Valley Yarns Ajuga Shawl Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Ajuga Shawl

What is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Ajuga Shawl is a lacy, square shawl measuring approximately 32 inches square. Designed by Kirsten Hipsky, this shawl combines decorative eyelets with mitered square construction, creating a garment that is visually interesting both during the knitting process and when worn. The finished piece can be enhanced with an optional all-around lace edging that aids in blocking the shawl into its intended square shape.

Techniques Used

This intermediate-level knitting project employs several key techniques that make it engaging for experienced knitters:

• Mitered Square Shaping: The shawl is worked from one corner outward, expanding symmetrically to create the square silhouette. This technique requires careful increases on either side of a center stitch marked with stitch markers.
• Lace Construction: Eyelets are incorporated throughout the main body using yarn overs and knit two together decreases, creating an open, decorative fabric.
• Seamless, Flat Construction: The entire shawl is worked flat on a single circular needle without seaming, maintaining continuity from cast-on to bind-off.
• Eyelet Edging: An optional border featuring repeating eyelet motifs is worked separately and attached by picking up stitches along the finished edges, then binding off as you go.

Stitches Used

The Ajuga Shawl utilizes fundamental knitting stitches executed with precision:

• Knit Stitch: Forms the base fabric and appears in stockinette sections throughout the pattern.
• Yarn Over (yo): Creates the eyelet holes that define the lace pattern and add visual interest to both the main body and edging.
• Knit Two Together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease paired with yarn overs to form the lace motifs and maintain stitch count during edging application.
• Make One (m1): An invisible increase worked by knitting into the strand running between stitches, used during the mitered square expansion rows.
• Slip Stitch (sl1): Used at the beginning of edging rows to create a neat, finished edge.

Materials and Gauge

The Ajuga Shawl requires two skeins of Valley Yarns Franklin yarn in the color Mountain Spring. This yarn is composed of 75% wool and 25% nylon, offering durability and elasticity. Each skein contains 100 grams and 450 yards of yardage, providing sufficient material for the approximately 32-inch finished square.

Knitting is performed on US size 6 (4.0 millimeter) circular needles measuring 40 inches in length, or whatever needle size is required to achieve the specified gauge. The pattern gauge is 22 stitches and 30 rows measured over 4 inches in stockinette stitch before blocking. Stitch markers are essential notions for tracking the center increase line throughout construction.

The finished shawl benefits from wet blocking and pinning square, which helps set the mitered shape and allows the lace pattern to open and display properly. The optional all-around lace edging further assists in achieving crisp, even edges during the blocking process.