Lana Grossa 27 Shawl Wrap Knitting Pattern

Lana Grossa 27 Shawl in Cashmere 16 Fine

What Is Being Made

The Lana Grossa 27 is a seamless triangular shawl worked from the top down in a single piece. This design measures 150 cm along the inner edge and 75 cm along the center spine, making it a generous wrap suitable for layering or draping. The finished shawl features decorative striping created through color changes and is finished with three hand-sewn tassels at the points for added visual interest and dimension.

Techniques Used

This shawl employs several key knitting techniques that create its distinctive shape and texture:

• Top-down construction: The shawl begins with a small cast-on of just 3 stitches and expands outward through strategic increases, allowing the knitter to try on the piece as it grows and adjust the final size if desired.
• Seamless knitting: Worked entirely on circular needles without seams, ensuring a smooth, continuous fabric from cast-on to bind-off.
• Worked flat: Despite using circular needles, the shawl is worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round, which is a common method for large, flat projects.
• Striping: Color changes are introduced at specific points in the pattern to create horizontal stripes across the finished piece, adding visual complexity and showcasing the yarn's different colorways.
• Yarn-over increases: The shawl's expanding triangular shape is achieved through strategic yarn-over stitches placed on right-side rows, which create both increases and decorative eyelets throughout the fabric.

Stitches Used

The pattern employs two primary stitch patterns:

• Stockinette stitch (St st): Knit on right-side rows and purl on wrong-side rows, this creates the smooth, classic fabric that forms the main body of the shawl. Stockinette provides an excellent canvas for displaying the yarn's color and texture.
• Garter stitch: Knit on every row, garter stitch is used for the striped border sections near the completion of the shawl. This reversible stitch creates a textured, ridged appearance that contrasts with the stockinette body and adds structural definition to the edges.

Materials and Gauge

The Lana Grossa 27 Shawl calls for premium materials chosen for their drape and warmth:

• Yarn: Lana Grossa Cashmere 16 Fine, a luxurious blend containing 80% pure wool, 10% cashmere, and 10% polyamide. This blend provides softness, elasticity, and durability. The yarn yields 320 meters per 50-gram skein. The pattern requires 250 grams in Grey/Green (color 34) and 50 grams in Mustard (color 35) for a total of 300 grams of yarn.
• Needles: Size 6 mm circular needles in two lengths—80 cm and 120 cm—to accommodate the increasing stitch count as the shawl expands. The shorter needle is used for the initial cast-on and early rows, while the longer needle is switched to as the stitch count grows.
• Gauge: 20 stitches and 28 rows measure 10 cm x 10 cm in stockinette stitch on size 6 mm needles. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for obtaining the finished dimensions specified in the pattern.

Pattern Construction Details

The shawl begins with a three-stitch cast-on in Grey/Green yarn. The first row establishes the basic increase structure by working yarn-overs to create five stitches. Subsequent rows follow a rhythmic pattern: wrong-side rows are worked in garter stitch (knit every stitch), while right-side rows incorporate yarn-overs and marked stitches that serve as increase points. This creates three distinct lines of increases that radiate from the center, forming the triangular shape. The pattern is repeated 80 times plus one additional right-side row, bringing the total stitch count to 673 stitches before the striped border begins.

The striped border section introduces color changes: the yarn switches to Mustard for three rows of garter stitch, returns to Grey/Green for two rows, then finishes with three rows of Mustard garter stitch before binding off. This color blocking creates horizontal stripes that frame the shawl's edges.