Juniper Moon Farm Wrap Knitting Pattern

Sasha Crescent Shawl by Melissa Leapman

What Is Being Made

The Sasha is a crescent-shaped shawl from the Pasadena Collection by Juniper Moon Farm. This elegant wrap measures 73½ x 18" (186.5 x 45.5cm) when finished and blocked, making it a versatile accessory suitable for layering or draping across the shoulders. The crescent silhouette is achieved through strategic shaping that creates a graceful curved form.

Construction Method and Techniques

This shawl is worked from the bottom up in a seamless, flat construction, beginning with a decorative border section and progressing into the body. The design employs lace knitting techniques combined with short-row shaping to create its distinctive crescent form. The short-row construction method is similar to the turning technique used in sock heel construction, allowing the knitter to shape the fabric without seaming.

The pattern begins with casting on 381 stitches and working a garter stitch foundation before introducing the lace pattern. The 44-row Border Pattern chart features lace elements and strategic decreases that reduce the stitch count to 286 stitches. An eyelet row adds textural interest with yarn-over and knit-two-together combinations. The short-row section then shapes the shawl by working partial rows with paired decreases—centered double decreases and standard decreases—that gradually reduce the working stitches while maintaining the crescent silhouette.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

The pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches and decreasing techniques:

• Stockinette stitch forms the primary fabric base
• Garter stitch creates the initial foundation rows
• Lace pattern (charted over a 20-stitch multiple plus 1) incorporates yarn-overs for openwork
• Centered double decrease (CDD) for symmetric shaping
• Slip, slip, knit (ssk) for right-leaning decreases
• Knit two together (k2tog) and purl two together (p2tog) for standard decreases
• Yarn-over (yo) techniques in the eyelet row

Materials and Tools

The Sasha shawl is knitted using Juniper Moon Farm Cumulus Dappled yarn in colorway 101 On The Rocks. The project requires 3 hanks of 100g each (300g total). A US 8/5mm circular needle measuring 32"/80cm in length is used, or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge. The circular needle accommodates the increasing stitch count during the border section and provides flexibility for managing the large number of stitches.

The pattern specifies a gauge of 26 stitches and 26 rows over 4"/10cm in stockinette stitch, blocked. However, the designer notes that achieving exact gauge is not critical to the success of this project, making it accessible to knitters with varying tension and experience levels.

Finishing

The bind-off uses a specialized technique where stitches are knit together and then slipped back to the left needle, creating a flexible edge suitable for a lace shawl. Blocking is recommended to achieve the finished measurements and to fully open the lace pattern.