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!

It’s kind of coincidental that I recently posted about patchwork blanket knitting patterns right before reviewing a book that makes a patchwork blanket, but this one would also be a great choice if you’re looking to bust some stash and learn a lot about colorwork knitting at the same time.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket by Annah O’Leary includes charted designs for 50 colorwork blocks worked flat that can be combined to make a blanket or used in other projects. The book calls for worsted weight yarn but also offers suggestions for using fingering, DK or even bulky yarn, which will give you blocks of different sizes.

It opens with a section on materials and tips for choosing colors and maintaining contrast among blocks across a large project. There’s also information on how to read charts and colorwork basics such as maintaining tension, measuring gauge, catching floats, holding yarn and yarn dominance, among other things.

There are 196 squares (14 by 14) in the blanket shown on the cover, which, including the edging, makes for a blanket that’s about 79 inches, or 200 cm square knit in worsted weight yarn. You can adjust the size as needed by working more or fewer blocks, especially if using a different weight of yarn.

The sample was worked in Cascade 220 and the book includes the amounts of yarn used in each color so you can knit a blanket exactly as shown. Or use stash and leftovers from other projects to make a possibly less harmonious but more meaningful project.

Colorwork patterns are arranged into 10 themes: flowers, tiles, diamonds, stripes, peaks, woven, sky, leaves, lovestruck and architecture. They’re also rated by skill level on a range of 1 to 3 balls of yarn. If you’re newer to knitting or colorwork in particular, you can start with the easier squares and move up as you build more skills.

Each pattern is shown as a large black and white chart with three or four possible color variations, though or course you can also go your own way on the colors. There’s also a knit sample of each block pictured at the beginning of each pattern section.

There’s also a section to help you finish your blanket, including tips for weaving in ends, blocking, joining squares and adding a border. She also suggests different project sizes and color palettes for smaller scale projects.

In addition to the big blanket there are five other project ideas including a baby blanket made of 6 by 8 squares, a hot water bottle cover, a couple of pillows and a wall hanging. These are sure to give you ideas of different ways to use the blocks in other projects.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket includes lots of fun colorwork blocks and ideas for using them that are sure to appeal to those new to colorwork as well as those with more experience. Even if you never knit a full blanket with them, you can add these motifs to your collection to work in other projects.

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 50 charts and 6 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $25.99.

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