 2 Rust, 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 2 Cream, 1 Forest, 3 Cream, 2 Rust, 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 2 Cream, 1 Forest, 3 Cream, 2 Rust, 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 2 Cream, 1 Forest, 3 Cream, 2 Rust, 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream
- Row 4 (WS, left to right): 2 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 4 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 4 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 4 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 2 Cream
- Row 5 (RS, right to left): 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Forest, 6 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Forest, 6 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Forest, 6 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Forest, 3 Cream
- Row 6 (WS, left to right): 2 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 4 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 4 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 4 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream, 1 Rust, 2 Cream, 1 Rust, 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 2 Cream
- Row 7 (RS, right to left): 1 Cream, 1 Forest, 3 Cream, 2 Rust, 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 2 Cream, 1 Forest, 3 Cream, 2 Rust, 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 2 Cream, 1 Forest, 3 Cream, 2 Rust, 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 2 Cream, 1 Forest, 3 Cream, 2 Rust, 3 Cream, 1 Forest, 1 Cream
- Row 8 (WS, left to right): 1 Forest, 10 Cream, 2 Forest, 10 Cream, 2 Forest, 10 Cream, 2 Forest, 10 Cream, 1 Forest
- Row 9 (RS, right to left): 48 Cream
This is an original CraftPatterns design, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: stitch it, share it and gift what you make — please credit craftpatterns.app and don't sell the pattern itself. Want to change it? Open it in the knitting colourwork editor.
Last updated · About us