Self Fringing Shawl

 

It has been quite a while since I knit anything due to other crafty endeavors, work, and life in general. Lately I have felt in the mood to pick up yarn and needles again, especially with the cooler weather. I wanted a project that didn't require too much thought, something I could work on while watching TV and something that didn't require keeping track of a stitch pattern.  Garter stitch fit the bill, plus I really like garter stitch.  I have wanted to knit a self fringing shawl since around the time I learned to knit, so that is what I decided I wanted to work on.  I had a few false starts, but finally finished a nice, fringy shawl I am sharing with you below. 

Usually, I prefer to work with natural fibers; for this project, I decided to go with 100% acrylic.  With natural fibers, blocking is essential to open up the stitch pattern.  Since I used garter stitch, I wasn't too worried about having to block to show off a stitch pattern. Plus I don't really have a good place to put down blocking mats to pin out my shawl.  The yarn is machine wash/dry, but I chose to lightly steam it to straighten out the fringe and neaten up some of my uneven stitches a bit, and I also didn't want to tangle my fringe.

The shawl is worked side to side - cast on a few stitches and increase until the required number of stitches is reached, then decrease until only a few remain.  Here you can see where the increase section turns to the decrease section. 

Once you have fastened off the body stitches, you just unravel the remaining stitches to create your fringe.  

In the Supplies list I mention a straight cable needle or DPN for knotting the fringe.  This is completely optional and the purpose it to just help in getting the knot of the fringe close to the body of the shawl.  A little trick I use when I finish sewing (repairing a small rip or tear in clothing) when I tie off the thread, I stick the needle into the loop of thread to help tie it as close to the fabric as possible.  Once you've made the knot, before tightening, place the cable needle or DPN against the body of the shawl, then pull on the fringe and wiggle the knot down to the base of the shawl.  Again, this is completely optional and you may find it more fiddly than necessary.

I weighed my skein of yarn without the ball band, and it was 11 oz.  I used about 6 oz total.  For the cast on and end tail, you can leave these a bit long so you can loop them to make a couple of extra fringes, or you can weave them in as you would normally weave in loose ends.

Supplies:

Yarn: Lion Brand Mandala Bonus Bundle (I used the Meowth colorway) or any #3 weight yarn (light worsted/DK)

Needles: US Size 10 circular - 24" or longer

Notions: stitch marker, yarn needle (for any loose ends you may have), scissors, straight cable needle or DPN (for knotting fringe, optional)

Gauge: 3 sts per inch on steam blocked fabric - not super important for this project

Finished Shawl Size: 

Center to Tip: 28 inches, not including fringe

Fringe: about 3-1/2 inches long

Tip to Tip: 78 inches

Abbreviations:

sts = stitches

kfb = knit into the front of next stitch and knit into the back of next stitch

k2tog = knit next two stitches together

Cast on!

Cast on 6 sts

Increase Section:

Row 1: knit

Row 2: k1, kfb, place marker, k4

Row 3: knit all sts, slipping the marker when you get to it

Row 4: knit to 1 stitch before marker, kfb, slip marker, k4

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until you have 100 body stitches - plus 4 fringe sts; you will want to have ended with Row 3.

Decrease Section:

Row 5: knit to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, slip marker, knit 4

Row 6: knit all sts, slipping the marker when you get to it

Repeat Rows 5 and 6 until 7 sts remain; you will want to have ended with Row 6.

Finishing:

Row 7: k1, k2tog, slip marker, k4 - 2 body sts remaining

Row 8: knit

Last Row: k2tog, remove marker. Cut yarn and pull tail through last worked stitch. Remove needle from the four remaining sts.

Fringe:

Unravel remaining four sts and knot. Cut if desired or leave as loops.  Weave in any loose ends, 

block as desired.

Here is a video showing the steps for knitting your shawl. Happy Knitting!

Seashore Crescent Shawlette

 

I love to spend hours looking through vintage needlework books and old newspapers, and have a decent collection of stitches I have either printed or hand copied over the years, and I even bought a stack of booklets from eBay.  

