Another shawl designed to be perfect for travelling, picking up and knitting in any spare moment without having to dig out the pattern, count stitches or rows. It’s also designed to be easy to shop for (just get equal amounts of two colors of anything) and to use up all the yardage without needing to scramble to find more.

Stockinette stitch, with its clearly distinct sides, and the uneven stripes (four rows MC, two rows CC) don’t just look great, they make it possible to tell where you are in the pattern at a glance without having to pause to count rows. You only increase one stitch at the beginning of the first CC row, so when you grab CC, you know it’s time to increase. The gauge of 4 stitches and 6 rows per inch means the shawl also acts as its own measuring tape: every stripe marks off an inch! You’ll be amazed how fast the knitting goes when you’re not always stopping to count and measure.

The name for the shawl, Cat and Mouse, came from my friend Andra who exclaimed it as soon as she saw the colors I was working with. (“You picked the Cat Color and Mouse Color!”) Her brilliant Garter Trap shawls served as a major inspiration, so if you like this pattern, you should check them out! It’s also a play on the “MC” and “CC” knitting pattern naming conventions and how the colors chase each other like cats and mice.

Finished Size:
9” at its narrowest, 28” at its widest, about 80” long (!)

Yarn:
Berroco Yarns Andean Mist (74% Baby Suri Alpaca/ 26% Mulberry Silk, 25g/164yds)
2 skeins MC (color 6370 Ampato)
2 skeins CC (color 6320 Lascar)

OR equal amounts of 2 colors of any DK or Sport weight yarn you like

Needles:
US size 8 (5.00mm) needles or size needed to get gauge

Gauge:
about 4 sts and 6 rows = 1” in Stockinette Stitch