Kate Atherley Sick Day Shawl Wrap Knitting Pattern

Kate Atherley Sick Day Shawl: Knitted Half Pi Lace Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Sick Day Shawl is a half pi shawl designed by Kate Atherley and inspired by the Elizabeth Zimmermann eyelet pi shawl construction method. This is a triangular wrap garment worked from the top down in a seamless, flat construction. The sample finished piece measures 58 inches across the top edge and 29 inches deep, making it a generous wrap suitable for draping over the shoulders or wearing as a shawlette. The design is intentionally straightforward, requiring only basic knitting skills, making it an ideal project for knitters who want engaging but not overly complex stitch work.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several key knitting techniques that work together to create the characteristic shawl shape and fabric:

• Top-down construction: The shawl is begun at the top edge and increases are worked throughout to create the expanding triangular shape
• Seamless, worked flat: The entire piece is worked as a single continuous piece with no seaming required, using flat needles or circular needles worked back and forth
• Lace patterning: Eyelet lace elements are incorporated into the design, creating decorative holes and contributing to the open, airy drape characteristic of pi shawls
• Increases and decreases: Strategic increases and decreases shape the shawl and create stitch pattern definition

Stitches Used

The pattern requires only fundamental knitting stitches, keeping the skill level accessible:

• Knit and purl stitches: The foundation of the pattern, used to create stockinette stitch fabric and textural elements
• Yarn overs (eyelets): These create the lace holes characteristic of the pi shawl design and contribute to the open, decorative appearance
• Knit two together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease used throughout the pattern to balance increases and shape the fabric
• Make one (M1): An increase worked using the backwards loop cast-on method, used to add stitches and expand the shawl

Materials and Gauge

The Sick Day Shawl is worked in a worsted to chunky weight yarn, providing a fabric with good drape and visual interest without requiring excessive yardage. The pattern calls for 400-500 meters of heavy worsted, aran, or chunky weight yarn. The sample was worked using 1.5 skeins of Briggs & Little Regal aran weight yarn (approximately 425 yards), demonstrating that the yardage requirement is modest and suitable for stash-busting projects.

Needles: The pattern is worked on 5.5mm to 6mm needles depending on personal preference and available tools. A longer circular needle is recommended as the easiest option for managing the expanding stitch count, though straight needles can be used if necessary. An additional needle 2-3 sizes larger is needed for the bind-off, which must be stretchy enough to accommodate the final tier of stitches without creating a tight, restrictive edge.

Gauge: The pattern is worked at approximately 16 stitches and 20 rows per 4 inches in stockinette stitch after blocking. However, the pattern notes that gauge is not critical to the success of the project; as long as the resulting fabric appears drapey and appropriately textured after the first 12 rows, the needle size is suitable. Working at a tighter gauge will simply result in a smaller finished piece, making this an adaptable pattern for various yarn weights and personal preferences.

Pattern Structure and Design Notes

The Sick Day Shawl is structured around a repeating pattern sequence that creates the expanding pi shawl shape. The pattern includes Rows 1-12 as an initial setup section, followed by repeating Rows 14-19 that form the main body of the shawl. The pattern is notably forgiving of minor errors; if stitch counts become off by one or two stitches, the M1 increase or k2tog decrease can be used to correct the count without disrupting the overall design. The pattern notes recommend checking off rows as they are completed, acknowledging the real-world context of knitting while under the weather. The bind-off method varies depending on how many repeats of the main pattern rows have been completed, with conventional bind-off suitable for fewer repeats and stretchier bind-off techniques recommended for pieces worked