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]

6 Shawls In A Ball Patterns

Book Review: 50 Knitted Wraps and Shawls

Next Pattern:

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?