A Sweet Shawl to Knit for Wedding Season

It’s probably because Gemma’s Wrap, a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, is shown in a pretty, soft lavender colored yarn that it makes me think of weddings. But it’s also true that this would be a great project to knit to wear to a wedding or another special occasion where you might need a little extra warmth.

It’s a relatively easy pattern, worked in two halves from a short side so you can make it any length you like. There’s a bit of ribbing at the edge and then two sections of lace, with the main part of the body worked in stockinette stitch.

The lace sections are written out in the pattern, but there’s also a chart if you prefer. When each section of the shawl is finished, you leave the stitches live and finish the project by grafting the pieces together.

While it’s meant to be worn as a shawl, those ribbed edges make me think you could also make it into a shrug by holding the long edges together and sewing a seam on each end to turn the lace section (or however much of it you need) into a sleeve. This would make it a little easier to wear and highlight the lace sections more because they wouldn’t be wrapped up behind you when you wear it.

The project uses worsted weight yarn (shown here in Lion Brand Heartland) and measures about 17 by 60 inches as shown. It would be lovely for spring and summer in a pastel tint as shown, or use a darker color for other times of the year.

In addition to yarn and knitting needles, you’ll need a stitch holder or two (or some spare yarn to hold the stitches) and a yarn needle for sewing the pieces together.

You can get the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn from Lion Brand.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn.]

A few years ago I wrote a post that was full of patterns for knit mushrooms, but I don’t think I ever did a post that was knitting patterns with mushrooms on them, so today’s the day.

I love the Fungi Beanie from Jacki Bean, which calls for worsted weight yarn and uses duplicate stitch to add the mushrooms and other details. I think the colors she used for the design are tonal/multicolor so it doesn’t use as many colors as it looks like, but you can use whatever red, green, brown and white yarn you have in your stash for those details.

How about some mushroom socks? The Magic Toadstool sock form Stone Knits includes a ring of mushrooms around the leg, contrasting heel and toe and a little more colorwork at the toe for extra cuteness. As shown it uses four colors and comes in three sizes.

Or there’s the Fairy Ring Socks from Katie Green, which have mushrooms of two sizes on the legs, plus a bit of wavy grass. They have a contrasting cuff, heel and toe and some colorwork flecks in the body of the sock as well. This one is available in eight sizes to fit everyone from a baby to an XL adult.

This trippy cowl from Hunt Hand Knits looks like a lot of fun to knit. The Fungus Among Us Cowl is shown using four colors of DK weight yarn, though you can do it with as few as two if you’d rather.

Stitch some mushroom mittens with this cute pattern from Holly C Watson. This design uses three colors, and it’s shown with a self-striping yarn on the mushroom caps, which makes the colors change without you having to do any work. The pattern is charted but it’s a pretty easy repeat. The mittens are one size.

If you don’t feel like knitting mushrooms but still want to give your project a touch of the forest, the Toadstools Cardigan from Julie Taylor may be what you’re looking for. It’s stitched as a plain cardigan worked in DK weight yarn and sized for newborns up to 4 years old. The mushrooms are added with embroidery and the pattern includes the design, which you can trace onto water soluble stabilizer to stitch the mushrooms onto your sweater. Or anything else you want. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

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