Friday, December 21, 2012

Nameless Comfort knitting…




Soon after discussion of a Comfort Shawl Group began at our church, an interested party emailed me asking for a recommendation for a shawl pattern that could be worked on straight needles.  I had been planning to hand out copies of my Simple Joys Shawl which absolutely positively cannot be done on straight needles (36” circs at a minimum).   After some Ravelry research I recommended the Very Easy Ripple Shawl Since then, I have given it a lot of thought and decided to come up my own wrap pattern to pass out to the group (Members are welcome to make any shawl or small blanket that they like.  It just helps to have something on hand).

I tried a couple of ideas that I did not care for.   The simple garter rectangle was boring.   I tried garter with a stockinette ruffle on either end which showed more promise but I could not bring myself to finish the sample (Even so, I may recommend this as a “get started” shawl if I get someone who is really daunted by the prospect of more than plain knitting).   What you see above is actually my third attempt to come up with something with enough interest to keep me engaged but still simple enough for a beginner’s comfort level.   It is only about a third of the way done but I am really pleased with  it.   It is heavily inspired by the One Row Lace Scarf.  I love the look of it but found the pattern hard to keep track of (given it has a four stitch repeat, the problem is obviously mine).     So, in addition to widening and lengthening the pattern, I also changed the order of the stitches so that the repeat lends itself better to a count of three.   I love the texture created by centering the decreases, which also creates a really nice slight scallop at the beginning (and hopefully the end).  So far, so good.  

Once finished, and before it is given to its intended recipient, I will get full photos and make the pattern available on Ravelry as a free download.

No comments:

Post a Comment