Knit a Three Color Zigzag Shawl

It might be a little early for folks in the Northern Hemisphere to be thinking about fall knitting, but that’s the only thing I can think of when I look at the Electric Sheep shawl knitting pattern from Beata Jezek for Hedgehog Fibers.

I think that’s because it uses tweed yarn, which always makes me think of cozy cabled sweaters and all the things we love when the weather starts getting cooler.

I usually will talk about how you can use any yarn you like for any knitting project, and of course you can, but in this case I think the tweed yarn really adds something fun. While the colors are generally neutral, the little flecks of color from the tweed make the design more interesting both to knit (as you’re waiting to see what happens next) and to wear. It’s like a shawl covered with sprinkles!

The asymmetrical triangle is worked from the center point out, with increases and decreases shaping the shawl and creating the zigzag effect. Three coordinating colors of yarn are used to give a sort of fade effect. While it’s pretty in grayscale as shown, it would be great with more colorful yarn choices as well.

The yarn is DK weight, and the finished shawl is about 24 by 75 inches, or 60 by 190 cm. As always you can try a different weight of yarn to make a project that’s a different size, but again, if you have access to a tweed yarn it does give this project a distinctive look I think is worth keeping.

You can download a free copy of the pattern when you sign up for email updates from Hedgehog Fibers. If you like you can also check the pattern out on Ravelry, but you can’t download it directly from there. But it is a great place to check out how the shawl looks in different colors.

[Photo: Beata Jezek]

A Shawl to Wear While You’re Reading and Knitting

Mosaic Shawl Knitting Patterns

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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