Learn Shawl Shaping with this Mini-Shawl Ecourse

I have a lot of scarves, but lately I have been knitting more shawls to wear in the colder months. I like something that bunches up around my neck a little more (so all that knitting is keeping me warm instead of hanging on the ends of my scarf), and shawls are just prettier and more fun to knit than scarves.

There are a lot of different ways to put shawls together and techniques you can use in shawl knitting, and one great way to get a crash course in those techniques is by signing up for the 5 shawls, 5 days challenge from Aroha Knits. This free email series covers a triangular shawl with a Garter tab beginning, a 3/4 shawl (the triangle with an extra triangle), crescent, swirl and asymmetrical designs.

The idea is to work each of these little shawls for 30 minutes or less, making them just big enough so you can see the shape and get the idea of how it will look in a larger version without having to actually knit a full-size shawl.

This is a great way to learn different techniques and determine which sorts of designs you like to knit and like the look of. If you’re a fan of shawls you should check it out.

[Photo via Aroha Knits.]

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You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try.

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]

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