Basic Triangle Shawl Knitting Pattern

A basic triangle shawl is a great project to have in your arsenal. If you’ve never done shaping before, you’ll get a lot of practice with increases (in this case, yarn overs). And once you understand how knitting a triangle works, it’s a basic shape and project that you can make over and over again in different ways.

This basic triangle shawl pattern from Mirella Moments is worked from the bottom up in DK or light worsted yarn. It has garter stitch borders and the body is worked in stockinette. Though it’s knit flat, you’ll want a circular knitting needle for ease of holding all those stitches.

Because it’s a blank canvas, there are a lot of potential options for customization, such as:

use heavier or lighter-weight yarn
add stripes
make the borders a different stitch pattern like moss or seed stitch
use a different increase method
work the body in a different stitch pattern or add garter ridges

In addition to using different weights of yarn you could also make different sizes of shawls depending on how much of a particular yarn you have on hand. Shawls like this are great for using those random balls of yarn you aren’t sure what to do with, or leftovers from other projects.

They’re a little more fun to knit than scarves but you can still find places to donate them to charity, or they make great gifts.

You can get this free pattern from Mirella Moments.

And of course there are lots of variations on the basic triangle that make great, easy shawl knitting projects as well, like an asymmetrical triangle (this one is from Yarnspirations). And speaking of using scraps for your shawl, I recently shared a scrappy shawl pattern designed to do just that, if you want more guidance than just “use all your scraps on this project.”

[Photo: Mirella Moments]

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It’s been well documented that I love a knitting pattern with a bit of whimsy, so when I saw the Mine! Pullover from Sarah L. Kelly recently I knew I had to share it with you.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to knit a sweater with a yoke full of seagulls? And another seagull at the waist? Chasing little crabs?

The story behind the sweater (and you knew there had to be one, right?) is that while Sarah was traveling around Europe there were a lot of cheeky seagulls about. They reminded her of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls say “mine, mine, mine” and thus the Mine! series of patterns was born.

Oh yes, there’s a whole set. It was the sweater I saw first but there’s also a pair of socks (and the pattern says there’s a cowl, too, but I couldn’t find it as of this writing. If you see it let me know and I’ll add the link here!) so you can totally deck yourself out in pesky seabirds if you want.

But back to the sweater for now. This is worked in DK weight yarn from the top down in the round. The yoke and a section at the bottom are worked in stranded colorwork, with stripes on the body, though you could make the body a single color if you wanted. Details like the beaks and eyes are added with duplicate stitch to make the knitting a little easier.

The colorwork sections are charted. The pattern comes in 10 sizes, with a finished chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm.

The socks are worked in sock yarn and come in three sizes. There worked from the cuff down and change needle sizes to accommodate the less stretchy nature of stranded colorwork. You can choose from a side profile or a seagull that’s looking out from the sock. Make a matching pair or mix it up.

Both patterns are available on Ravelry: sweater and socks. If you make them I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah L. Kelly]

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