Berroco Greenwood Shawl- Portfolio Wrap Knitting Pattern

Berroco Greenwood Shawl - Knitted Triangular Wrap

What is Being Made

The Greenwood Shawl is a triangular knitted wrap designed by Martha Wissing. This intermediate-level shawl measures 80 inches long with a wide end of 36 inches and a narrow end of 5 inches, making it a versatile accessory suitable for layering or draping. The shawl is constructed using a bottom-up approach, beginning at the widest point and tapering toward the narrow end.

Knitting Techniques

This shawl is worked flat on circular needles, a common method for creating large rectangular and triangular pieces. The construction begins with a picot cast on, a decorative edging technique that creates a series of small loops along the cast-on edge. The picot cast on is executed using the knitted method, casting on groups of stitches and then passing stitches over one another to form the characteristic picot details. The shawl concludes with a matching picot bind off, creating a finished edge that mirrors the cast-on edge.

Cable techniques are incorporated throughout the stitch patterns, adding textural interest and visual depth to the wrap. Yarn overs are used strategically to create openwork sections and increase stitch counts as the shawl expands from the narrow to wide end.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Greenwood Shawl employs several key stitches and techniques:

• Stockinette stitch (St st) forms the primary fabric base, providing a smooth, classic knit surface
• Garter stitch appears in the stitch patterns, created by knitting every row
• Kfbf (knit into front, back, and front) increases two stitches from a single stitch, used for strategic shaping
• Make bobble (MB) creates textured bobble details worked over two stitches, adding dimensional embellishment
• Yarn overs (yo) generate lace-like openings and contribute to the shawl's expanding width
• Slip stitches are used at edges (slip 2 wyif and slip 2 wyib) for clean, finished selvage edges
• Decrease stitches including SSK (slip, slip, knit) and k2tog (knit two together) shape the fabric and balance increases
• Purl stitches create textural contrast and are incorporated into the stitch pattern repeats

Materials and Tools

The Greenwood Shawl requires 6 hanks of Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn in colorway #62189 Barley, with each hank weighing 100 grams. Ultra Alpaca is a luxurious blend that provides softness and drape ideal for shawl construction. A 29-inch circular knitting needle in size 8 (5.00 mm) is recommended, though needles may be adjusted to obtain the correct gauge. The pattern specifies a gauge of 18 stitches and 24 rows per 4 inches in stockinette stitch, making accurate gauge checking essential before beginning the project to ensure proper finished dimensions.