Flow
I practice yoga most mornings before I eat breakfast and get to work, and a few weeks ago, I was sitting in my comfortable seat, just beginning my practice, when my mind wandered to knitting, as it pretty much always does no matter how I try to meditate mindfully. I thought I wanted to make a lace shawl, but maybe not a triangle, maybe a crescent, and it should have a lace edging, but be somewhat easy, so the body of the shawl could be garter stitch, and it could be worked all at once, end to end, so there would be no need to pick up stitches or sew any seams. I continued my practice to the end, but quickly went stash diving as soon as I finished. I found this lovely Hazel Knits DK Lively, grabbed my Heirloom Lace book, and cast on immediately. I didn't even swatch, which is pretty out of character for me. The shawl looked exactly how I wanted it to on the first try, and I didn't rip it out even once (not counting going back a row or two when I wasn't paying attention to the lace pattern.) The name, Flow is in honor both of my yoga practice which inspired the design, but also the process of designing and knitting it, which was quick and smooth in a way that almost never happens.
Even though I just finished writing the pattern a few weeks ago, I really wanted to take the design to Vogue Knitting Live Seattle with me to show off at the Hazel Knits booth, so I called for testers and set a ridiculously tight deadline. Amazingly, I got six volunteers who all finished three days ahead of the deadline! I have to give a special shout-out to them here for their careful knitting, excellent communication, and super-hero-like speed at completing the test. I am in awe. (Be sure to check out their gorgeous projects on Ravelry.)
This shawl is designed for DK weight yarn, but one of my testers worked it in fingering weight, and another worked it in worsted weight, and both were thrilled with the results. It's one of those patterns that could really be worked in any yarn and still be beautiful.
The shawl is large and can really wrap around an give a lot of cozy warmth. It was about freezing the day of this photo shoot, but I wanted it to have a springtime feel to it, so I went with bare arms. My hands were, of course, ice cubes, but I enjoyed the parts of the shoot where I got to wrap the shawl all the way around me. Delicious wool.
The lace pattern is worked on both right and wrong sides, and so requires a bit of attention, but I found that I got into a really nice rhythm once I got going, and the shaping is very simple increasing and decreasing. The pattern even has reminders on the charted and written lace instructions when it's time to work the shaping so you don't get so caught up in the lace pattern you forget to decrease.
I think that this is a pretty quick knit for a large shawl, and it's a really versatile piece that can be worn with a dress or wrapped scarf-like with casual wear.
Pattern Info
Finished Measurements
Length end-to-end: 70.5 in/179 cm
Width at widest point: 19 in/48 cm
Yarn
710 yd/650 m DK weight yarn
Shown in Hazel Knits DK Lively (90% Merino, 10% Nylon; 275 yd/251 m per 130g skein)
Color: Nickel; 3 skeins
Gauge
19 sts/30 rows = 4 in/10 cm in Garter Stitch
Needles & Notions
* Needle sizes are recommendations only. Always use needle size necessary to obtain gauge.
US #8/5.00 mm needles
tapestry needle
place markers
Skills
working lace using charted or written instructions, increasing and decreasing, working lace on both right and wrong sides