Get Cozy with the Paperdawn Shawl

I love a good worsted weight shawl because it’s almost like wearing a blanket, or having a blanket with you all the time that you can throw over your shoulders, or over your legs as you need it.

Paperdawn by Melanie Berg is such a project. It’s a large asymmetrical triangle worked in garter stitch and mosaic colorwork using three colors of worsted weight yarn. It’s easy to knit and to wear in place of a scarf or as an extra bit of warmth to have at the ready as the days start to get a little warmer. Which I’m sure will happen eventually.

The shawl has a wingspan of 102.5 inches/260 cm on the longest side and is 27.5 inches or 70 centimeters deep. The pattern is available on Ravelry and it comes in English, Spanish and German.

What’s really cool about this pattern, and many of Melanie’s shawls and other patterns, is the inclusion of what she calls a Row Map. The row map was originally developed by Chad Lewis of Chad Knits, who designed it as a detailed worksheet to follow to help knitters keep track of where they are and what they need to do from row to row in their project.

The intent was to help knitters dealing with “chemo brain” from cancer treatment, because it can be difficult for them to follow patterns and remember where they are or what’s happening in the pattern from row to row or day to day. Chad shared the row map concept with Melaine, who is herself a cancer survivor, and she started incorporating them into her projects.

The page linked above shows an example of what the map looks like, with space for which color is which and a place to mark off each row and double check you have the correct number of stitches. I can see how this would be helpful for lots of knitters.

“We believe that with the help of a Row Map, all knitters facing concentration challenges can confidently pick up their needles and continue knitting with ease,” they said. They ask that anyone who finds them helpful donate to a cancer charity in their home country (there are links on Chad’s website and Melanie’s row map page on Ravelry).

[Photo: Melanie Berg]

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If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.

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