Jojoland Dragon Melody Shawl Wrap Knitting Pattern

Jojoland Dragon Melody Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Jojoland Dragon Melody Shawl is a beautiful lace knitting project designed as a triangular wrap that begins at the back of the neck and opens at the front. The finished shawl measures approximately 28 inches (70 centimeters) long from the back of the neck to the bottom point, making it an elegant accessory suitable for layering or draping.

Construction and Techniques

This shawl is worked flat using a unique three-part construction method that creates distinct shaping throughout the project. The knitting begins at the back of the neck and progresses toward the front openings, allowing for strategic increases that transform the garment's silhouette as it develops.

Part 1: The first half of the shawl begins in four separate sections with increases worked at the edges and three double increases positioned every other row. This construction creates a somewhat square shape that showcases the yarn's beauty through plain stockinette stitch.

Part 2: The pattern transitions to a second section featuring many increases spaced across various rows. These strategically placed increases gradually transform the shawl's shape from square to circular, creating elegant draping.

Part 3: The second half features a wide edging that is worked perpendicular to the rest of the knitting, adding a decorative finished edge to the completed shawl.

This design is a variation of YarnSmith's Dragon Wing Shawl pattern, adapted to highlight the exceptional qualities of Jojoland Melody yarn through its stockinette sections.

Stitches and Abbreviations

The Dragon Melody Shawl uses fundamental knitting stitches combined with lace techniques:

• Knit (K): The basic knit stitch forms the foundation of the stockinette sections
• Purl (P): Used in combination with knit stitches to create stockinette stitch
• Yarn Over (YO): This lace technique adds stitches to the needle by bringing yarn forward as if to purl, then taking it to the back over the right needle to create a loop. Yarn overs are then purled on return rows and create the openwork characteristic of lace knitting
• Slip (Sl): Stitches are slipped by inserting the right needle as if to purl and transferring the stitch from left needle to right needle without working it

Materials and Gauge

The Jojoland Dragon Melody Shawl is designed to use 8 balls of Jojoland Melody Superwash yarn. Each ball contains 50 grams and 220 yards (200 meters) of 100% wool fiber, providing approximately 1,760 total yards of yarn for the completed project.

The pattern specifies a gauge of 6 stitches per inch when worked in stockinette stitch. The designer notes that this gauge is looser than typical fingering weight yarn specifications and recommends experimenting to find a yarn with an average gauge of 7 to 8 stitches per inch in stockinette that will feel pleasant when worked at the shawl's looser gauge.

Any fingering weight wool yarn with appropriate yardage and gauge characteristics may be substituted for the specified Jojoland Melody Superwash, allowing for creative yarn choices while maintaining the intended finished dimensions and drape.

Needles

This project requires 4mm (US size 6) circular needles, or the size necessary to achieve the specified gauge. The circular needles must be at least 24 inches (60 centimeters) long to accommodate the initial stitches. As the shawl grows during knitting, the designer recommends switching to longer circular needles to comfortably work the increasing number of stitches without crowding.