Now in a minute shawl: Knitty Spring+Summer 2013

by Brenda Dayne

It's said that to speak a language fluently you have to understand its idioms, and that is certainly true of Welsh. Though my knowledge of the language could fill a thimble, I have come to understand Wales and its people better through learning its idioms.

Unsurprisingly, for a country with more sheep than people, many of my favorite Welsh idioms have to do with the scraggy white animals dotting the hillsides of Wales. "Blacker than the inside of a sheep," for instance, is a very dark night, indeed, while a "black sheep in every flock" is the one who stands out from the rest. Even knitting gets fair play in Welsh idioms. "On the needles," means to the Welsh just what does to you and me; that something is "in progress."

Of all the Welsh idioms, proverbs and phrases I've learned, however, none is more dear to me than "Now in a minute." Usually given as a response to a request of some kind, "now in a minute," essentially means, "I acknowledge and agree to your request, but I'll do it in my own time." I like to think of it as the Welsh equivalent to "Just one more row."

I used my favorite Welsh phrase quite a bit while knitting this shawl, as the changing shape of the shawl, and the colour play between the skeins of Gradiance means there's always something new happening on your needles. For all that, it's worked mostly in stockinette with a simple lace edging that's easy to memorize. The long gentle curve of the shawl means it stays on your shoulders, making it as easy to wear as it is to knit.

model: Laura Dunlap

photos: Brenda Dayne


SIZE One

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
38 inches long at neck edge; 19 inches deep narrowing to 3 inches, including edging

MATERIALS
Yarn
Unique Sheep Luxe [50% Superwash Merino/50% Tussah Silk; 100 yards/25 grams]; Color: "Enfys" from the Gradiance Collection; 6x25g skeins: 150g total

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
US #4/3.75 mm circular needle, 32 inches or longer

Notions
Yarn needle

GAUGE

30 sts/40 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, blocked

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

Gauge is less important than achieving a pleasing a fabric with plenty of drape, using your choice of needles and yarn. When substituting yarn, choose a light fingering to fingering weight, and use needles a size or two larger than the ballband recommendation. Your stitches should be open enough to see daylight between them, but not so large and loose that they elongate.

Unique Sheep Gradiance Yarns are a set of six individually dyed and numbered skeins that allow for gradual color transitions within a project.

To use these yarns, begin knitting with the skein at the beginning or end of the set. (Either skein 1 or skein 6.) Knit to within a few yards of the end of the end of the skein, and work a 2442 Transition (see below) to the next numbered skein in the series. If beginning with skein 1, the next in the series would be skein 2; if beginning with skein 6, the next in the series would be skein 5.

2442 Transition:
Work 2 Rows of the new colour.
Work 4 Rows of the old colour.
Work 4 Rows of the new colour.
Work 2 Rows of the old colour.

CDD: Slip two sts together as if to k2tog, knit the next stitch and pass both slipped stitches over the knit stitch.

DIRECTIONS
Set Up
CO 3.
Row 1 [RS]: (K1, yo) twice, k1. 5 sts

Rows 2 & 4 [WS]: Knit.

Row 3 [RS]: K2, yo, k1, yo, k2. 7 sts.

Row 5 [RS]: K2 (yo, k1) three times, yo, k2. 11 sts.

Row 6 [WS]: K5, place marker, k6.

Important: Your basic shawl stitches are set. Shaping increases are worked at the start of the RS/end of the WS rows. Charts 1-8 will be worked consecutively on the 3 stitches immediately before the marker on RS rows. Charts are followed by the edging pattern at the end of the RS rows/preceded by the edging on WS rows. Further shaping decreases are worked within the chart patterns.

Front Edge Increase Triangle:
Row 1 and all following odd-numbered rows [RS]: K2, yo, k to 2 sts before marker, work Chart 1 to marker, work Edging pattern to end.

Rows 2, 4, 6 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work Chart 1 over next 3 sts, p to 2 sts before end, yo, k2.

Row 8 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, Work Chart 1 over next 3 sts, k to 2 sts before end, yo, k2.

Continue in pattern as set until you have worked 3 full repeats of the Edging pattern (6 repeats of the above 8 rows). 83 sts

Important Note: From here continue working the edge patterns as established at the start and end of each row. The shawl gets its curved shape from a combination of short rows, the central decreases as specified in Charts 2-8 (the three-stitch center section of shawl), and the increases at the beginning of RS rows in the Increase Section as given below.

Wedge 1
Row 1 [RS]: K2, yo, k to 3 sts before marker, work Chart 2 to marker, slip marker, work Edging pattern to end.

Row 2 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work Chart 2, p to 3 sts before end of row, w&t.

(Note: Correctly wrapped stitches will present as pairs, with one wrapped stitch and one unwrapped stitch sitting together.)

All following odd-numbered rows [RS]: K to 3 sts before marker, work Chart 2 to marker, slip marker, work Edging pattern to end.

