My visit to Cambridge last spring began with a walk across a
small bridge over the River Cam. During the following
days, as I wandered the walks, alleys and lanes of
the colleges touring the buildings and gardens, I
learned that this small bridge is popularly known
as the Mathematical
Bridge, a reference to its lines
and angles. Though
it may be small, the bridge is a wonder of construction
that feeds the prevalent folklore of Cambridge. Rumors
hold that is put together without bolts or screws,
that it was once taken apart and reassembled by prankster students,
and that its design references Newton’s
mathematical principles.
Though I wasn’t taken in
by its stories, the bridge enchanted me. As I worked
through the design for this shawl, I chose patterns
containing similar lines and angles.
Constructed in an
alpaca and silk blend, the shawl begins with a simple
lace that drapes easily over the shoulders or under
the chin. These
eyelets first shift direction and then flow into
the angles of the body of the shawl, which uses two
contrasting colors in a chevron slipstitch pattern.
Slipped stitches create a firm fabric that first
clings to the shoulders and then resolves into the vertical
stripes of a lace and garter border.
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS Wingspan: 60 inches Length of each outer edge: 38
inches Depth at center of triangular
section: 24 inches
MATERIALS
Yarn
Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk [50% alpaca/50% silk; 146 yd/133
m per 50g skein] [MC]
103 plume; 3 skeins [CC]
100 slate; 3 skeins
Recommended needle size [always use a needle
size that gives you the gauge
listed below -- every knitter's
gauge is unique] 1
36-inch US #5/3.75 mm circular needle 1 set US #4/3.5 mm straight needles or 1 short #4/3.5 mm circular needle
Notions Yarn
needle Stitch
markers
GAUGE
16 sts/24 rows = 4 inches
in eyelet pattern with larger needle
24 sts/32 rows = 4 inches in slipstitch pattern
with larger needle
16 sts/48 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch
with smaller needle
22 sts/30 rows = 4 inches in stockinette with
larger needle
PATTERN NOTES [Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]
M1L: Insert left needle, from front to back,
under strand of yarn which runs between last stitch on left
needle and first stitch on right needle; knit this stitch through
back loop. 1 stitch increased.
M1R: Insert left needle,
from back to front, under strand of
yarn which runs between last stitch
on left needle and first stitch on
right needle; knit this stitch through
front loop. 1 stitch increased.
Sl wyib: Slip the
next st purlwise with the yarn held
at the back.
Sl wyif: Slip the
next st purlwise with the yarn held
at the front.
Charts The charts for this pattern are very large.
Each fits on a letter-sized page.
Click below and print each resulting
page.
Begin Eyelet Pattern; Row 1 [RS]: K1, yo, [k2tog,
yo] until 1 st rem before marker, k1, yo, sl marker, k1,
yo, k1, [yo, ssk] to 1 st before end,
yo, k1. 4 sts increased.
Row 2 [WS]: Purl.
Repeat the last 2 rows until there are
49 sts total, 24 each side with 1 in middle, ending with a RS
row. Knit the next WS row.
Begin Reverse Eyelet Pattern: Row 1 [RS]: K1, yo, k1, [yo,
ssk] to marker, yo, sl marker, k1,
yo, [k2tog yo] to 2 sts before end,
k1, yo, k1. 4 sts increased.
Row 2 [WS]: Purl.
Repeat the last 2 rows until there are
97 sts total, 48 each side with 1 in middle, ending with a WS row.
Transition between Section 1 and Section 2 The next two rows add 23 sts to each side (in addition to the
4 shaping increases) to compensate for the smaller gauge of the
sl st pattern.
Row 1 [RS]: With CC, k1, yo, k1, [sl1 wyib, M1L,
k1] to marker, yo, slip marker, k1, yo, [k1, M1R, sl1 wyib]
to 2 sts before end, k1, yo, k1. 147 sts. Row 2 [WS]: P3, [Sl
1 wyif, p2] to 2 sts before marker,
p2, slip marker, p1, [p2, Sl 1 wyif]
to last 3 sts, p3. 2 edge sts,
1 center st, 71 sts on each side.
Section 2 Note: The slip stitch pattern only
requires you work with 1 color at a time
across a pair of rows – the stitches of
the other color are slipped. The working color changes
every 2 rows. You may find it helpful to use markers to divide
up the 24 sts of the repeat.
