Valley Yarns Traversina Shawl Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Traversina Shawl

What is Being Made

The Traversina Shawl is a light and lovely crescent-shaped wrap designed by Kirsten Hipsky. This seamless knit shawl measures approximately 18 inches wide and 72 inches long, making it an ideal accessory for layering or draping. The shawl features a distinctive construction method that creates its own decorative fringe without the need for additional finishing steps.

Techniques Used

This project employs several advanced-beginner level techniques that streamline the knitting process and eliminate tedious finishing work. The shawl is worked seamlessly in the round using circular needles, which means there are no seams to sew and no ends to weave in at completion. The most innovative technique is the built-in fringe creation: after the shawl is knitted, specific stitches are intentionally cut and unraveled to form fringe along the edges. This method eliminates the need for purling, as every round is simply knit when working in stockinette stitch in the round. The pattern uses a straightforward color-change approach, allowing crafters to cut yarn between color sections rather than carrying unused colors throughout the work.

Stitches Used

The Traversina Shawl is worked entirely in stockinette stitch, the most fundamental knit fabric. Since the piece is worked in the round, stockinette stitch requires only knit stitches on every round—no purling is necessary. This simplification makes the project accessible to advanced beginners while still producing a sophisticated finished garment. The cast-on uses either a long-tail or backwards loop method, with the pattern recommending a practical two-end technique for managing cast-on tail length.

Materials and Specifications

Yarn: The Traversina Shawl is designed to showcase the rich color palette of Valley Yarns Hatfield, a luxurious yarn composed of 100% baby alpaca. The project requires approximately 875 yards total, distributed across six different colors with one 50-gram skein (437 yards) of each color. The six colors are:

• Color A: Navy
• Color B: Burgundy
• Color C: Red Clay
• Color D: Goldenrod
• Color E: Leaf Green
• Color F: Sagebrush

Needles: US size 7 (4.50mm) circular needles measuring 40 inches in length, or the size needed to achieve proper gauge.

Gauge: 5 stitches and 7 rows equal 1 inch when worked in stockinette stitch. Achieving correct gauge is essential for obtaining the finished dimensions of approximately 18 inches wide by 72 inches long.

Pattern Construction Details

The shawl begins with a cast-on of approximately 360 stitches, with the pattern noting that exact stitch count is not critical—erring on the side of too many stitches is preferable to too few. The pattern is worked in varying color stripes that progress through the six colors in a specific sequence. The initial 8 rounds use Color A, followed by 8 rounds of Color B, 4 rounds of Color C, 12 rounds of Color D, 4 rounds of Color E, and 12 rounds of Color F, with options for expansion to create a larger shawl by repeating portions of the color sequence. The first and last few stitches of each round are intentionally left to be unraveled later, creating the shawl's distinctive fringe detail without additional finishing work.