Rows 4, 6 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work Chart 2, p to 2 sts before previously wrapped st, w&t.

Row 8 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work Chart 2, k to 2 sts before previously wrapped st, w&t.

Rows 10, 12, 14 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work Chart 2, p to 2 sts before previously wrapped st, w&t.

Row 16 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work Chart 2, k to 2 sts before previously wrapped st, w&t.

Continue in pattern as set in Rows 9-16, working until 2 sts before the previously wrapped st on WS, and working a WS knit (purl ridge) row every 8 rows.

Note: As you work, eventually you'll work to a point where you don't have enough stitches between the marker and the last wrapped stitch to work a full repeat of an 8 row chart. When you think you're getting close, count the number of stitches between the marker and the last wrapped stitch, and use the chart below to determine if you've reached that point. If so, work Final Row [WS] as set below in place of row 16. If not, continue working until you reach the point of no repeats.

Wedge Number	Stitches needed for full repeat
1	9 or more
2	10 or more
3	11 or more
4	12 or more
5	13 or more
6	15 or more
7 and beyond	16 or more

Final row [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work row 8 of Chart 2, k across row, working wrapped sts together with their wraps, to 2 sts before end of row, yo, k2.

Increase Section
Work this eight-row section between wedges, directly after you have knit across an entire row, picking up and knitting wraps as you go. Work Edging patterns as established.

Row 1 and all following odd-numbered rows [RS]: K2, yo, k to 3 sts before marker, work Chart 2 to marker, slip marker, work Edging pattern to end.

Rows 2, 4, 6 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work Chart 2 over next 3 sts, p to 2 sts before end, yo, k2.

Row 8 [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work Chart 2, k to 2 sts before end, yo, k2.

Note: From Chart 3 you'll begin working centered double decreases (CDD) to narrow the shawl on some rows. The rows you need to pay particular attention to are highlighted in yellow on Charts 3-8. On Non CDD RS rows work to 3 sts before marker; on CDD RS rows work to 4 sts before marker.

Wedge 2
Work as for Wedge 1, using Chart 3 in place of Chart 2.

Work Rows 1-8 of Increase Section, using Chart 3 in place of Chart 2.

Wedge 3
Work as for Wedge 2, using Chart 4 in place of Chart 2.

Work Rows 1-8 of Increase Section, using Chart 4 in place of Chart 2.
Note: From here, you'll work fewer repeats of the charts in the short-row wedges.

Wedge 4
Work as for Wedge 1, using Chart 5 in place of Chart 2, until you have completed 7 full repeats of the chart. Work Rows 1-7 of the chart once more.

Final row [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work row 8 of Chart 5,k across row, working wrapped sts together with their wraps, to 2 sts before end of row, yo, k2.

Work Rows 1-8 of Increase Section, using Chart 5 in place of Chart 2.

Wedge 5
Work as for Wedge 1, using Chart 6 in place of Chart 2, until you have completed 7 full repeats of the chart. Work Rows 1-7 of the chart once more.

Final row [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work row 8 of Chart 6,k across row, working wrapped sts together with their wraps, to 2 sts before end of row, yo, k2.

Work Rows 1-8 of Increase Section, using Chart 6 in place of Chart 2.
Wedge 6
Work as for Wedge 1, using Chart 7 in place of Chart 2, until you have completed 7 full repeats of the chart. Work Rows 1-7 of the chart once more.

Final row [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work row 8 of Chart 7,k across row, working wrapped sts together with their wraps, to 2 sts before end of row, yo, k2.

Work Rows 1-8 of Increase Section, using Chart 8 in place of Chart 2.

Wedge 7
Work as for Wedge 1, using Chart 7 in place of Chart 2, until you have completed 5 full repeats of the chart. Work Rows 1-7 of the chart once more.

Final row [WS]: Work Edging pattern to marker, work row 8 of Chart 8,k across row, working wrapped sts together with their wraps, to 2 sts before end of row, yo, k2.

Work Rows 1-8 of Increase Section, using Chart 8 in place of Chart 2.

Wedge 8 and beyond
Note: During the final pattern repeats, the Wedge will grow progressively narrower as you work decreases in the Chart pattern.

Work Wedge 8 and beyond as for Wedge 1, using Chart 8 in place of Chart 2, until 16 sts remain between the marker and neck edge, ending with row 8 or 16 of pattern, then work as follows:

RS rows: K2, yo, k to 4 sts before marker, work CDD, yo, k1, work edging pattern as set. Turn.

WS rows: Work edging pattern as set, k1, p1, p3tog, p to last 2 sts, k2. Turn.

Work as set until Row 15 of the current repeat of the Edging pattern is complete.

BO all sts.

FINISHING
Weave in ends. Wet block.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

The author of Welsh for Rainbow: Small knits from the small country to the left of England, and host of Cast On, the Internet's longest-running podcast about knitting, Brenda Dayne lives in a small Welsh village where the people are friendly, the cider is strong, and news travels fast.