Valley Yarns Teagan Shawl Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Teagan Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Teagan Shawl is a flowing, generous shawl designed by Kirsten Hipsky that measures approximately 30 inches wide with a 64-inch wingspan. This is a sideways-worked shawl construction that uses a modular wedge system, allowing crafters to customize the final span by adding or removing wedges according to preference.

Knitting Techniques

This advanced-beginner level pattern employs several sophisticated knitting techniques to create its elegant structure:

• Sideways construction: The shawl is worked entirely sideways rather than from top to bottom, which creates a unique fabric flow and allows for flexible customization of the shawl's width.
• Short rows: Simple short rows form the primary shaping method. This technique naturally creates small eyelets in the fabric as a byproduct of the construction method, though crafters may substitute any preferred short row technique.
• Lace panels: Winding lace panels adorn the edge of the shawl, adding delicate visual interest and texture to the finished piece.
• Modular wedges: The pattern is constructed in repeating wedge units. A total of 8 wedges are knit to completion, and the modular nature of this design means individual wedges can be added or removed to adjust the final span of the shawl.

Stitches Used

The Teagan Shawl incorporates a variety of fundamental and decorative knitting stitches:

• Knit (k) and purl (p) stitches form the foundation of the stockinette stitch fabric.
• Yarn overs (yo) create the openwork and eyelet details characteristic of the lace edge panels.
• Decreases: Multiple decrease methods are used, including knit 2 together (k2tog), slip-slip-knit (ssk), and slip 1-knit 2 together-pass slipped stitch over (sl1-k2tog-psso) to shape the lace pattern and control fabric shaping.
• Slip stitches (sl) are used both for construction purposes and as part of the decorative lace pattern.

Materials and Specifications

The pattern calls for specific materials to achieve the intended drape and finished dimensions:

• Yarn: 1 cone of Valley Yarns Colrain Lace in the Silver colorway. This yarn is composed of 50% Merino wool and 50% Tencel, providing a blend of warmth and fluid drape. The full cone contains 1,540 yards at 8.8 ounces, though the finished shawl uses approximately 1,100 yards.
• Needles: US size 6 (4.00mm) circular needles in a 32-inch length, or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge.
• Gauge: 6 stitches and 8 rows per 1 inch measured in stockinette stitch. Achieving proper gauge is essential for the shawl to reach its intended finished dimensions.

Pattern Structure

The Teagan Shawl begins with casting on 140 stitches and knitting 4 foundation rows. The main pattern then alternates between working a 32-stitch lace edge panel and the body of the shawl using short rows to create wedge shaping. The lace edge features yarn overs and various decreases that create an openwork design, while the body is worked primarily in stockinette stitch with turning markers used to manage the short row construction. This process repeats until 8 complete wedges have been finished.