Knit a Giant Shawl to Keep You Cozy

After sharing summer shawl knitting patterns the other day, I decided to go in completely the opposite direction for this one.

The Tigris Shawl by Olga Fahim is a big old shawl. It’s a triangle that measures 82 inches (or 210 cm) in wingspan and is 35 inches/85 cm deep at the center of the triangle.

It’s worked in stockinette stitch with a garter stitch edging, so it’s great meditative knitting you don’t have to pay that much attention to if you don’t want to.

The shawl has three color sections, including a solid section of each of the main colors and stripes that switch positions at the center of the shawl.

It’s a really striking look and not all that hard to do. This is actually a great way to practice how to knit intarsia because there’s only one color change in each row.

I love the combination of a sandy color and black on the sample, but of course you can use any two colors you want, whether they be high contrast or more coordinating. The pattern calls for sport weight yarn and here uses a camel yarn, which is a lovely luxury that’s sure to keep you warm all winter long.

And in case you’re wondering at the name, the Tigris of course is a river, and the designer says the fabric of the shawl is flowly like a river. Also using the name Tigirs is a little bit of a play on tiger for the striped section of the shawl.

If you’re in a part of the world where it’s cold now, this would be a great project to work on and snuggle under as you go. For those of us in warmer climes, it’s a great way to get ready for cooler weather ahead.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Olga Fahim]

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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