Louisa Harding Capital Reef Shawl Wrap Knitting Pattern

Louisa Harding Capital Reef Shawl

Project Overview

The Capital Reef Shawl is a knitted wrap designed as a bottom-up, flat-worked shawl featuring a distinctive two-part construction. This downloadable knitting pattern from Louisa Harding creates an elegant accessory with finished measurements of a 55½-inch (141cm) half wingspan and a 27-inch (68.5cm) spine, making it a versatile layering piece suitable for various occasions and seasons.

What Is Being Made

This is a triangular shawl composed of two identical halves that are joined together at the center back through grafting. The construction method allows knitters to work each section separately before combining them, creating a symmetrical wrap with balanced proportions. The shawl's generous wingspan provides ample coverage while the structured spine measurement ensures proper drape and wearability.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Bottom-up construction: The shawl is worked from the cast-on edge upward, allowing knitters to try on the piece as it grows and adjust the final length if desired
• Flat knitting: Worked back and forth on circular needles rather than in the round, making it accessible for knitters of all experience levels
• Grafting: The two halves are joined using the grafting technique in garter stitch, creating a seamless center back seam that maintains the fabric's continuity and appearance
• Shaping through increases and decreases: Strategic placement of increases and decreases on alternating rows creates the triangular silhouette characteristic of shawl design
• Slip stitch technique: All stitches are slipped purlwise with yarn held in back, a method that creates neat, finished edges throughout the piece

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

• Garter stitch: The primary stitch pattern used throughout the entire shawl, created by knitting every row. This classic stitch produces a reversible, textured fabric with excellent drape and is forgiving for knitters at various skill levels
• Knit front and back (kfb): An increase technique that creates one additional stitch by knitting into both the front and back loops of the same stitch
• Slip, slip, knit (ssk): A left-leaning decrease that combines two stitches into one, worked by slipping two stitches knitwise individually, then inserting the left needle through their front loops and knitting them together
• Slip stitch (sl): Stitches are slipped purlwise to create clean, professional-looking edges

Materials and Tools

Yarn: The pattern calls for 2 skeins of 100 grams each of Luci in shade 08 Obsidian, totaling 200 grams of yarn. Luci is the yarn brand specified for this design, with Obsidian being the recommended colorway—a dark, sophisticated shade suitable for a versatile wrap.

Needles: Size US 5 (3.75mm) circular needles measuring 24 inches (61cm) in length are required. The pattern notes recommend using LYKKE® needles for optimal results, suggesting that needle quality and material can impact the knitting experience and finished fabric quality.

Additional notions: A yarn needle is needed for weaving in loose ends during finishing and for grafting the two halves together.

Gauge and Finished Dimensions

The pattern specifies a gauge of 20 stitches and 40 rows over 4 inches (10cm) measured in garter stitch. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for obtaining the finished measurements of a 55½-inch half wingspan and 27-inch spine. Knitters should swatch before beginning to ensure their tension matches the pattern requirements.

Construction Details

The Capital Reef Shawl begins with a cast-on of 15 stitches. Each shawl half is worked by alternating two rows: the first row includes an increase at one end and a decrease at the other, while the second row features a slip stitch edge and an increase at the opposite end. This alternating increase-decrease pattern is repeated 117 times, followed by one final row of the first pattern row, resulting in 133 stitches. The process is then repeated to create an identical second half. Once both halves are complete, they are arranged according to a provided diagram and the live stitches are grafted together in garter stitch to create