Lichens – what can I say? I love their beautiful colours and textures, I love their perfect partnership between two organisms, I love that they are an indicator of environmental health, and I love that they have been used to dye the world famous Harris Tweed©. But most of all, I love that they add a little “spice” to Scotland’s landscapes – you will find them mainly on (ancient) trees, high mountain rocks but also on rocks along the coast, even on manmade stone structures. As long as the air is clean, they can grow. Their symbiotic partnership between two species is fascinating: a fungus provides the body of the lichen, protecting the photosynthetic algae, which in return provides nutrients for the fungus to survive.

The Enlichened Shawl celebrates the more than 1700 lichen species occurring throughout the British Isles. The triangular shawl is knitted flat starting at the bottom and knitted up by increasing stitches every 2nd row. Repeated cable panels mirror the lichen structure and make up the central part of the shawl. The cable panels on the wings are separated by moss stitch and are more spread out. I-cord cast on, I-cord edges simultaneously knitted with the main fabric and I-cord bind off give the shawl a professional, polished look.

Size: One size

Finished measurements: Wingspan - 136cm (53 ½in)
Centre depth - 71cm (28in)

Yarn: 2 skeins of Iolair Yarn Luing (70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere; 400m/437yds/100g) or use any 4ply yarn as a substitute. The shawl is shown in colour “lichen yellow” (wulfenite-V7).

Notions: Scissors, tapestry needle and stitch markers (pairs) are recommended.

Suggested needles: A 3.25mm/US 3 size circular needle (80cm/32in length) was used to knit the shawl.
Two cable needles
Use the needle size that achieves the best gauge.

Gauge: 22 stitches and 34 rows = 10cm/4in in moss stitch, unblocked.

Written and chartered constructions are provided.