I’ve got a soft spot for waterfalls—and have had the privilege of standing under a few. But, I find Cedar Falls particularly beautiful. Tucked into a peaceful, wooded hollow this at-times-unassuming-stream-at-times-raging-torrent makes its way to a tranquil pool at the base of a cliff. However, Cedar Falls does not follow a straight path. The cliff face pushes…redirects…shifts…nudges…the water along the way. I’ve always found this guided descent so much more striking than a straight-drop waterfall.

When working on this design Cedar Falls came to mind. Deep into the design process I realized the strong bias created by the arching triangles of my stitch pattern meant there was no way I could create a symmetrical wrap. As I rewound many yards of ripped out yarn, I decided to keep my good beginning and try to push…redirect…shift…nudge. Ultimately this “explore while lost” mentality created a design that was more interesting and beautiful than I had originally anticipated.

Cedar Falls can be made in two symmetrical variations (a scarf and a wrap). For these variations the sides are mirror images that bias toward the midline where short rows both shift and connect the motifs.

And, since I originally created Cedar Falls as a way to have all the fun of intricate lace but produce a fabric that the men in my life might wear, I have included a variation of my original concept. This asymmetrical scarf embraces the bias of the original stitch pattern and was the hands down favorite of my guys—particularly once the similarity to dragon scales was noted.

Finally, the unique edge was created with Queenie’s Open-Ended Cast On which I developed for this design. Knitting onto the cast on two stitches at a time creates a substantial, stretchy edge that resists rolling.