Valley Yarns Sugar Cone Shawl Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Sugar Cone Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Sugar Cone Shawl is a long rectangular lace shawl designed by Julie Turjoman, measuring 72 inches in length by 18½ inches in width. This elegant accessory features deep lace borders and a faggoted lace field throughout, making it an ideal layering piece for cool evenings. The shawl showcases the luxurious qualities of its fiber blend, combining warmth with feather-light softness and beautiful drape.

Yarn and Materials

This project uses one cone of Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk, a lace weight yarn containing 80% alpaca and 20% silk. The full cone provides ½ pound of yarn with 1736 yards of yardage, offering plenty of material for the finished shawl dimensions. The alpaca fiber contributes both warmth and exceptional softness, while the silk component adds a lovely sheen and contributes to the extraordinary drape characteristic of the finished piece. The pattern specifies Eggplant as the color.

Additional materials required include US Size 5 (3.75 mm) needles or the size needed to achieve proper gauge, stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats, and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Techniques and Construction Method

The Sugar Cone Shawl is worked flat on straight needles using intermediate-level knitting techniques. The construction begins with a Long-Tail cast-on of 130 stitches, establishing the foundation for the rectangular shape. The pattern employs a set-up section followed by the primary lace border pattern, which is repeated multiple times to build the shawl's depth.

Key construction details include slipping the first stitch purlwise on every row and knitting the final stitch, a technique that creates clean, finished edges. Stitch markers are placed to help track the pattern sections and maintain consistency throughout the project. The shawl is worked until it measures approximately 10 inches from the cast-on edge, representing 5 complete 16-stitch pattern repeats of the border design.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Sugar Cone Shawl incorporates several fundamental and decorative knitting stitches to create its lace effects:

• Knit (K) and Purl (P) stitches form the basic fabric structure
• Yarn overs (Yo) create the open, airy lace characteristics throughout the design
• Knit 2 together (K2tog) and Slip, slip, knit (SSK) decreases balance the yarn overs and shape the lace pattern
• Slip 2 knitwise, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over (S2kp) provides a centered double decrease for more complex lace motifs
• Sugar Cone Border Pattern is the primary 16-stitch repeat that defines the lace borders and faggoted lace field

The faggoted lace field refers to an open lace pattern created through strategic placement of yarn overs and decreases, producing a delicate, openwork fabric that showcases the yarn's drape and sheen.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 28 stitches and 34 rows over 4 inches when worked in the Sugar Cone lace border stitch on US Size 5 (3.75 mm) needles. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for obtaining the finished dimensions of 72 inches by 18½ inches. Knitters should swatch before beginning the project and adjust needle size as needed to match the specified gauge.

Difficulty Level

This shawl is classified as an intermediate knitting project, suitable for knitters with experience in basic stitches and comfort working with lace patterns. The combination of lace techniques, stitch marker management, and the need to maintain consistent tension throughout the project makes it appropriate for knitters who have completed several basic projects and are ready to explore more decorative stitch patterns.