Classic Elite Yarns Underhill Wrap Knitting Pattern

Classic Elite Yarns Underhill Shawl

What is Being Made

The Underhill is a crescent-shaped shawl designed by Tonia Barry, originally published in Legend 1708A by Classic Elite Yarns. This intermediate-level knitting project measures approximately 74 inches long and 15½ inches wide, making it a generous wrap suitable for layering or draping. The shawl is worked seamlessly from the bottom up in a flat construction, creating an elegant accessory piece.

Techniques Used

This shawl employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its distinctive shape and texture. The design utilizes bottom-up construction, beginning with a small cast-on and expanding through strategic increases. The piece is worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, allowing for easy manipulation of the cable pattern. The crescent silhouette is created through a combination of increases and decreases positioned at specific points within the pattern repeat. Cable work forms the primary design element, with lofty cables worked end to end across a garter stitch background. The shawl is seamless, meaning all shaping and patterning are integrated into a single continuous piece with no seaming required.

Stitches Used

The Underhill pattern incorporates several essential stitches and techniques:

• Garter stitch serves as the foundational background, created by knitting every row on both right-side and wrong-side rows
• Cable stitches are the focal point, worked using cable needles to create the lofty texture. The pattern includes cable crosses where stitches are slipped to cable needles and held in front or back before being knitted in a specific sequence
• Left Lifted Increase (LLI) is the primary increase method used throughout the shawl. This technique involves inserting the left-hand needle into the purl bump of a stitch two rows below and lifting it onto the needle before knitting it as a new stitch
• Slip stitches are used at the edges for a finished appearance, worked purlwise with yarn in front on wrong-side rows
• Stockinette stitch elements appear within the charted Underhill pattern repeat, which spans 11 stitches over 28 rows

Pattern Structure

The shawl begins with a three-stitch cast-on and enters an increase section where stitches are gradually added through Left Lifted Increases. After reaching 17 stitches, the main pattern is introduced with the charted Underhill motif worked between markers. The cable pattern is repeated across the width while increases continue on either side of the chart, allowing the shawl to expand into its crescent shape. The pattern requires careful attention to marker placement and the coordination of increases with the cable chart rows.

Materials

The Underhill shawl is designed to be worked in Legend by Classic Elite Yarns, a luxury blend containing 80% merino wool and 20% silk. This fiber combination provides both warmth and drape, with the silk adding subtle sheen and the merino offering softness and elasticity. The yarn is available in the colorway 3115 Chartreuse, a vibrant yellow-green shade. A total of 7 hanks are required to complete the project, providing approximately 763 yards of yardage (based on the stated yardage of 109 yards per 50-gram hank). The pattern calls for knitting needles in US size 9 (5.5 mm), which are appropriately sized to showcase the cable detail while maintaining the fabric's drape and structure.