Tendril Shawl

The pattern for this Tendril Shawl is available for free on the designer Carmen Heffernan's blog. She also provides a video tutorial that walks you through the setup rows and the first couple of pattern repeats, which is very helpful for getting this project started.

I made mine at a heavier gauge than the original pattern calls for, but it worked out well and produced a lovely shawl/wrap/scarf. My yarn is Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton in the Emerald Pine colorway, which is labeled as a 4 weight, and I'm using a 5.5 mm hook. I had a few skeins of this colorway left over from my Dressy Swingy Shawlivest project, and I thought they would look good being worked into the Tendril Shawl design. This yarn looks and feels more like a 3 weight despite the fact that it's labeled a 4 weight, and the cotton is so soft and smooth that it's a pleasure to work with.

Finished with gothpixy's edging

I love the sawtooth edge and the beautiful lacy-ness of this shawl. The project grows quickly, which is satisfying, and the four-row repeat becomes fairly intuitive after you've worked it a few times.

Finished size

The only downside to using this particular yarn is that the skeins are pretty short at only 153 yards each, so I was worried I might not have enough yardage on hand to make a full size shawl. The first skein ran out at the beginning of row 36. 

End of first skein

The second skein ran out after making it most of the way across row 52.

End of second skein

My third skein ran out almost at the end of row 64. Thankfully, I had another skein available to finish that row and continue, because the top edge of my shawl was only about 64 inches long at that point. I used the fourth skein to work another two "points" and then do the edging row.

End of third skein

I started working the picot edging row as written in the pattern, but I felt that it was coming out too tight, so I searched through the Tendril Shawl project gallery page until I found gothpixy's project.

Gothpixy suggested an alternate way to work the picot edging that I ended up using for my project. I like their edging better for two reasons: One, it provides a lovely bumpy, wavy edging that finishes the edge really well with an easier method than working traditional picots. And two, it utilizes an extra chain stitch between each bump, so the edging doesn't tighten the edge in the same way that the original pattern's edging row was doing for me. You should check out gothpixy's project to see if maybe you might like their edging better, too!

Getting started

The designer says the finished fingering-weight samples she made measure about 70 inches (178 cm) on the long top edge after 64 rows (65 rows with the final edging applied), which is 16 "points" on the bottom edge, and 32 inches (82 cm) tall/deep on the border edge after blocking. 

I crocheted mine to 18 points, or 72 rows, plus the edging row. My shawl's total length is about 72 inches before blocking.

Lazy Diamond Boho Pocket Shawl free or paid pattern

Due to my ongoing elbow tendinopathy, I expected it would take months for me to finish this Lazy Diamond Boho Pocket Shawl project that should otherwise be easily completed in about a week (were I able to crochet normally). It didn't end up taking quite that long ... just over a month, actually. But whether you can make it quickly or have to exercise patience, this project will be worth the wait. 

The camera doesn't begin to do justice to the true hue of the Red Heart yarn's Charcoal colorway. In person this deep gray has almost a bluish cast to it that is lovely. 

Pattern designer Crystal White-Van Cleemput shares her entire process for how to make this project in a free YouTube tutorial. But I found myself struggling to follow the video because it was lacking some small details (like stitch counts), so I bought the PDF pattern, and that was very well written and much simpler for me to follow. So if you have difficulty following the video, jump over to Ravelry and buy the PDF.

One skein of the Red Heart Super Saver was almost enough to complete one of the large squares; my first skein ran out on the last round of the fifth repeat. However, I'm working this in a slightly larger gauge with a larger hook, so it might be possible for someone to get an entire large square if they were working this with the hook called for in the pattern.

I'm working this in a slightly different gauge than is written in the pattern, but I believe that that will best suit this heavy worsted weight yarn.

Two skeins is more than enough to make one large square and two small squares (the pockets). Three skeins is enough to make two large squares and at least one small square. Four skeins was not quite enough to make three large squares; the fourth skein ran out on the fourth round of the fifth pattern repeat of the third large square.

Sheep Wagon Shawl

I was lucky enough to grab the Sheep Wagon Shawl pattern by Joanna Johnson while it was free during its first days on Ravelry. Now the pattern costs $4, but that's still a small price to pay because it's a lovely, well-executed design.

This is the shawl I referred to in my previous post that I worked using Lion Brand Cotton-Ease yarn.

I varied from the original pattern by incorporating some gradient striping based on the chart in the Gradient Mitts (free pattern) to transition from top color (Taupe) to bottom color (Charcoal), making this a simple, two-color striped shawl. I doubled the number of rows in the gradient stripes, so instead of being worked across 30 rows, I worked them across 60 rows, starting after row 62 of the shawl pattern.

