Note: Pattern now includes instructions for 23 sts to 4 in/10cm and 20 sts to 4 in/10cm.

Waves of texture roll slowly across this warm and elegant wrap. Departure Bay is completely reversible, and the combination of mohair/silk and merino singles yarn yields a fabric that is soft and warm, with a comforting weight and flickering colour. To make Departure Bay, you need to know how to knit, purl, and work increases and decreases. The pattern includes instructions for two widths and two gauges; the length is somewhat adjustable.

Designed by Elizabeth Elliott in collaboration with Shibui Knits and Madelinetosh.

Size
Narrow Shawl (Full Size Shawl)
Version 1: 18 in/45.5 cm (23 in/58.5cm) wide, 67 in/170 cm (78 in/198cm) long
Version 2: {18 in/45.5 cm, 23 in/58.5cm} wide, {65 in/165 cm, 73 in/185.5 cm} long

Yarn
Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light (100% superwash merino; 420 yds/384 m per 3.7 oz/105 g): 3 (4) skeins (Version 1 shown in Icecap Speckle; Version 2 shown in River Crossing Deep), AND

Version 1: Shibui Knits Silk Cloud (60% kid mohair, 40% silk; 330 yds/300 m per .88 oz/25 g): 3 (4) skeins (shown in Icecap Solid), OR

Version 2: Madeline Tosh Impression (70% mohair, 30% silk; 420 yds/384 m per 1.76 oz/50 g): {3, 4} skeins (shown in Betty Draper’s Blue)

Needles (both versions)
US7/4.5 mm: straight needles: (14 in/35 cm), or circular needle(24 in/60 cm or longer) (or size needed for correct gauge)
US6/4 mm: straight needles (14 in/35 cm), or circular needle(24 in/60 cm or longer) (or one size smaller than gauge needle)

Gauge
Version 1: 23 sts & 29 rows = 4 in/10 cm in stockinette stitch with Silk Cloud and Tosh Merino Light held together, worked flat and blocked

Version 2: 20 sts & 28 rows = 4 in/10 cm in stockinette stitch with Impression and Tosh Merino Light held together, worked flat and blocked

Exact gauge is not essential, but differences in gauge will affect size and yarn requirements.

Notions
3 stitch markers, yarn needle

About the yarns:
Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light is a fingering weight singles (1-ply) superwash merino yarn. The dyeing method used gives interesting colour effects, from semi-solids to speckles to variegated colourways. Superwash merino has some memory, though not as much as non-superwash; this memory helps the wrap keep its shape.

Shibui Knits Silk Cloud is a laceweight, kid mohair/silk blend with incredible loft and a very high halo. Both fibres give this yarn a beautiful lustre, while the mohair fills in the spaces around the stitches, allowing the yarn to be knit at a loose gauge for a light, airy fabric with no memory or bounce.

Madelinetosh Impression is a slightly heavier mohair/silk blend. The higher mohair content (70% rather than Silk Cloud’s 60%) and the different grade of mohair mean that this soft, fuzzy yarn works better at a slightly looser gauge than Silk Cloud, giving the fibres room to expand.

All of these yarns are very soft and drapey. They each take dye differently, which gives depth to the fabric’s colour when they are worked together. If substituting yarns for this project, you can use a single thicker strand, or two yarns held together. If you’re working at 23 sts to 4 in/10 cm, for a single yarn, choose heavy fingering or sport weight; for 20 sts to 4 in/10cm, try a DK or worsted weight. If you’re using two yarns, look for a fairly springy fingering weight plus either a high-halo laceweight for a fuzzy fabric with blurred stitch definition or a low-halo lace to fingering weight for a smooth, high-definition fabric. You could choose the same or similar colourways in both yarns, or go for contrasting yarns for a marled effect. If you’d prefer to work with one yarn only, look for a yarn with some memory that gives a fabric you like at one of the pattern’s gauges.

At 23 sts to 4 in/10 cm, you will need approximately 1115 yds/1015 m (1655 yds/1505 m) of the fingering weight plus 870 yds/790 m (1290 yds/1175 m) of the laceweight if holding two yarns together, or 1115 yds/1015 m (1655 yds/1505 m) of a single, heavy fingering to sport weight yarn. In the off-white sample, I used more of the Silk Cloud—using doubled yarn can be weird and unpredictable that way—so for that version you may want to pick up an extra skein of the lace weight to be on the safe side.

At 20 sts to 4 in/10 cm, you will need approximately 960 yds/875 m (1380 yds/1255 m) of each yarn if holding two yarns together, or the same length of a single DK to worsted weight yarn.