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Pi Shawls for Pi Day

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It’s March 14, also known as Pi Day, so who could resist thinking about some pi-shaped (or pie-shaped?) shawls?

The most famous Pi Shawl is of course Elizabeth Zimmermann’s. Originally shared in her print newsletter, it’s been republished in Knitter’s Almanac, where it’s the project for July because it’s “good travel-knitting.” She likes this particular project for its simplicity, with only six increase rounds in the whole project.

Towards the end, by the time your state of mind has become more and more frayed, and your need of mindless comfort greater and greater, your knitting will be nothing but almost endless rounds of hundreds of stitches, with no thinking required, at all. You will end up with an heirloom.

Looking for more Pi Shawl patterns to knit? Check these out on Etsy.

Sounds pretty good, right?

There are lots of great pi shawls out there in the world now; here are a few.

The Simply Pi Shawl form Kay Meadors is really simple, almost all straight knitting. An optional beaded edging gives it a little sparkle and weight.

Ravelry user MMario’s Easy Peasy Lace Shawl uses simple eyelets throughout, while his Pi-napple Strudel gets points for the cute name and lovely design.

The Flower Pie Shawl by Megan Elligner adds a bold flower pattern to the basic shape, while Jan Henley’s Pi in the Sky I is actually a semi-circle using the same concepts.

If you’re willing to pay a bit for a pattern, check out Mindy Vasil’s Camellia, Susan Pandorf’s Evenstar (you’re going to want to look at the amazing variations on this one, including a knit dress), the Butterfly Pi shawl from Linda Farrelly, Margrit’s Pi Shawl by Tanja Luescher and the Diamond Rings Pi Shawl by Donna Druchunas, who inspired me to collect this roundup in the first place.

And if you want to go your own way with a circular shawl worked from the center out, Holly Peacock has a great calculator in a Google document that you can use. Just plug in how many stitches you want to cast on and it will tell you where to increase, how many stitches you should have once you’ve increased, and how many usable rounds you have between increase rounds for plotting out your pattern. Awesome.

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Comments

  1. I am knitting Jared Flood’s “Leaves of Grass” pattern right now, it is a beautiful paid for pi pattern. I am making it in worsted weight so it should be more like a blanket. I am loving it, I love pi shawls

Have you read?

Book Review: Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit & Crochet Blankets

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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