Knitting

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Knit a Lace Shawl for Cooler Weather

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One thing about lace knitting is that, because it is so often done on fine yarn with tiny needles, it usually takes a long time to knit and also might not be the best thing to wear in terms of warmth when the weather gets colder.

This project takes care of both of those things by being a big shawl worked on heavier weight yarn than you might usually expect for lace, though it’s still light enough to keep some of the ethereal nature of lace while also being cozier to wear throughout the year.

Heavy Lace Dionne by Jeanette Sloan is a heavier weight version of her original Dionne Shawl.

Worked with a sport weight yarn, it’s still not super heavy, but you’ll feel the difference in the speed of the knitting and the warm factor when you wear it. Because this is a large shawl — it’s a triangle that’s 97.5cm (38.5 in) long and and 156.5 cm (61.5 in) wide — it gives lots of coverage and coziness.

And because lace projects are often worked on larger needles than you would expect for the weight of yarn, you’ll enjoy cruising through this project on size 7 US/4.5 mm knitting needles. Which actually makes this a pretty good option for a first large lace knitting project, because you don’t have to worry about tiny yarn and needles.

One fun twist on this one is that you can choose the edging that goes along the side of the shawl and is knit as you go. There are instructions for doing a slip stitch edging and a ribbed edging, and these are both shown in charts so you can see how the setup is different and how it integrates with the lace pattern. And it has tassels at the corners if you’re into that sort of thing.

You can grab a copy of this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Jeanette Sloan]

Comments

  1. Hi Sarah,

    I just wanted to stop by and thank you for pointing people to my Heavy Lace Dionne shawl pattern on Ravelry. I love what you’ve written about it because as the designer it sums up exactly what I was hoping knitters would get out of knitting it. For me, lace knitting is much more than cobweb weight yarns and Dionne is definitely one of my favourites.

    Sending you the warmest of wishes,

    Jeanette

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.