Valley Yarns Helena Shawl Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Helena Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Helena Shawl is a luxurious biasing lace shawl designed by Kirsten Hipsky that functions as a versatile wrap suitable for multiple seasons. With finished dimensions of approximately 24 inches wide and 60 inches long after blocking, this shawl offers the flexibility to wear as an elegant wrap during cool summer evenings or as a warm, voluminous scarf during winter months. The biasing construction creates natural drape and movement, making it a sophisticated accessory piece.

Techniques Used

This project employs lace knitting and flat knitting techniques to create an openwork pattern with visual interest. The shawl is worked flat from a cast-on edge, building the lace design through repeated pattern rows. The biasing effect is achieved through strategic yarn overs and decreases that create directional movement in the fabric. Wet blocking is essential to set the lace pattern and achieve the finished dimensions, requiring rigorous blocking to open up the lace and establish the shawl's final shape and drape.

Stitches Used

The Helena Shawl incorporates fundamental lace knitting stitches including:

• Knit (k): The basic stitch forming the foundation of the fabric
• Purl (p): Used on all wrong-side rows to create a smooth reverse stockinette base
• Yarn over (yo): Creates the openwork eyelets characteristic of lace knitting
• Knit 2 together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease that balances yarn overs and creates the lace pattern's directional elements
• Stockinette stitch: The base stitch pattern worked in the solid sections between lace motifs

The pattern repeats an 8-row sequence that combines these stitches to build the lace design progressively as the shawl lengthens.

Materials

The Helena Shawl requires 6 skeins of Valley Yarns Deerfield, a luxury yarn blend consisting of 80% baby alpaca and 20% silk, with each skein weighing 50 grams and providing 109 yards of yardage. This fiber combination creates a soft, lustrous fabric with excellent drape, making it ideal for a lace shawl. The pattern calls for US size 9 (5.50mm) needles, or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge of approximately 4 stitches per 1 inch in stockinette stitch. The yarn color used in the original design is Orchid, though the pattern can be worked in any Valley Yarns Deerfield colorway.

Difficulty Level

This shawl is rated as advanced beginner difficulty, making it suitable for knitters with foundational skills who are ready to tackle lace knitting. While the individual stitches are relatively straightforward, the lace pattern requires attention to stitch counts and the coordination of yarn overs with decreases to maintain proper shaping. The repetitive 8-row pattern becomes intuitive with practice, and the flat construction eliminates the complexity of circular knitting.