Paperbark Cherry

I fell in love with this bark the first time I saw it: the beautiful red color with the light brown stripes. I definitely want to use this bark in my project.

Paperbark cherry, also called Tibetan cherry or Birchbark cherry, is native to China and Tibet. The bark of a Paperbark cherry is it’s most stunning feature. The deep red bark peels away leaving younger softer skin beneath. In winter its bark stands out starkly against the landscape adding beautiful unexpected color.

At first, I tried knitting an abstract of the bark. You can see it here, geometric lines going around with slipped stitches of background color. I started with short lines at the bottom of the swatch then changed to longer lines. But it still isn’t a reflection of the bark.

So, I ripped it out and started fresh with thicker more organic lines. I think this mimics the bark better. I like the narrow swatch I made and so started making a tubular scarf (maybe with fringe!) for the wearable pattern.