Row 1 [RS]: Work Slip Stitch Pattern Right Side Row
1 to marker, work Slip Stitch Pattern
Left Side Row 1 to end of row. Row 2 [WS]: Work Slip Stitch
Pattern Left Side Row 2 to
marker, work Slip Stitch Pattern Right
Side Row
2 to end of row.
Continue as set until all 12 rows of
Charts are complete.
Work another 7 repeats of the Charts.
96 sts increased on each side. 339 sts total; 2 edge sts, 1
center st, 167 sts each side.
Transition to Border Row 1 [RS]: Work Transition
Pattern Right Side to marker, work
Transition PatternLeft Side to end
of row. Row 2 [WS]: Work Transition
Pattern Left Side to marker, work Transition
PatternRight Side to end of row.
Work as set to end of Row 6 of chart. Break MC.
After Row 8, work to end of row, using CC and backwards loop
method, cast on 16 sts.
8 sts increased on each side. 355 sts
total; 2 edge sts, 1 center st, 175 sts each side.
Border Change to smaller needle for working. Shawl stitches remain
on larger needle.
Note: Color in border should line up
with color in Chart C. The last st of an odd-numbered
border row is worked together with
same color st of shawl edge as an ssk to join
the border to the shawl as it is knitted.
Begin the first repeat with Row
3. On this row of the first
repeat, the ssk is worked over 2 sts of
the shawl border. In subsequent
rows and repeats, the ssk is worked over
1 st of the border and 1 st of the shawl. Reattach
MC at start of row 5 of first repeat. Carry the color not
in use along the edge of the border by
twisting the colors at the beginning
of all odd-numbered rows.
Edging Pattern Row 1 [RS]: With CC, k16,
ssk last st with next shawl st.
Row 2 [WS]: With CC, k.
Rows 3 and 4, repeat Rows
1 and 2.
Row 5 [RS]: With MC, k16,
ssk last st with next shawl st.
Row 6 [WS] With MC, sl 1,
p16.
Row 7 [RS]: With MC, [yo,
ssk] 8 times, ssk last st with next
shawl st.
Row 8 [WS]: With MC, p.
Repeat 8-row Edging Pattern to 1 st before marker.
Turn the corner:
Removing center marker as you go, work as follows: Row 1 [RS]: With CC, k16,
ssk last st with next shawl st.
Row 2 [WS]: With CC, k.
Row 3 [RS]: With CC, k17.
Turn so that WS is facing and pick up
(but don’t knit) one loop of MC and place it on the right
needle.
Row 4 [WS]: With CC, k.
Row 5 [RS]: With MC, k16, ssk last st with picked-up st.
Row 6 [WS] With MC, sl 1, p16.
Row 7 [RS]: With MC, [yo, ssk] 8 times, k1.
Row 8 [WS]: With MC, p.
Row 9 [RS]: With CC, k16, ssk last st with next shawl st. Row 10 [WS]: With CC, k. Row 11 [RS]: With CC, k17.
Turn so that WS is facing and pick up
(but don’t knit) one loop of MC and place it on the right
needle.
Row 12 [WS]: With CC, k. Row 13 [RS]: With MC, k16, ssk last st with picked-up st. Row 14 [WS] With MC, sl 1, p16. Row 15 [RS]: With MC, [yo, ssk] 8 times, k1. Row 16 [WS]: With MC, p. Row 17 [RS]: With CC, k16, ssk last st with next shawl st. Row 18 [WS]: With CC, k. Row 19 [RS]: With CC, k17. Row 20 [WS]: With CC, k.
You have completed the center turn of the border, 20 rows total. Work Rows
5-8 of Edging Pattern, then continue, repeating Rows
1-8 across until 2 sts rem in shawl, ending with Row
4. 18 sts rem,
16 on border, 2 on shawl.
BO as follows: BO normally across first 15 sts, work ssk last
border st with next shawl st, lift first
st on right needle over this stitch to
BO, and finish BO as normal.
FINISHING
Weave in ends.
Block to even out the slipstitch
pattern, stretching aggressively, rounding
the edging at the point of the shawl. Use the
YO at the edge of each MC stripe in the
edging to anchor blocking wires or pins,
picking up both the MC strand and the
CC strand.
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
After 25 years wrestling computers and other opponents, Susan Luni
retired 15 years too early and lost her
mind. A year later,
she found it under an unfinished afghan. While finishing
the afghan, she typed “yarn” in a search box and found
forums about crochet, blogs about knitting
and a whole new purpose for her computer.
by Susan
Luni
