Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Simple Shawls for Winter and Beyond

by

I really just want to knit nothing but shawls right now. They’re so fun, and a great way to build different knitting skills with something that you can wear and use all year long (if you’re cold all the time like I am).

Here are a few shawls on the easier side of the spectrum that have caught my eye recently.

Looking for more amazing shawl patterns? Check out these crochet patterns we found on Etsy.

The Simple Lace Shawl from Lion Brand Yarn uses three panels of knitting, simple eyelets and a multicolored yarn for an easy pattern that doesn’t look as easy as it is.

The Botany Lace Shawl from Araucania (available free with membership at Love Knitting) looks pretty easy, too, and the ruffled edging keeps it from being or looking basic but still doesn’t add that much fuss.

Universal Yarn’s Stained Glass Triangular Shawl (PDF) is another pretty project using a multicolored yarn. It’s worked in tiers of garter stitch triangles, giving the project a chunky, warm look.  Looking for more Stained glass style knitting patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

And the Shadow Capelet from Blue Sky Alpacas (PDF), though technically a poncho, is a great little project that uses reverse stockinette stitch stripes for lots of interest and texture. I really want to knit this one in a bunch of different colors.

See anything you like? I’d love to hear about it! And come back tomorrow for shawls that kick up the skill level a little more but are still great fun to knit.

 

Looking to chat about Knitting and Patterns? Check out our Facebook Knitting page and our Facebook group dedicated to Knitting and Knitting Patterns.

Looking for more amazing shawl patterns? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Comments

  3. I have made the Stain Glass Triangle Shawl. It was lovely & my shawl loving daughter treasures it BUT, the pattern is incorrect. I found the pattern on Ravelry & there were all kinds of comments from people, who had made it, about needing to stretch the shawl (when they blocked it, which is a must with this shawl) to make it the right size. Bad. I then checked the stitches per inch against the supposed width & length this would produce. The pattern was incorrect & more diamonds need to be added in the first row to give the right width & also the right length because of the added diamonds. I contacted Universal yarns ( a very strange site) about the pattern being incorrect but they never got back to me. I also posted a heads up on the Ravelry comments section on this project. Don’t be put off by what I have written, just make the corrections, by adding extra diamonds to the first row (using stitches per. inch rule) & away you go.I also made it with the Poems Socks yarn & it is truly beautiful with its subtle gradation from one colour into another. It you think it through this shawl can be also made as a modular knit which will mean you don’t have to stitch it all together at the end. Have to work on a pattern for this I think.

Have you read?

Book Review: Circular Knitting for Beginners and Beyond

When I discovered Kate Atherley’s book Circular Knitting for Beginners and Beyond, I wasn’t sure there was enough to say about circular knitting to fill a book. It’s a pretty short book (144 pages) and includes 10 patterns to practice working in the round on small projects, and it provides a decent introduction to the various ways of working in the round. 

The book covers using double pointed knitting needles, flexible double points and circular knitting needles with cables. It talks about working using the full circumference of a circular needle and various ways to work smaller circumference projects, such as using DPNs, magic loop and knitting with two circular knitting needles. 

In addition there’s a discussion of preventing problems like twists and ladders, swatching in the round without actually swatching in the round, grafting, blocking and weaving in ends. 

More specialized techniques likes knitting from the center out, stranded colorwork, helical knitting and jogless stripes are also explored, as well as working pieces like socks or mitts two at a time. 

There’s also some information about seamless sweaters, including the different sweater designs that can be worked seamlessly (and why you might want seams in your sweaters) and how they are worked from the top down or the bottom up. 

There are 10 patterns in the book, including a basic stockinette stitch cowl and one with a deliberate twist, wrist warmers, mitts and a pair of colorwork mittens, a hat worked in a solid color or in helical stripes, toe up and top down socks and a beret. It would have been nice to have a basic sweater pattern, too, since the book does talk about working larger garments with circular needles, but it’s still a nice collection of basic patterns worked in the round. 

If you’re already comfortable working in the round in different ways, I’m not sure there’s much for you to learn in this book, but it is a good reference for people learning circular knitting or who maybe haven’t tried all the techniques yet or need skill building projects to try. 

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 10 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.