Another Great Simple Shawl to Stitch

The other day I shared the Oscillate Shawl, which I said was the perfect kind of knitting for this time of year. It’s relatively easy and also really pretty, and will be a comfort to knit and to wrap around your neck. Or a loved one’s neck, if you’re into that.

I feel the same way about the Shadow Shawl from Fairmount Fibers. Designed by Antonia Shankland, this is a straightforward triangular shawl worked in two colors of sport weight yarn. In this case it’s a blend of alpaca and cotton that gives warmth without being too heavy for an outer layer.

Once the pattern is established this feels like one of those patterns you can just sail through, while still enjoying the knitting at the same time. It’s already pretty large, but you could also knit this up in DK or worsted weight and work to whatever size you like if you don’t have sport weight yarn handy.

This is a free knitting pattern available on the Fairmount Fibers website.

If you’re looking for more shawl knitting patterns, I have a collection of sock yarn shawl knitting patterns, and one for summer shawls, both of which might be of interest to people in the Southern Hemisphere right now. You might also want to check out this collection of summer poncho patterns, which is basically the same as knitting a shawl, just finished a little differently.

And if you’re totally new to knitting shawls, or you just want a completely relaxing, no thinking kind of project to take you into the new year and beyond, check out this super simple shawl knitting pattern that’s meant to be worked with a cake of yarn (or you can make your own “cake” with all your leftovers from the past year).

[Photo via Fairmount Fibers]

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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