Berroco Rockport Shawl Wrap Knitting Pattern

Berroco Rockport Shawl: Lace Knit Wrap Pattern

What Is Being Made

The Rockport Shawl is an asymmetrical triangular wrap designed by Kirsten Kapur, featured in Berroco Portfolio Vol. 5. This intermediate-level knitting project creates a finished shawl measuring approximately 80 inches wide across the top edge and 34 inches from the top edge to the deepest point, making it a versatile accessory suitable for layering or draping.

Construction Method and Techniques

This shawl is worked flat from the bottom up, beginning with very few stitches at a single point. The design employs strategic increases worked at one edge to create the distinctive asymmetrical triangular silhouette. The bottom-up construction method allows knitters to try on the piece as it grows and stop at their desired finished length, offering flexibility in the final dimensions.

The pattern incorporates lace techniques throughout, using yarn overs and decreases to create openwork sections that add visual interest and reduce overall weight. This lace construction is ideal for a shawl, as it provides warmth without bulk while allowing the yarn's color and texture to remain visible through the open stitches.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Rockport Shawl employs several fundamental knitting stitches combined in charted patterns:

• Knit (k) and purl (p) stitches form the foundation
• Yarn overs (yo) create the lace openings and contribute to shaping
• Knit two together (k2tog) decreases, worked as right-leaning decreases
• Slip, slip, knit (SSK) decreases, creating left-leaning decreases that balance the k2tog stitches
• Stockinette stitch (St st) used as the base fabric in non-lace sections

The pattern is organized into multiple charted sections (Chart A, Chart B, and Chart C) that repeat and build upon each other. Chart C, the primary lace repeat, measures 10 stitches wide by 12 rows high when blocked, creating a 2½-inch width by 1¾-inch height repeat. The charted approach allows knitters to follow visual stitch-by-stitch instructions, making the lace construction more manageable.

Materials and Tools

The Rockport Shawl calls for Berroco Remix Light yarn in the colorway #6901 Birch. The pattern requires 2 balls of this yarn, each weighing 100 grams, providing sufficient yardage for the complete 80-inch by 34-inch finished dimensions.

A 29-inch circular needle in size 7 (4.50 mm) is required, with the pattern recommending checking gauge before beginning. The circular needle accommodates the increasing stitch count as the shawl expands from its point origin. One stitch marker is needed to track pattern repeats.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 16 stitches and 31 rows equaling 4 inches in stockinette stitch when blocked. For the lace sections, each 10-stitch-wide by 12-row-high repeat of Chart C should measure 2½ inches wide by 1¾ inches high after blocking. Achieving proper gauge is emphasized as essential to obtaining the intended finished measurements, and knitters are advised to swatch and block before beginning the main project.

Skill Level and Pattern Format

Rated as an intermediate-level pattern, the Rockport Shawl is suitable for knitters with foundational skills who are comfortable reading charts and working lace stitches. The pattern is provided as a downloadable PDF, allowing for easy access and printing. The design was copyrighted in 2017 and is available through Berroco, Inc., with updates issued when corrections are identified.