Quail Studio Leah Scarf Knitting Pattern

Quail Studio Leah Knitted Shawl

What is Being Made

The Quail Studio Leah is a knitted shawl designed as a wearable wrap. The finished piece measures 40cm (15¾ inches) wide and 130cm (51 inches) long, making it a versatile accessory suitable for layering or draping. This shawl is worked from the bottom up using a flat knitting technique, creating a rectangular shape with decorative striping throughout.

Knitting Techniques

The Leah shawl employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its finished structure:

• Bottom-up construction: The shawl is cast on and worked upward from the base, allowing the knitter to see the developing pattern as they progress.
• Flat knitting: The piece is worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, creating a traditional rectangular shawl format.
• Striped colorwork: A carefully planned striped sequence uses three distinct yarn colors (Yarn A, Yarn B, and Yarn C) in alternating blocks of rows, creating visual interest and depth.
• Asymmetric shaping: The shawl incorporates increases and decreases that create asymmetric shaping, with increases worked on the right side and a decrease (K2tog) strategically placed to shape the piece.
• Garter stitch borders: Decorative ribbed borders frame the edges, created using alternating knit and purl stitches in a (K1, P1) pattern repeated four times, providing a finished, polished edge.

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined to create texture and structure:

• Knit stitch (K): The primary stitch forming the main fabric body.
• Purl stitch (P): Used in combination with knit stitches to create the ribbed border detail.
• Make one increase (M1): An increase technique used to shape the shawl, worked on right-side rows to add stitches gradually.
• Knit two together decrease (K2tog): A right-leaning decrease used for asymmetric shaping.
• Garter stitch: Created by knitting every row, this stitch forms the textured base of the shawl and contributes to the overall fabric structure.
• Ribbed edging: The (K1, P1) repeat creates an elastic, finished border that frames the shawl.

Materials and Tools

Yarn: The Leah shawl is designed using Rowan Alpaca Soft DK yarn, a lightweight double knitting weight yarn. The pattern calls for three 50g balls total, one each of three coordinating shades:

• Rowan Alpaca Soft DK in Simply Black 216 (Yarn A)
• Rowan Alpaca Soft DK in Charcoal 211 (Yarn B)
• Rowan Alpaca Soft DK in Rainy Day 210 (Yarn C)

Needles: One pair of 5mm (US 8) straight needles is required to work the flat knitting construction.

Tension: The pattern specifies a tension of 20 stitches and 35 rows to 10cm (4 inches) measured over garter stitch using 5mm needles. Achieving correct tension is essential for the finished shawl to reach the specified dimensions of 40cm wide by 130cm long.

Pattern Structure and Progression

The shawl begins with a small cast-on of 9 stitches, which are worked in ribbing for sixteen rows. Stitches are then picked up along the left side of the work to create the width, and the shawl is expanded through a series of increases worked across 164 rows of a striped color sequence. The striped sequence alternates between the three yarn colors in planned blocks, creating a sophisticated color pattern. The pattern includes two main repeating pattern rows that establish borders and set the asymmetric shaping, which continues throughout the piece until the final row count is reached. The shawl concludes with a cast-off worked knitwise, securing all stitches and creating a finished edge.