Noro Quinny Wrap Knitting Pattern

Noro Quinny Knit Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Noro Quinny is a triangular knit shawl designed as an intermediate-level project. This seamless, top-down shawl is worked flat on circular needles and features a sophisticated lace construction. The finished shawl measures approximately 54 inches wide across the top edge and 26 inches deep, making it a generous wrap suitable for layering or wearing as a statement accessory.

Techniques Used

This shawl employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its elegant drape and visual interest:

• Top-down construction: The shawl begins with a small cast-on at the top and expands downward through strategic increases, allowing knitters to try on the piece as it grows and customize the final depth if desired.
• Seamless knitting: Worked entirely in one piece with no seaming required, creating a continuous fabric from cast-on to bind-off.
• Lace patterning: Two distinct stitch patterns create the shawl's visual texture—a mesh pattern and a linen stitch—both featuring yarn-overs and decreases that form openwork sections.
• Worked flat: Despite using circular needles, the shawl is worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round, which is typical for triangular shawl construction.

Stitches Used

The Noro Quinny incorporates a variety of fundamental and intermediate knitting stitches:

• Knit and purl stitches: The foundation of all knitted fabric, used throughout the pattern.
• Yarn-overs (yo): Creates the openwork lace effect by intentionally increasing stitches and forming decorative holes in the fabric.
• Decreases (k2tog, SKP): Used in conjunction with yarn-overs to maintain stitch count while creating the lace pattern. K2tog (knit two together) and SKP (slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over) are both employed to shape the shawl.
• Make one increases (M1, M1p-st, M1open): Strategic increases worked on wrong-side rows to expand the shawl symmetrically. These include variations such as M1p-st (make one purl stitch) and M1open (make one open), which integrate seamlessly into the lace design.
• Slip stitches (sl): Used in the linen stitch pattern to create texture without adding bulk.
• Pfb (purl into front and back): An increase method used on wrong-side rows.
• Pfbf (purl into front, back, and front): A double increase that adds two stitches in one stitch.

Materials and Gauge

The Noro Quinny is designed to showcase the beautiful variegated colorway of Noro Kakigori yarn. The pattern calls for 1 ball weighing 200 grams in colorway #12. This yardage is sufficient to complete the full triangular shawl as specified.

Knitters will need US 8 (5mm) circular needles measuring 32 inches or longer. The longer needle length accommodates the expanding stitch count as the shawl grows from the top edge. A removable stitch marker is also required to track the center stitch throughout the project.

The gauge is 14 stitches and 26 rows over 4 inches in the mesh pattern using US 8 needles. Checking gauge before beginning is essential to ensure the finished shawl reaches the intended dimensions and drapes properly. The pattern emphasizes taking time to verify gauge, as even small variations can significantly affect the final measurements of a large garment like a shawl.

Pattern Structure

The shawl construction begins with a small cast-on of 11 stitches, with the center stitch marked and moved up each row to track the shawl's center point. The pattern features two main stitch patterns that are worked in sequence: a mesh pattern worked over 8 rows, followed by a linen stitch section. Throughout the piece, increases are worked on wrong-side rows to expand the shawl evenly on both sides of the center stitch. The shawl is worked until it measures approximately 24