Mosaic Knit Shawl Patterns

I have a special fondness for mosaic knitting as a step up from knitting stripes. It’s still pretty easy to do and makes really pretty effects in a knitting project. If you’ve never tried it (or even if you have) these mosaic knit shawls are a fun way to show off the technique.

Add some bands of mosaic colorwork along with stripes to a triangular shawl to give it a more dramatic look. The Malibu pattern from Isabell Kraemer uses sport weight yarn and can be worked in two or three colors (three is shown here). It’s worked from the top down and you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Cheryl Faust’s Dark Matter Shawl is another top down triangle, but this one has an allover mosaic pattern with color changes. It can be worked in fingering or sport weight yarn and it’s easy to adjust the size to work with different yarn weights if you want. Check it out on Ravelry.

Chevronopolis is a shifting chevron shawl designed by Maxim Cyr that uses two colors of sport weight yarn. One of them is multicolored so it adds another layer of complexity without making the knitting any harder. This one is also on Ravelry.

Another fun graphic shawl design (and also on Ravelry) is the Pendants pattern from Justyna Lorkowska. This one uses fingering weight yarn with one solid and one gradient with long color changes to make the diamond motifs different colors.

Mix and match mosaic patterns with the Trail Mix Shawl from Industrial Whimsy on Etsy. There are 10 different patterns that you can mix and match or repeat however you like. The design can be worked in two colors or up to 20 colors using mini skeins of sock yarn.

Of course mosaic can be combined with stripes and with other techniques such as lace. The Callisto pattern from Strickwetter uses mosaic designs, stripes and lace in three colors of sock weight yarn. This reminds me of a shawl I knit as a gift a long time ago and I wish I’d made one for myself!

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It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.

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