I don't usually make two items the same, but when a friend missed out on the purchase of my Old School Tie Asymmetrical Shawl, I just had to try to replicate it for her!
As the original was knitted from leftover wool and cotton scraps that I had in my yarn stash, I decided the best way to recreate the colours that Anna loved was to blend fibres and spin up some yarn.
I'd not kept any details about how I'd made the original shawl - I had only the weight of the yarn, some measurements and a photograph so it was a little bit of a challenge!
Anyway - if you would like to recreate this lovely snuggly shawl for yourself, here's how I made 'Anna's Shawl'.
Please note: this pattern is taken from notes made as I knitted and has not been tech-edited for errors - if there are any please let me know!
ANNA'S SHAWL - an asymmetrical triangle shawl knitted from hand spun yarn.
YARN USED:
approx 284g/144yards of bulky hand spun yarn giving 6 WPI - I used 12mm needles to knit.
FINISHED SIZE:
97cm/end of rows edge x 77cm/cast off edge approximately excluding pompoms
COLOURS:
lemon Merino laps and cream Shetland
natural coloured browns and whites Jacobs Sheep
chambray and duck egg blue Merino laps with denim textile waste
hand dyed avocado pink Ryeland
buttercup and mustard Merino laps
oxblood and ruby Merino laps
french navy and air force blue Merino laps
I made the three pompoms on the points of the shawl by needle felting about 30g of natural coloured Jacobs Sheep wool into a ball shape; I then gently wet-felted the balls before stitching and needle felting them to the points.
If you wish to trim your shawl with yarn pompoms or tassels then you will need an extra 50g of yarn to make these.
METHOD:
Using 12mm needles
Cast on 2 stitches
Row 1: purl 2
Row 2: slip the first stitch knitwise, then knit into the front and then into the back of the second stitch. (3 stitches)
Row 3: slip the first stitch knitwise, purl 2 (3 stitches)
Row 4: slip the first stitch knitwise, knit into the front and back of the second stitch, knit 1 (4 stitches)
*Row 5: slip the first stitch knitwise, purl to the end of the row.
Row 6: slip the first stitch knitwise, knit front and back into the second stitch, knit to the end of the row. *
Repeat Rows 5 and 6 until the shawl is the desired size.
Cast off in rib.
To replicate the colour pattern in Anna's Shawl -
Cast on using LEMON CREAM and work approx 26 rows.
Use NATURAL COLOURED Jacobs and work approx 15 rows
Use CHAMBRAY DUCK-EGG DENIM and work approx 18 rows
Use AVOCADO PINK and work approx 6 rows
Use BUTTERCUP MUSTARD and work approx 10 rows
Use OXBLOOD RUBY and work approx 15 rows
Use BUTTERCUP MUSTARD and work approx 5 rows
Use FRENCH NAVY AIRFORCE and work approx 6 rows.
Block the shawl when finished, paying particular attention to the straight edge as this has a tendency to curl under - I don't mind this, but you may need to block further!
Attach the pompoms or tassels and ENJOY!
PLEASE NOTE: I have used my own hand spun yarn and didn't take note of the number of stitches or rows to 4" so cannot give an exact gauge.
Number of rows in each colour again is an approximation as I didn't note that down either!
However - as you work the shawl you will see how long it is becoming as the row you are knitting is the drop as seen in the dark blue cast off edge in the photograph, and the wraparound length is the length of the increase edge - so keep knitting until you have the drop or wraparound you desire.
Here is Anna's Shawl with the cast-off FRENCH NAVY AIRFORCE edge worn down the back in a traditional shawl style.
And just to compare - here is the original 'Old School Tie' shawl that Anna missed out on...which do you prefer?!
