Subtle, enigmatic and just a little bit deceptive, Dark River draws the eye and catches the imagination. Let your love of colour run wild or make a classic piece in more neutral, understated tones. Dark River might just sweep you along for the ride.

Inspired by a tendril-based sari, this is the second design in a series drawing from my heritage to create sari mosaic shawls. Dark River’s patterns seem to move slightly and contain a flowing quality within them. With a whirling border pattern and a long, steady river pattern, Dark River draws together these designs into a unique piece. Its asymmetrical triangle shape makes it easy to wear with a timeless charm. Plain stocking stitch sections and the main mosaic pattern are relaxing knitting with easily memorised stitch patterns. DK weight makes for a quicker knit and an especially bold mosaic pattern. It also creates a warm shawl in a nice, cosy size perfect to wrap up in.

Designed in collaboration with Yarnfloozy, the 50/50 silk-merino blend allows for rich and vibrant colours to further enhance the design. A variation on the pattern, allowing the whole shawl to be worked in the main river pattern, is also included as shown in the bronze coloured sample. This variation shows the i-cord edging option and can be easily adjusted to desired size and yarn availability.

Dark River uses mosaic knitting, which means that the only skills required to make this project are knitting, purling, slipping, basic increases and decreases and counting – the pattern only uses a single colour at a time, meaning that this is suitable for all knitters including adventurous beginners. Video pattern support is also provided with the pattern purchase for all the techniques used in the pattern.

Dark River has something for everyone – calm and peaceful, or sultry and moody, even playful and flirty, colour choices can bring out something in this pattern to suit every preference and personality.

Gauge is not crucial for this project, though it will change the final dimensions and yarn usage.

Needles & notions
4mm/size 6 needles (long enough to hold 220 stitches)
Yarn needle
Optional but recommended: blocking wires
Optional for i-cord edging option: waste yarn and 4mm/size 6 long circular needle (minimum 100cm recommended)

Yarn required
Double Knit / 8-ply.
Sample shown in Yarnfloozy (50% Superwash Merino / 50% silk) 211m (230 yards) / 100g. 200g each of “Light Drizzle” (Colour A) and “Takahe” (Colour B). Pattern variation uses 200g each of “Autumn Bark” (Colour A) and “Chewy Caramel” (Colour B).

Knitter beware: the meterage/yardage on the yarn used for the sample is a little bit longer than a lot of Double Knit / 8-ply yarns. The required amounts include a 10% margin above what was used for the sample, so most knitters will be able to substitute other DK weight yarns without too much issue. However, this is worth noting when planning yarn for this project, especially if the i-cord edging is desired.

Photo credit: Available Light Ltd