Pattern:
I wanted to create a shawl that was long and shallow rather than semi-circular, using a really simple construction to create a lattice effect. I love to design simple crochet patterns that everyone can achieve.

Criss-cross is made up of blocks of solid and lattice sections. The pattern has been designed with the intention of increasing skills and working beyond the basics.

For those that need a little more guidance, there is also a YouTube tutorial, taking you through the more intricate parts of the pattern. Each part of the tutorial has been time-stamped so that you can go straight to the part that you may need help with. Don’t be alarmed though, this is a pattern that is great for moving beginners on to becoming confident beginners. For those with more experience, this is a really quick shawl to make and looks really beautiful on.

The pattern also includes an extension - see information on yarn.

Pattern Download
PDFs are available in both UK and US terminology from my website www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com.

Yarn:
The initial version of Criss-cross was crocheted using 200g of Shorelines & Strata 4 ply (350m/100g) which is a slightly heavier 4 ply wool by TJ Frog.

A second version was crocheted up using 200g of a light fingering weight yarn by Fiona at Green Elephant Yarn (425m/100g).

Whilst the pattern is written for the Shorelines & Strata wool, a pattern extension has also been given, based on the Green Elephant yarn meterage. This means that you can use two 100g skeins of any 4 ply yarn with between 350 - 425m/100g for this pattern.

Colours:
I really love the Shorelines & Strata version of this shawl because it shows off the undyed beauty of the wool (85% Poll Dorset & 15% Hebridean) and the latticework to its full effect.

I also love the variegated version with Green Elephant Yarn’s ‘Gym Nut’ colourway (25% superwash Merino/ 25% nylon). The little pops of neon green and jade offer a great juxtaposition to what is quite a traditional looking design.

If you are thinking about using a more variegated yarn, just be aware that you may lose some of the definition in the lattice section as the variegated colours take centre stage rather than the design. I deliberately chose the Green Elephant ‘Gym Nut’ colourway because a large percentage of it was lilac/grey and the additional colours were highlights.

Ultimately knock yourself out and do whatever you fancy doing. I have added the above information because a few people have asked my opinion on yarn colours for this shawl and I thought I would share my thoughts here too.

Hook:
4mm (G/6)

Time:
The basic pattern takes about 16 hours and the extended pattern takes about 22 hours.

Terminology:
The pattern was initially worked up in UK terminology, but a US version is also available to download.

Wet blocking
This is a shawl the benefits from wet blocking to create a straight edge at the top and really pull out the three lattice sections.

I have pulled together a blog post on how I wet blocked the DK version of this shawl.