A winter linen shawl
Each year as the weather cools, I get the urge to pick up my knitting needles and crochet hook again. I usually rummage through my unfinished projects until I find one that I want to work on again. This year the first project to grab my attention was a shawl that I started in September 2018.
I had found the yarn at the haberdashery stall at the local market. It is called "winter linen" - 26% linen, 46% wool and 26% acrylic in 50g balls of uneven chunky weight. I didn't have a pattern, I just played with it for a while and then freestyled a shawl mostly using a modification of the crochet pattern I use for lap rugs:
Row 1: two doubles, two chains until end of row
Row 2: two doubles into the chains of the previous row, two chains until end of row
I started with a chain of 10 and followed the stitch pattern without skipping the first stitch when starting the next row - I had made this mistake when first learning crochet, so I knew this would make a triangle. I used up the first four balls of yarn to create a triangle measuring 112 cm at the longest edge. I wasn't completely happy with it as it didn't cover my arms and looked a bit plain.
As I had run out of yarn, I put the shawl away to have a think about it. Several months later I found more of the yarn at the markets and bought 4 more balls. This time I decided to add to the sides of the triangle for better arm coverage. I used 2 balls on each side with the same stitch, hooking into the sides of the triangle and cutting every third row a few stitches short until I nearly ran out of yarn.
I finished the edges with singles and created a scalloped edge by stitching 2 singles into every second stitch. Finally, I added a large button so I can secure the front if I want to.
The shawl now has a comfortable shape with good coverage around the arms and neck as well as the upper back. It also has a nice weight with the linen in the yarn, without being too warm to wear in our climate. It looks "finished" now instead of just a raw triangle.
I love to buy yarn from the haberdashery at the market - it is all ends of line, with odd colours and types of yarn. You never know what you will find there and I don't usually go with an end product in mind. I buy the yarn I like and then figure out what to do with it (and I'm lucky if I can find more when I go back!). I do the same with the remnant bin at fabric shops and op shops.
What do you think? Do you get the urge to work with yarn in autumn/winter? What are you working on now?
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I’m very impressed it looks lovely and more so that you didn’t need a pattern. I really have to follow someone else’s design but have been knitting cotton dishcloths and facewashers and now have the urge to knit a really warm jumper as we have cold winters. I hope by using locally grown and processed fiber to avoid the Asian imported clothing thing. Hopefully if everyone tries a bit harder it may help Australia’s economy after lockdown not China’s (also hoping I can make it fit me properly!!)
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