Valley Yarns Indus Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Indus Shrug

What Is Being Made

The Indus is a sideways-worked shrug designed by Julie Turjoman, featuring delicate lace detailing and short sleeves. This versatile layering piece is designed to be worn over summer dresses or paired with casual jeans and a tee shirt. The shrug showcases lace patterning that reads horizontally across the body when the garment is seamed together, creating visual interest across the back and sides. The front edges are intentionally designed not to meet or overlap at the bust, making this an open-front shrug style.

Techniques Used

The Indus employs several intermediate-level knitting techniques that create its distinctive construction and appearance:

• Sideways construction: The shrug is worked horizontally from one sleeve to the other, allowing the lace pattern to read horizontally when seamed. This sideways approach requires careful attention to shaping and stitch placement.
• Seamed construction: After the main body is completed, sleeve seams are worked to join sections together, creating a structured garment with defined edges.
• Lace knitting: Delicate lace detailing is incorporated throughout the body, requiring yarn-overs and decreases to create openwork patterns that add elegance and visual depth.
• Picked-up stitches: Once the body and sleeve seams are completed, stitches are picked up around the body opening and worked in the round to create the deep ribbed hem and fold-back collar.
• Circular knitting: The ribbed edging around the body opening is worked in the round using circular needles, creating a seamless finish for the collar and hem.
• Long-Tail cast-on: The pattern begins with a Long-Tail cast-on method, a foundational technique that provides an elastic and professional-looking foundation edge.

Stitches Used

The Indus incorporates several fundamental knitting stitches to achieve its textured and patterned appearance:

• Stockinette stitch: The primary stitch used for the main body of the shrug, providing a smooth, flat canvas for the lace pattern and creating the base fabric with a gauge of 20 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches when blocked.
• Lace stitches: Yarn-overs and decreases are combined to create the delicate lace pattern that frames the shrug and provides its distinctive aesthetic appeal.
• Ribbing: A 2/2 rib (alternating two knit stitches and two purl stitches) is used for the right sleeve ribbing at the beginning of the pattern, creating an elastic edge. This same ribbing technique is worked in the round to create the deep ribbed hem and fold-back collar around the body opening. Ribbing is also used to edge the sleeves in coordinating texture.
• Left Lifted Increases: These increases are worked across the first right-side row after the sleeve ribbing to shape the garment and transition into the main body construction.

Materials and Yarn

The Indus pattern calls for Valley Yarns Goshen, a premium blend specifically chosen for warm-weather wear. The yarn composition is 48% Peruvian Cotton, 46% Modal, and 6% Silk, creating a cool and comfortable fabric ideal for layering during warmer months. Each skein contains 92 yards and weighs 50 grams. The pattern requires 7 to 12 skeins depending on size, with the sample shown in Size S using 7 skeins in colorway 28-Bright Pink.

Needles and Tools

The Indus is worked on US 4 (3.50mm) circular needles measuring 24 to 32 inches in length, or whatever size is needed to achieve the specified gauge of 20 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch when blocked. Additional materials include stitch markers (with 2 locking stitch markers recommended for pattern work) and a tapestry needle for seaming and weaving in ends.

Sizing and Finished Measurements

The Indus is available in nine sizes ranging from extra-small to 4X-large. Finished bust measurements span from 34 inches in the XS size to 62 inches in the 4XL size. The pattern is designed to fit with 2 to 4 inches of positive ease, making it a comfortable, relaxed-fitting garment suitable for layering. The intermediate skill level makes this pattern appropriate for kn