Who Spiked the Shawl? by Alexis Hoy

Who Spiked the Shawl?

Knitting
July 2018
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
22 stitches and 34 rows = 4 inches
in Stockinette Stitch, steam blocked.
US 3 - 3.25 mm
945 yards (864 m)
one size
English
This pattern is available for C$10.00 CAD buy it now

Two sticks and some string might sound boring to the unadventurous - but you know all their secrets. Like how this daringly three-dimensional shawl could be created using just two straight needles. Short-rows, baby, short-rows. Flex your knitting muscles, hone your razor-sharp skills (find a use for that crazy-dyed sock skein you bought on a dare). Come on, spike it up a little.

The shawl is a slightly asymmetrical triangle knit from one long edge to the opposite tip, with decreases along the left edge only. The spikes are created with short-rows (much as you would create the heel or toe of a sock) and enclosed by knitting the back of the first row of the spike together with the corresponding stitches in the last row of the spike. There is also short-row shaping in the main colour sections so that the spiked sections flare out slightly along the right edge of the work.

Pattern includes full written instructions, as well as charts of spike construction, a quick reference sheet with checklist to track your progress, and links to video tutorials for unusual techniques.

Special Techniques:

  • Short-rows (wrap-and-turn)
  • Slip-stitch colour change (video tutorial)
  • Knitting into row below (video tutorial)

Stitches Used (beyond K & P):

  • K2tog = knit 2 sts together
  • SL1 = slip one stitch knit-wise
  • wrap next stitch
  • Knit stitch together with its wrap(s)