Valley Yarns Winter Moon Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Winter Moon Lace Shawl

What Is Being Made

The Winter Moon is a rectangular cotton shawl designed by Julie Turjoman, measuring approximately 23 inches wide by 70 inches long. This is an ideal gift piece for special occasions such as birthdays or weddings. The shawl combines functional warmth with decorative appeal, featuring a blend of garter stripe sections and an intricate lace border that creates visual interest and texture variation throughout the finished piece.

Craft and Techniques

This project uses knitting as the primary craft. The shawl is worked flat on circular needles, meaning it is created in rows back and forth rather than in the round. The design incorporates two main techniques:

• Lace work: A spectacular lace border pattern creates an elegant, openwork edge that showcases the stitch definition of the yarn
• Stripes: Garter stripes alternate between two colors (Midnight and Kelp) throughout the body of the shawl, adding visual depth and breaking up the fabric

The pattern includes a thoughtful construction detail: an extra yarn over is worked at the beginning of each row to maintain elasticity along the outer edge, compensating for the limited natural stretch in the cotton-blend yarn.

Stitches Used

The Winter Moon employs fundamental knitting stitches combined with more advanced techniques. Garter stitch forms the main body sections, created by knitting every row to produce a textured, reversible fabric. The lace border utilizes a specialized Lace Border stitch pattern that incorporates yarn overs and decreases to create openwork. Additional stitches include:

• Knit front and back (kfb): An increase stitch that creates new stitches for shaping
• Yarn overs (yo): Used both for lace construction and edge elasticity
• Knit two together (k2tog) and slip, slip, knit (ssk): Decrease stitches that balance increases and shape the lace
• Slip 2, knit 1, pass 2 slipped stitches over (s2kp): A double decrease for lace patterning

Materials and Gauge

The Winter Moon is worked in Valley Yarns Granville, a premium yarn composed of 90% Pima Cotton and 10% Merino Wool. The pattern calls for 3 skeins each of two colors: Color 05 Midnight and Color 11 Kelp. Each skein contains 50 grams and 167 yards, providing ample yardage for the finished dimensions.

US 6 (4mm) circular needles measuring 32 to 40 inches long are required to accommodate the width of the shawl as stitches accumulate. A tapestry needle is needed for weaving in yarn ends.

The pattern specifies two gauges to ensure proper fit and drape:

• Garter stitch sections: 22 stitches and 26 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters), blocked
• Lace Border stitch pattern: 20 stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters), blocked

Both gauges are measured using US 6 (4mm) needles on blocked fabric, emphasizing the importance of blocking to achieve the intended finished measurements and stitch definition.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as intermediate difficulty. While the garter stitch sections are accessible to knitters of various skill levels, the lace border pattern requires familiarity with yarn overs, multiple decrease techniques, and reading lace charts. The color-work element of alternating stripes adds another layer of attention during construction. Knitters should be comfortable managing multiple stitches on circular needles and understanding how to maintain tension and consistency across the piece.