by Emily Wessel

An estuary is a fertile place, a junction between riverine and ocean habitats, where the mixing of fresh and salt water creates a gradated ecosystem which nurtures thousands of species.

Estuary is an in-between, watery piece of lace that inhabits the space in between scarf and shawl. If you object to the grandma-ish shape of a triangular shawl, this could be a perfect accessory for you.

Knit in one piece from end to end, Estuary features two lace stitch patterns of my own design. The pattern includes simple instructions for how to adjust the sizing to achieve a larger or smaller or longer finished piece, or work the pattern in heavier or finer yarns.

SIZE
One

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 82" long and 18" deep at widest point; size of finished item depends on gauge of yarn used, and how aggressively the piece is blocked.  Instructions are given for how to adjust the size.

MATERIALS
Yarn
Dream in Colour Smooshy [100% Merino; 450yd/411m per 113g skein]; color: Deep Seaflower; 2 skeins

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
1 pair US #6/4.0mm needles

Notions
yarn needle
stitch marker(s)

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

SSSK: Slip 3 sts, one at a time, each as if to knit.  Insert the LH needle into the backs of these 3 sts and knit them all together. (Note: this is the same as SSK, only slipping 3 sts instead of 2 - 2 sts dec)

k3tog: Knit 3 together (2 sts dec)

sl2-k2tog-p2sso: Slip 2 sts tog k-wise, knit the next two sts from the LH needle together, then pass the two slipped stitches over and off the needles. (3 sts dec)

Charts
The charts for this pattern are very large. Each fits on a letter-sized page.
Click below and print each resulting page.

chart a • charts b+c • charts d, e, f • chart g • chart h

DIRECTIONS

Chart A:
Work Rows 1-64 of Chart A once. 33 sts.

Chart B:
Row 1 [RS]: Work as for Chart B to last st (before m1 on chart), pm, work chart to end. 2 sts after marker.

Note: This marker will stay in the work throughout, and mark the line between the two lace patterns that form the piece. Continue to slip marker throughout.

Work Rows 2-8 of Chart B over all sts once. 37 sts.

Begin Charts C and D:
Next Row [RS]: Work Row 1 of Chart C to marker, slip marker, work Row 1 of Chart D to end. 

Cont working charts as established until Rows 1-20 of Charts C and D have been completed once. 43 sts.

Begin Chart E:
Note: If at this point you wish to knit a deeper shawl than the sample, you can continue to work Chart E for a total of any odd number of times.

Next Row [RS]: Work Row 21 of Chart C to marker, slip marker, work Row 1 of Chart E to end.

Cont working charts as established, repeating Rows 1-40 of Chart C and Rows 1-20 of Chart E, until five total repeats of Chart E have been worked, ending on Row 40 of Chart C. 78 sts; 32 sts to the right of the marker and 46 sts to the left of the marker (with RS facing).

Begin Chart F:
Note: If at this point you wish to knit a longer shawl than the sample, you can work Chart F for a total of any even number of times. Conversely, if you wish to knit a shorter piece, you may skip Chart F entirely, or work it only two times.

Next Row [RS]: Work Row 1 of Chart C to marker, slip marker, work Row 1 of Chart F to end.

Cont working charts as established, repeating Rows 1-40 of Chart C and Rows 1-20 of Chart F until four total repeats of Chart F have been worked, ending on Row 40 of Chart C.

Next row [RS]: Work Row 1 of Chart C to marker, slip marker, work Row 1 of Chart F to end.

Cont working charts as established, working Rows 2-10 of Chart C and Rows 2-10 of chart F.

Begin Chart G:
Next Row [RS]: Work Row 1 of Chart C to marker, slip marker, work Row 1 of Chart G to end.

Cont working charts as established, work Rows 2-10 of Chart G once. 73 sts; 32 sts to the right of the marker and 41 sts to the left of the marker (with RS facing).

Cont as established, working Rows 11-30 of Chart G a total of four times, then finally work Rows 31-40 of Chart G once, ending on Row 20 of Chart C.

Note: If you chose to work more repeats of Chart E, you will need to work Rows 11-30 of Chart G more times to correspond, until 13 sts remain after marker.

Next Row [RS]: Work Row 19 of Chart C to marker, slip marker, work Row 41 of Chart G to end.

Next Row [RS]: Work Row 42 of Chart G to marker, slip marker, work Row 20 of Chart C to end.

Repeat last 2 rows, repeating Rows 19-20 only of Chart C and working Chart G as per chart until Row 50 of Chart G is complete.

38 sts; 32 sts to the right of the marker and 6 sts to the left of the marker (with RS facing).

Begin Chart H:
Work Rows 1-72 of Chart H across all sts, removing the marker. 
BO remaining 2 sts.

FINISHING
Weave in ends.  Wet block the shawl and let it dry completely.

Emily spends her time making beautiful things and teaching others to do the same. Emily is a Canadian designer who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

With her partner, Alexa Ludeman, she runs Tin Can Knits: a knitting pattern design & publishing company. Tin Can Knits patterns are available here and Emily blogs here.