Shortest Day Shawl, a free knitting pattern from Knitty.com.

INTRODUCTION

Shortest Day

beauty shot by Amy Christoffers

Tangy

Big cozy shawls are like quilts that you can wrap yourself up in and take with you out into the world...or to your favorite cozy knitting corner. The Shortest Day shawl is knit in the beautiful golden shade of Berroco Lucca- a decadent 50/50 Cashmere/Cotton blend. With its bold texture inspired by patchwork quilt patterns has a knit-purl motif that radiates out from the top center and is worked out. You can make it almost any size by working the repeat as many or as few times as you like before moving on to the border pattern.

spacer model: Emily Sproul

spacer photos: Amy Christoffers

SIZE

One

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Width: 68 inches/172 cm across top edge
Depth: 34 inches/86 cm

MATERIALS

Yarn
Berroco Lucca [50% Cashmere, 50% Cotton; 156 yd/143 m per 1.75 oz/50 g skein]; color: 5811 Golden; 6 balls

Yarn Characteristics
The sample shown uses a worsted-weight cashmere blended with cotton. The yarn is light and has a fuzzy halo but the smooth multi-ply shows texture well.

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below - every knitter's gauge is unique]
US #7/4.5mm circular needle, 32 inch/60 cm or longer

Notions
waste yarn or spare needle for provisional cast on
stitch markers
yarn needle for bind off

GAUGE

20 sts/ 28 rows= 4 inches/10 cm in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES

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

Provisional CO:
This project uses a provisional cast on. Use your preferred provisional cast on technique; directions for one technique may be found here. More detail on a variety of techniques is given in this video.

Grafting:
Instructions for grafting can be found here (photos) and here (video).

CHARTS

Download all charts here

DIRECTIONS

SHAWL
Using waste yarn and the provisional cast on method of your choice, CO 8 stitches.

Setup
Join working yarn, leaving a tail about 8 inches/20cm long.

Row 1 [RS]: K4, yo, k4. 9 sts.
Row 2 [WS]: K3, p1, pm, k1, pm, p1, k3.

Begin working in pattern from charts:
Row 1 [RS]: K3, work Setup chart to m, sm, k1, sm, work Setup chart to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 2 [WS]: K3, work Setup chart to m, sm, k1, sm, work Setup chart to last 3 sts, k3.

Continue as set until you have worked all 33 rows of the Setup chart. 77 sts, 35 sts in each charted section.

Next row, place markers for next chart [WS]: K12, pm, k17, pm, k9, sm, k1, sm, k9, pm, k17, pm, k12 to end.

Body of Shawl
Row 1 [RS]: K3, work Body chart to m, working 9-stitch repeat between markers 1 and 2, sm, k1, sm, work Body chart to last 3 sts working 9-stitch repeat between markers 5 and 6, k3.
Row 2 [WS]: K3, work Body chart to m as set, sm, k1, sm, work Body chart as set to last 3 sts, k3.

Continue as set until you have worked all 36 rows of the Body chart. 149 sts.

Continue as set, Repeating Body chart, placing markers to add more repeats of the 9-stitch pattern, until you have worked the Body chart 3 times, then work Rows 1-18 once more. 329 sts.

Border
Continue, working all 18 rows of Border Chart. 365 sts.

Ending row 1 [RS]: K3, m1r, k to central marker, m1l, sm, k1, sm, m1r, k to last 3 sts, m1l, k3. 4 sts increased
Ending row 2 [WS]: Knit.
Repeat the last 2 rows twice more. 377 sts.

FINISHING

Break yarn leaving a tail several yards long for sewn bind off. Thread the tail on a tapestry needle, *insert the tapestry needle purl wise through the first 2 stitches on the needle, pull the yarn all the way through. Insert the tapestry needle knit wise through the first stitch on the needle, pull the yarn all the way through and drop the stitch off the needles. Repeat from * until all the stitches have been bound off.

Return held sts from the provisional cast on to the needles. Place first 4 sts on one needle, and rest on the other. Holding the needles parallel, with RS facing using the tail from joining the yarn at the start, graft the stitches together.

To block, handwash and lay flat to dry. Don’t stretch, as that will compromise the texture of the pattern stitch. Weave in ends.

Tassels (optional)
Make 3 and attach to points if desired.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

designername Amy Christoffers is the granddaughter of a quilter. She designs knitting patterns for Berroco yarns and lives in the mountains of Vermont.