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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.

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?

Adorable Ghost Knitting Patterns

Adding a bit of knitting to your fall decor is a lot of fun, whether it’s knit pumpkins or a bunch of adorable knit ghosts like these.

Knit ghosts can be super simple like this free ghost knitting pattern from Trixie Zynch on Ravelry. Using about 50 yards of worsted weight yarn, they’re worked from the bottom up and are super cute as a pair. 

This fuzzy little ghost from Forest Knitting Toys is holding a pumpkin and wearing a witch hat, though of course the accessories are optional, as is the fuzzy yarn. The main yarn is chunky and the ghost measures about 10 cm/4 inches tall. It’s worked in the round. 

Another fuzzy ghost in more of a Pacman style is this ghost plushie form South Stitch Girls. It’s worked in the round with bulky yarn and includes a sweet little bow you can make in whatever color you like. 

The ghost doll from Edith Grace Designs has little arms and a curl at the top of its head. The body is worked flat using DK weight yarn and you could also work it in glow in the dark yarn for extra fun. The body and head are worked in one piece with the arms knit separately. 

The Grim Grinning Ghosts from Susan Claudino are super cute and you can knit them in any yarn and gauge you like to make ghosts of different sizes. These are worked in the round with the body done in one piece and the arms are knit separately. The ghosts shown were knit in sock yarn, DK and worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Make a ghost with funny striped legs with this ghost shelf sitter design from Claire Fairall Designs. It’s worked in three colors of DK weight yarn, and the letters spelling out boo are made with strips of garter stitch sewn into shape.