The Viking Braid shawl is a new fun and beginner friendly shawl pattern that can be used to make bunting too!

Are you a beginner in crochet looking for an easy wearable first prjoject? Or a seasoned crocheter like myself, but want a laid back fun pattern to work on? well then this is your cue to go go go and make yourself a beautiful Viking Braid shawl for winter or a colorful bunting to brighten up your fall.

there is a full video tutorial available for this pattern on my YouTube channel as well, so this truly is a beginner friendly project where I hold your hand from start to finish! check it out:

https://youtu.be/imV9xnv18gk

This is the 40th pattern I publish here in my Raverly shop so I want to celebrate with a little SPECIAL OFFER to mark the occation. The Viking Braid shawl pattern will be available with 40% discount this first week after publishing, from september 10th to midnight september 17th, AS WELL AS ALL PURCHASES MADE AT THE SAME TIME IN MY SHOP! No code needed, just add this pattern and as many as you want to your cart and you will get a total of 40% off your TOTAL PURCHASE! woooohooo! You will see the discount added automatically at checout and BEFORE you finalise your purchase.

I designed the Viking Braid shawl and published in icelandic back in 2015. It’s always been one of my favourite go to easy shawl patterns so I decided to update it and publish in English now.

For those who are not familiar with the Jacob’s Ladder technique, it’s a simple little trick where you work a double crochet piece and do chains (always at the same place) in between. Then once finished, you lace those chain loops up and they form a beautiful textured braid in your piece. In this shawl we have 3 braids, one in the middle and one each at the beginning and end of the piece. I especially like what a neat finish the braids give to the upper border of the shawl, even if I do say so myself!

I named my shawl the VIKING BRAID because the braid down the center reminded me of the braided hair of my ancestors. Especially as they are depicted (hot as duck!) in modern day Viking series, which I love watching.

All fun aside, historically long braided hair was a sign of both strength and wisdom. I like to think of that when draped in my Viking Braid shawl and wear it with honour.

It’s always fun to show how a pattern can be versatile as well and I love making buntings. So, I thought it would be perfect to make a Viking Braid bunting, a little extra fun to add to the pattern and brighten up my autumn.

Yarn & hook:

You can use any yarn in any weight you like for this shawl and a hook that suits your yarn. I have these made in fingering weight up to Aran, and I love them all! This pattern is perfect for using up scraps too!

For a shawl I recommend going up a whole size in hook from what is recommended for the yarn you choose. For a bunting the recommended hook size is fine.

I mad the large Viking shawl depicted here in the wonderful Drops Air yarn. It’s a delight to work with, both light and warm despite being Aran weight. It’s a mix of alpaca, wool and polyamide, 50 g = 150 m. The yarn recomends a 5 mm hook, but i used a 6 mm hook for mine.

I used 7 skeins for my big shawl which measures 150 cm wide and 80 cm long. For a medium sized shawl 5 skeins would be quite enough.

For yarn stats, exact colors and info on colorsways used in various Viking braid project see seperate yarn stats file included in the pattern.

Gauge:

There is no gauge really for this shawl, just take care to have a rather looser gauge than not, so that it gives a good drape.

Abbreviations (US terms):

ST = stitch/stitches
CH = chain stitch
DC = double crochet
DC SP = double crochet space. This is the space between two DCs made in the previous row.

Sizes:

Viking Braid is a continuous “one row repeat” pattern, with two finishing options, either close it off with an extra row or simply just stop when you want, lace the braid up and add tassels to the last chain loop to secure the braids.

My Viking Braid shawl in Drops Air, which is Aran weight yarn, measures 130 cm in wingspan and is 80 cm long.

Note that once blocked, the shawl can grow quite a bit. It depends on how you block it though. Mine was big enough, so I just laid it flat and blocked it by spraying water on it. I would recommend that for the yarn I used here because when you wet it completely it stretches very easily.

You can do both shawls and a bunting with this pattern. Both versions you can do in any size you like really, but I include instructions for size on each project I show here in the extra file for yarn stats and colorways.

My DK weight Viking Braid shawl in kid size is 115 cm wide and 45 cm from top to bottom.

My Viking Braid bunting pieces are 22 cm wide and 10 cm from top to bottom.

Colours
You can go any way here! A single colour or slow gradient colour cake look great in this one, because you have the texture of the braids for extra fun. And then I really love doing this technique in stripes, because the way the braid goes down one row once laced up, makes for an interesting depth in the stripes and that of course is perfect for using up scraps. So, all is fair game here, I think!

General Instructions

The shawl is worked in rows, turning after each row. You start at the centre up and work your way down.
Once your piece is finished, you lace up your braid and either work the extra row to close it off or just add tassels to that last chain of the braid.

for pattern assistance please join my Facebook group, Tinna´s Crochet Club, where my admin team will be happy to help you out!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TinnaCrochetClub

you can also check out my work and follow along on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tinnahekl/