Washington Park Shawl Wrap Knitting Pattern

Washington Park Shawl in Malabrigo Arroyo

What is Being Made

The Washington Park Shawl is an eyelet lace shawl designed by Hanna Maciejewska. This triangular wrap features a combination of garter stitch sections and decorative eyelet lace patterning, creating an elegant accessory with a long edge measuring 70 inches and a length of 35 inches. The shawl is worked from a small cast-on that increases progressively throughout the pattern to achieve its finished dimensions.

Techniques Used

This intermediate-level knitting project employs several key techniques that make it suitable for experienced knitters looking to expand their skills. The shawl uses top-down construction, beginning with a small number of cast-on stitches and increasing systematically throughout the piece. Eyelet lace work forms the decorative focal point of the design, creating openwork patterns that add visual interest and drape to the finished garment. The pattern incorporates garter stitch increases in structured sections, which provide stability and definition to the shawl's shape. Knitters will work with stitch markers to track pattern repeats and maintain proper stitch placement across the expanding width of the piece. The use of a circular needle accommodates the large stitch count as the shawl grows, though the needle is not joined to work in the round—instead, it is used flat to manage the increasing number of stitches.

Stitches Used

• Garter stitch: The foundational stitch used in welt sections, created by knitting every row to produce a textured, reversible fabric
• Eyelet pattern: Decorative openwork created through yarn overs and decreases, worked either from chart or written text instructions
• M1R (Make 1 Right): A right-leaning increase worked by inserting the left-hand needle from back to front under the strand between the last stitch worked and the next stitch on the left-hand needle, then knitting into the front loop to twist the stitch
• M7 (Make 7): A decorative increase that creates 6 additional stitches in a single stitch by working [K1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1] into one stitch
• ssp: Slip, slip, purl decrease used in eyelet pattern work
• Yarn overs (yo): Essential to creating the eyelet lace openings throughout the pattern

Materials

The Washington Park Shawl is worked in Arroyo by Malabrigo, a superwash merino wool yarn. The project requires 4 hanks of yarn in colorway #033 Cereza, with each hank weighing 3½ ounces (100 grams) and providing approximately 335 yards (306 meters) of yardage. Knitting is worked on a Size 4 (3.5mm) circular needle measuring 40 inches (100 centimeters) long, which provides adequate capacity for the expanding stitch count. The pattern also calls for stitch markers to help track the eyelet pattern sections as they progress across the rows. The recommended gauge is 26 stitches and 38 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters) when working in garter stitch using the specified needle size.