Gardiner Yarn Works Feather Lace Shawl Wrap Knitting Pattern

Gardiner Yarn Works Feather Lace Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Gardiner Yarn Works Feather Lace Shawl is a lovely lace shoulder shawl designed by Chrissy Gardiner. This intermediate-level knitting project creates a finished piece measuring 40 inches by 21 inches after blocking. The shawl is specifically engineered to make efficient use of fingering-weight yarn, allowing knitters to use nearly an entire skein without excessive leftovers. The sample photographed was created from a single skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk in the Pumpkin colorway, though the pattern also works beautifully with gently variegated sock yarn.

Techniques Used

This shawl employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its elegant construction:

• Top-down construction: The shawl begins with a small cast-on of just 5 stitches at the shoulder and expands outward as rows are worked
• Seamless knitting: The entire shawl is worked as one continuous piece without seaming
• Worked flat: The shawl is knitted flat on circular needles rather than in the round, allowing for directional lace patterning
• Lace knitting: The pattern features delicate openwork created through yarn-overs and decreases, forming the characteristic feather lace design

Stitches and Pattern Elements

The Feather Lace Shawl uses fundamental knitting stitches combined in a sophisticated lace pattern. Key stitches include knit (k), yarn-over (YO) for creating lace holes, knit 2 together (k2tog) for right-leaning decreases, slip, slip, knit (SSK) for left-leaning decreases, and slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over (SK2P) for double decreases. The pattern incorporates garter stitch for the border stitches, which are worked on every row to frame the lace pattern. Stitch markers are used strategically to track pattern repeats and define the shawl's structure across multiple sections. The lace pattern is worked from rows 12-19 and 38-45, which are repeated as stitches are added between markers on subsequent repeats, creating the expanding triangular shawl shape.

Materials and Gauge

This pattern is designed for fingering-weight yarn, requiring approximately 450 yards minimum to complete the shawl. The recommended gauge is 28 stitches and 32 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch, though the pattern notes that gauge is not critical for this project, making it forgiving for knitters with varying tension. Needles required include size 3 (3.25mm) circular needles in the 24-inch to 36-inch length range, along with a yarn needle for weaving in ends and stitch markers to track the lace pattern repeats throughout the construction.