The Sister-In-Law Shawl is named after my sister-in-law, Carmen, who frequently gifts me yarn for my birthday, and who inspired this design.

Whether she’s teaching a classroom of rambunctious youngsters, playing electric bass in a rock band, or designing education programs for the local aquarium, Carmen has no time to fiddle with a shawl that’s always about to fall off. Hence, the Sister-In-Law Shawl is shaped to stay on one’s shoulders, no matter what one is doing at the moment.

If you want to make your Sister-In-Law Shawl authentic, choose vibrant colours (Carmen is never dull) and soft yarn (for that soft spot Carmen has for the kid who’s struggling to read or the kitten who needs a home).

The rainbow version is made holding 4 strands of lace weight yarn as one. I used Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud Lace, 1 skein each colour: Catherine, Frances, Bennet, Ernest, Penelope, Stella, Daisy, Sir Walter, Cecilia, Mary, and Elizabeth.

The stash-buster version uses 350-400g of assorted weights of yarn, and, of course, you could also just use 600-700 meters of any DK or worsted weight yarn. (The blue shawl used 6 skeins of Noro Silk Garden.) An 8mm or 9mm hook and one stitch marker (or scrap yarn) are also needed.

Pattern includes both written directions and a chart, a photo tutorial on chain-plying (Navaho ply), and information on blocking your finished shawl.

The shawl is constructed top-down, so you can make it any size. The rainbow shawl has a wingspan (tip-to-tip) of 230 cm (90”) and is 70 cm (28”) deep at back neck.

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