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Book Review: Knit Scarves and Shawls Now

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Knit scarves and shawls now book reviewI’ve been enjoying the discussion on the giveaway post this week and seeing that a lot of people are knitting a lot of cowls.

But for those who aren’t, maybe this book will prove more interesting. Knit Scarves and Shawls Now: Over 40 Designs from Classic to Trendsetting is pretty much just what it says it is: a collection of patters for shawls and scarves, many of which would be quick to knit.

By my count there are in fact 41 patterns — 3 are rated easy, 22 for intermediate knitters and 16 for those with more experience. You can see some of the patterns from the original version on Ravelry (the book is translated from German).

There are a great variety of design options, including loops and cowls, straight scarves, projects shaped by short rows, color blocked patterns, bobbles, lace, cables and tons of brioche. (By the end I was going, really? more brioche? And I like brioche.)

There’s stranded knitting, slip stitches, textured stripes, bulky lace and bobbles. Delicate shawls, chunky cowls and fuzzy scarves. There’s probably something for everyone.

Some of my favorites include a simple, circular, striped cowl worked in two color Garter Stitch in mohair blend yarn; a little caplet with a simple ladder lace pattern and an I-cord flower embellishment; a shifting brioche scarf in sunny yellow wool; a wavy rectangular shawl with a lave pattern reminiscent of water lilies; and a classic Garter Stitch shawl worked in short row wedges and a chunky multicolored yarn.

Some of the charts are at the back of the book rather than with the patterns, which could be a little annoying when working with them (it’s also kind of hard to focus on the one chart you need in a page full of charts). But that’s not a huge deal to get to make some of these fun projects.

Book specifications: 96 pages, paperback, 41 patterns. Trafalgar Square Books, published August, 2015. Suggested retail $22.95.

 

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Looking for more amazing shawl patterns? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Comments

  1. This sounds like a wonderful book!! Cowls and Shawls combined. Not only would I be learning about making cowls, but from your description, I would also be learning new stitch techniques!! I’m so excited about this book, that I’m almost jumping up and down in my desk chair!! Thank you for another terrific giveaway!!

Have you read?

Tiny Knits in Team Colors

For years now Berroco has been releasing a tiny set of Christmas ornament knitting patterns, often modeled on human-sized clothes, called Minutia. The ones for this year haven’t come out yet, but somehow I missed last year’s so I wanted to share them, as well as a fun little twist they offered. 

The general 2025 Minutia patterns include a circular yoke sweater, a two-color stocking and a ribbed earflap hat. They’re super cute and perfect for using little (or should I say minute?) amounts of yarn left over from other projects. Make them in Christmas colors or whatever you have on hand. Even if you don’t have exactly the same yarn weight, you can still make these cute additions to your holiday decor. 

But what really caught my eye while I was on the Berocco site was the Team Colors Minutia, which are actually different patterns so I’m not even sure when they were released, but they are definitely worth talking about. 

These patterns include a little raglan sweater with stripes and a stocking cap with contrasting pom pom. 

They call for sport weight yarn, but again you could use sock or DK if that’s what you have in the right colors. And here the right colors are important because you’re stitching your team colors. 

Or anyone else’s team colors.

I immediately thought that this would be an amazing holiday gift for someone who you never know what to get but who also happens to like sports. Or has gone to a university that has colors. 

Another option would be to leave off the stripes and add a number in duplicate stitch if you or the person you’re knitting for has a favorite player. Or stitch a letter or a tiny version of the team logo on the front. There are lots of options!

If you make these, I’d love to hear what you did with them!

[Photo: Berroco]