Valley Yarns Sequoyah Shawl Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Sequoyah Shawl: Knitted Lace Half-Circle Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Sequoyah Shawl is a half-circle knitted shawl designed by Mary Joy Gumayagay. This advanced beginner knitting project measures approximately 58 inches wide and 29 inches deep, making it a substantial accessory piece. The shawl is inspired by the growth rings of trees, particularly the largest tree in the world, and honors both the natural world and the legacy of the Cherokee silversmith who developed a writing system for the Cherokee language. The design uses a progression of textured and lace sections that build outward from the neck, creating visual interest through contrasting stitch patterns.

Techniques Used

The Sequoyah Shawl employs several key knitting techniques that work together to create its distinctive appearance:

• Top-down construction: The shawl is knit from the neck down, allowing the knitter to try on the piece as it grows and adjust the final size if desired.
• Seamless knitting: The entire shawl is created as one continuous piece without seams, using circular needles to accommodate the increasing number of stitches.
• Lace sections: Openwork lace patterns are incorporated throughout the design, created using yarn overs and decreases to form the characteristic holes and texture.
• Increases: Strategic increases (make one stitches and yarn overs) are worked at regular intervals to expand the shawl outward in a balanced, geometric manner.
• Purl ridge rows: Reverse stockinette sections create horizontal textured lines that echo the tree ring concept, alternating with stockinette stitch sections.

Stitches Used

The pattern incorporates a variety of fundamental and intermediate knitting stitches:

• Stockinette stitch: The primary background stitch, created by knitting right-side rows and purling wrong-side rows. This smooth, flat stitch provides contrast to the textured sections.
• Garter stitch: Formed by knitting every row, creating horizontal ridges. In the Sequoyah Shawl, two rows of garter stitch form one visual ridge, contributing to the tree ring aesthetic.
• Modified Roman Stripe A: A textured stitch pattern worked over a multiple of 2 stitches, combining purl stitches with yarn overs to create a subtle striped texture.
• Purl ridge rows: Reverse stockinette sections that create bold horizontal lines of texture, worked on right-side rows to emphasize the tree ring motif.
• Yarn overs and make one increases: These stitch-creation techniques expand the shawl while maintaining the lace and textured patterns. Make one stitches (m1 and m1p) are used for invisible increases, while yarn overs (yo) create the openwork lace elements.

Materials and Gauge

The Sequoyah Shawl is designed to be worked with Valley Yarns Charlemont, a premium yarn blend containing 60% Fine Superwash Merino Wool, 20% Silk, and 20% Polyamide. Two skeins are required, each weighing 100 grams and providing 439 yards of yardage, for a total of 878 yards. The Mulberry colorway shown in the pattern creates a rich, sophisticated finished piece.

Two circular needles are required: US size 4 (3.50mm) and US size 5 (3.75mm), each at least 24 inches long. The two needle sizes allow the knitter to adjust tension and stitch definition in different sections of the pattern. The gauge is 22 stitches and 28 rows per 4 inches in stockinette stitch on the larger needles, and 22 stitches per 4 inches in Modified Roman Stripe A on the smaller needles. Stitch gauge is emphasized as more critical than row gauge for this project.

Additional materials needed include 2 stitch markers to denote pattern sections, a tapestry needle for weaving in ends, blocking wires and pins for shaping the finished shawl, and a soft tape measure with a grommet for measuring gauge and finished dimensions.

Pattern Structure and Progression

The pattern is organized into sequential sections that expand the shawl systematically. Edge stitches (3 stitches on each side) are maintained in garter stitch throughout, creating a finished border. Between these edge stitches, the pattern alternates between