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

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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