I came across the Cowrie Shell Insertion some years ago on knitting-and.com and knew that I had to use it for something.  There are a lot of edgings and insertions on this site, and I have seen most of them in my travels through the old stitch books, newspapers and magazines. This particular insertion pattern I believe was originally printed in the late 1800's in Canada in Home Work.  Not all of the the old books have pictures of every stitch, so this site is quite helpful as it has pictures with each stitch, and also uses modern terms.  While the old books always have an explanation of the abbreviations used, it can still be confusing; for example, they use "n" for narrow, which is generally k2tog.   

I decided to use this insertion as an edging for a crescent shawl, my favorite kind of shawl to knit.

I wanted this shawl to wear on vacation this past July; I eagerly cast on at the beginning of the year with a fine lace weight cashmere yarn in a light tan/white blend - perfect for the beach because it reminded me of the sand.  The yarn was so fine, I had to use one of those giant lighted magnifying glasses you wear around your neck to see what I was doing.  It took me forever to make progress.  I had about 50 repeats of the shell pattern done when disaster struck.  I made a mistake and had knit back to fix it, then accidentally dropped several stitches... and it went downhill from there.  So I abandoned the lovely cashmere lace yarn because it was June at that point and I knew I would never be able to finish the shawl unless I used a heavier yarn.

I had gotten a ton of Premier Chameleon from my local Dollar Store a while back and figured it would be perfect.  So I cast on and was able to finish the shawl in time for vacation.  This yarn is supposed to change color in the sun, however it never really did more than get a few very light spots of purple here and there.

This little shawlette measures appx. 9 inches from the center top to bottom curve, and appx. 35-1/2 inches tip to tip.  Just a little something to drape over your shoulders to keep the summer air conditioning at bay.

I used only one skein of the Premier Chameleon yarn, which is 100% cotton, #3 weight (DK/light worsted) 229 yds / 210 m - 3.5 iz / 100 g, and a 32" circular needle in a US size 6.

yo = yarn over

k2tog = knit 2 stitches together

k = knit

p = purl

ssk = slip, slip, knit - slip a stitch knitwise, slip another stitch knitwise, insert left needle into the front of these stitches and knit them together through the back loop

Cowrie Shell Pattern:

Row 1 (ws) : yo, k2tog, k2, p2, k2, yo, p1, k2, p2, k4

Row 2: (yo, k2tog, p2)2x, k1, yo, k1, p2, yo, k2tog, p2, k2

Row 3: yo, k2tog (k2, p2)2x, yo, p1, k2, p2, k4

Row 4: yo, k2tog, p2, k2tog, yo, p2, k1, yo, k3, p2, k2tog, yo, p2, k2

Row 5: yo, k2tog, k2, p2, k2, p4, yo, p1, k2, p2, k4

Row 6: (yo, k2tog, p2)2x, k1, yo, k5, p2, yo, k2tog, p2, k2

Row 7: yo, k2tog, k2, p2, k2, p2tog, p5, k2, p2, k4

Row 8: yo, k2tog, p2, k2tog, yo, p2, k4, k2tog, p2, k2tog, yo, p2, k2

Row 9: yo, k2tog, k2, p2, k2, p2tog, p3, k2, p2, k4

Row 10: (yo, k2tog, p2)2x, k2, k2tog, p2, yo, k2tog, p2, k2

Row 11: yo, k2tog, k2, p2, k2, p2tog, p1, k2, p2, k4

Row 12: yo, k2tog, p2, k2tog, yo, p2, k2tog, p2, k2tog, yo, p2, k2

Work the Cowrie Shell pattern 30 times and bind off.  With the wrong side facing, pick up and knit 180 stitches.

Shawl Body:

Row 1: knit 92 stitches, turn

Row 2: knit 6 stitches, turn

Row 3: knit to 1 stitch before turning point, ssk, knit 2, turn

Row 4: knit to 1 stitch before turning point, k2tog, knit 2, turn

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until all stitches of the shawl body have been worked.  Bind off and block.

Below is a video of the cowrie shell stitch.