Valley Yarns Lace Colorwork Shawl Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Lace Colorwork Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Lace Colorwork Shawl is an asymmetrical triangle shawl designed by Julie Turjoman that combines garter stripes with delicate lace patterning and short-row shaping. When blocked, the finished shawl measures 74 inches along the hypotenuse with sides of 41 inches and 55 inches. This versatile accessory adds both color and texture to winter outfits and serves as an affordable handmade gift for shawl enthusiasts.

Techniques Used

This knitting project employs several intermediate shaping and stitch techniques to create its distinctive asymmetrical silhouette and visual interest:

• Lace Knitting: The shawl features Flowerbud Lace patterning, a traditional lace motif that creates openwork designs through strategic yarn overs and decreases. The Flowerbud Lace pattern repeats over a multiple of 6 stitches plus 1 and works across 8 rows, alternating between knit and purl rows to develop the characteristic lace texture.
• Garter Stripe Construction: Solid garter stitch sections in different colors are worked flat and interspersed with the lace pattern, creating horizontal color stripes that add visual pop and break up the delicate openwork.
• Short-Row Shaping: The pattern uses wrap and turn (W&T) short-row shaping techniques to create the asymmetrical triangle shape without requiring increases and decreases that would interrupt the overall design flow.
• Stitch Increases: Strategic increases worked into edge stitches gradually expand the shawl from a single cast-on stitch, allowing space for additional lace pattern repeats to be incorporated as the piece grows.

Stitches Used

The Valley Yarns Lace Colorwork Shawl relies on fundamental knitting stitches combined in specific sequences to achieve its lace and striped effects:

• Knit (K): The basic stitch forming the garter stripe sections and structural elements of the lace pattern.
• Purl (P): Used on wrong-side rows to create the garter texture and as part of the lace pattern structure.
• Yarn Over (Yo): Creates the openwork holes characteristic of lace knitting by increasing a stitch without a corresponding decrease on the same row.
• Knit Two Together (K2tog): A right-leaning decrease that pairs with yarn overs to form the lace motif and control stitch count.
• Slip, Slip, Knit (Ssk): A left-leaning decrease used alongside yarn overs to create balanced lace patterning.
• Slip 2 as if to K2tog, K1, Pass the 2 Slipped Stitches Over (S2kp): A central double decrease that forms the distinctive eyelet centers in the Flowerbud Lace pattern.
• Knit Front and Back (Kfb): An increase stitch used at the shawl edges to gradually expand the triangle shape.
• Wrap and Turn (W&T): A short-row shaping technique that creates the asymmetrical triangle without visible gaps or holes.

Materials

The Valley Yarns Lace Colorwork Shawl requires three colors of Valley Yarns Huntington yarn, a soft merino-blend fiber ideal for lace work. The pattern calls for 2 skeins of color 29 North Sea (color A) and 1 skein each of color 37 Lemon Grass (color B) and color 10 Natural (color C). Each skein of Valley Yarns Huntington contains 218 yards and weighs 50 grams, composed of 75% Merino Wool and 25% Nylon for durability and softness. The project is worked on US size 6 (4.00mm) circular needles measuring 32 inches in length, allowing comfortable manipulation of the growing triangle. Additional materials include stitch markers to track pattern repeats and shaping sections. The gauge is 5 stitches per 1 inch in garter stitch pattern when blocked, ensuring proper finished dimensions and drape.