Fretboard

Fretboard is a cosy cabled & textured scarf designed to look like the fretboards of stringed instruments. I created the DK-weight ‘four-stringed’ version for a relative who is a talented bass guitar player, and I couldn’t resist knitting one for myself too. Mine has six cabled ‘strings’ like my favourite instrument the viola da gamba, and is in fingering-weight yarn. This scarf is fully reversible with its ribbed ground, garter-stitch ‘frets’ and simple reversible-cable ‘strings’.

Skills & Techniques

  • Cable knitting

  • Tubular Cast On (optional)

  • Tubular Bind Off (optional)

  • Charts and written instructions are both provided in full

Materials Needed

  • Four-stringed bass/ukulele version: US 7 / 4.5mm needles, or a needle size that produces a fabulous fabric with your yarn. 6 balls of WOOLganic Organic Merino 8ply (100% merino; 113yds/103m per 50g skein), or 660yds/604m of DK or worsted-weight yarn. Sample colourway: ‘Charbon’

  • Six-stringed guitar/viola da gamba version: US 5 / 3.75mm needles, or a needle size that produces a fabulous fabric with your yarn. 2 skeins of Malabrigo Sock (100% merino; 440yds/402m per 100g skein), or 865yds/790m of fingering-weight yarn. Sample Colourway: ‘Boticelli Red’

  • Both versions: a cable needle, and a needle for weaving in the ends

Finished Measurements

  • Four-stringed version: 75”/190cm long and 8”/20cm wide

  • Six-stringed version: 65”/165cm long and 8.5”/22cm wide

  • Customise the length by working a different number of repeats.