Bottom edge stitch count: 535.

Update 4/10/15: I added a crocheted lace border adapted from Kim Guzman’s Cinnamon Fling wrap (free pattern) to accomplish two things. One, to alleviate the inevitable hem curl with stockinette fabric. And two, to add a few more inches in length.

The funny story here is that I ran short of the Charcoal Cotton-Ease yarn. This is visible in the above photo, where you can see a color variation in the bottom knitted rows of the shawl. I wasn't able to find anymore of that shade in my local stores, and I wasn't able to find anymore of it to buy online (not any that was reasonably priced, at least). I was about to give up, but I reached out to yarncraft designer Darleen Hopkins of Crochet by Darleen Hopkins. Darleen has made a lot of her designs using Cotton-Ease, so I explained my problem of running short of the Charcoal yarn. She did have a newer skein of that color and generously offered to sell it to me. We all know how yarn companies like to mess with their dye processes, so naturally the two versions of Charcoal weren't an exact match, but at this point in my big shawl project I was not about to give up! Thank you, thank you, Darleen, for saving me!!!

I was able to complete the Sheep Wagon Shawl pattern to length, but this is how close I came to using the entire skein Darleen sent me - just 1.4 ounces left (including the label band):

So a few days later when I decided to add the crocheted lace border, I opted to do that in black Caron Simply Soft - something STILL AVAILABLE IN MY LOCAL STORE. Hahaha!

Shawlcowl Pullover pattern is free for a limited time

I released my Shawlcowl Pullover pattern on Ravelry on April 10, and the pattern has been receiving lots of yarn love from Ravelry users. The Shawlcowl Pullover is designed to mimic the trendy look of wearing a shawl as a scarf combined with the comfortable ease of wearing a pullover cowl.



If you use this link, you can download a free copy of the pattern through midnight PDT on May 1. On May 2, the price becomes $3.00 USD, so head over to Ravelry and grab your free copy while you still can using coupon code "spring."

Another reason to grab your copy now is that on May 2, everyone who has added Shawlcowl to their Ravelry library will automatically receive an updated version of the pattern that includes the Shawlcowl 2 variation. Shawlcowl 2 has a different neckline edging and a more open look to the feather-and-fan lace border.

This is my first knitting pattern design, and in the process of creating it, I discovered that developing, then testing, then ripping out and reknitting, then writing, then editing, then shooting photos, then editing some more, then test knitting it again ... was A LOT OF WORK!! Which is why I decided to put a very reasonable price on the finished pattern product.

I have gained a great amount of additional respect for people who develop pattern designs for knitting and crochet. These people WORK HARD at their craft, and they deserve our support. I have always enjoyed finding and sharing free patterns online, and of course I will continue to do that, but I have also paid for a significant portion of the patterns in my personal library. The experience I gained while developing the Shawlcowl Pullover has shown me that indie designers have earned every cent that they charge for their work.

Please respect the copyrights of indie designers!

Working on a new free pullover scarf pattern

I am currently testing new design for a free knit pullover scarf pattern and plan to be releasing it here and on Ravelry within the next week or so.

I'm excited about the design because I have been rather taken with the pullover scarf concept recently. These items are great because they mimic the look of wearing a shawl wrapped around your neck, but with the ease of pullover. My design incorporates a squishy, texture-rich garter stitch front panel with a classic feather-and-fan trim.

The test pieces are looking good, so I believe this will be a piece you will love to knit and love to wear! So stay tuned! Here's a sneak peek at one of the finished test pieces:

Harmony Shawl

It took me a few times restarting the Harmony Shawl pattern by Bodhi Sasa before I figured out that it's essentially alternating rows of shell clusters and V-stitches, where the V-stitches are worked between the shells of the previous row, and the shells are worked in the top of the V-stitches of the previous row.

The pattern is well and carefully written, but because every stitch/step is spelled out, it can become a bit cumbersome for the reader to follow. IMO, using abbreviations for the repetitive stitches (V-stitches and shell clusters) would make the overall pattern easier to read. 

But on the other hand, having every stitch/step explicitly spelled out in detail might make this pattern easier for a beginning crocheter to interpret.

I was looking for a short triangular shawlette or scarf design, and this one yields a very pleasing finished product that can be worn in several different ways (for various stylish looks) and cross multiple seasons.

Sigh. I really do like this shawl pattern. But I ended up cannibalizing the Caron Simply Soft Paints yarn in the Oceana colorway to make the 22.5 degrees pattern instead. I intend to come back to the Harmony Shawl, though, because I think it would make a lovely gift for some of my family members.