Friday, February 1, 2013

Sparkle Shawl


I bought two balls of Classic Shades, Sequins lite at Knit n Purl in early January.  I loved the colour and was not sure what to make.  I thought a triangle shawl would best show off the colour stripes and the tiny sparkle of the sequins.  It is wonderful and perfect!  The camera only show a few glitters of the sequins, but they are evenly spaced for a lovely sparkly effect.  (The beret in the photo is now on my etsy shop site! Stop by for a visit!)
 I love to wear the shawls in a cowl draping.  No shoulder, granny style, wrapping for me.  So get out your shawls and show them off.  (I know you have some!)
 I am showing the shawl "upside down" as that is the direction it is knit.  From the center top, growing in size and stitches on your needle until the last LONG row!  Please read the whole pattern and the extra notes.  This one is easy but the tips will help.

Pattern:

Gauge: 12 sts = 4 inches on 4.5mm  (gauge is less important on shawls... one size fits all) any worsted weight yarn that is soft (not too stiff) would work here.  Noro yarns, yes!
Size: approx 5.5 feet long and 2.5 feet wide.
Needles, 4.5mm (US 7), Long circular to hold lots of stitches
Yarn: Universal, Classic Shades, Sequins Lite, 2 -  50gam balls.
Stitch markers

Cast on 5 stitches. Row 1:  Knit 2, place marker(center stitch is next stitch), Knit 2, place marker, Knit 1.
Row 2: Knit across, slipping markers.

Right side (odd number) row: Knit 1, yarn over, Knit to marker, yarn over, slip center stitch marker, knit center stitch, yarn over, knit to last marker, yarn over, slip marker, knit 1.
Even number rows (wrong side): Knit all stitches, including the yarn overs from the row below. (garter stitch)

These two row create the garter stitch bands. You will repeat these two rows, gradually increasing the number of stitches for the shawl.
After 30 rows, you can (optional) change to stripes of stocking stitch and garter stitch.  To do this, you will change to stocking stitch (knit the right side rows, including the yarn over increases, and purl the even / wrong side rows ) for 12 rows, then alternate 12 rows of garter stitch .
You could also just do garter stitch for the whole piece.  Your choice.
You will be increasing 4 stitches every right side row, and the shawl will grow into a large triangle.  Near the end of the second ball, when have about 8 yards of yarn left, LOOSELY cast off all stitches.

Extra Notes:
I found after a few rows I would only need the center marker to remind me when to do the center yarn overs.  The end ones are easy to see.  You could also put a pin on the right side to remind you which side you are on.  It is easy to get mixed up in garter stitch.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Chris! I just finished the sparkle shawl and I just love the pattern! I'll have to call it something else, though because I used a "non-sparkly" yarn. But I'm pleased with the results. I like it so much that I'm thinking of making another one in a totally different color scheme. This pattern is definitely going into my "favorite patterns" list. Thanks for sharing.