In this post I want to show you how beautiful the shawl turned out, where you can find the pattern and I also want to show you how to graft this shawl together.
It is such a beauty! Soft and airy and a lace pattern that is a bit different from most lace patterns.
I think the shawl is both comfy and very chic and elegant at the same time. It's on you to what kind of outfit you're adding it. Love it! <3
And of course I added one my new and absolutely georgeous labels! :) :) :) (that's my new favorite part about finishing a piece :) )
Here you can see the lace pattern a bit closer :)
In may there was a super sale on Drops yarns. I bought the Lace yarn for this project then. The yarn consists of baby alpaca and mulberry silk. So, it is super soft and a little bit shiny <3 What I love about lace yarns is that they warm you but at the same time the garnments are light and airy. I really like that feeling :)
Alpaca is one of the fibres that tend to strech a bit while blocking. That makes this yarn a great choice for a project like this because you can get some extra length for the shawl, simply by blocking the piece.
If you fell in love with this shawl like I did: the pattern comes as a knitting chart and is available for free on Foldi Knit Blog.
The shawl is made of two identical halfs that are grafted together.
When you've reached the point and both halfes are ready and you knitted some rows with another colour/yarn at the end, you're ready to start grafting :)
In the picture on the left you can see the principle of how you graft the two parts together.
(pic by schoolhousepress.com)
If you look closely you can see the stiches at the end of the shawls half. (this would be the white ones in the principle picture above) In order to see it clearly I recommend to use a contrasting color for knitting these last added rows. (see picture 1 below)
Using a blunt needle, hold the two ends together and start grafting as shown in principle above and in pictures 2 and 3 below.
Do not graft too tightly because then you will always see a fine line in the middle of the shawl. Find a good medium tension. (picture 4)
When you've finished grafting all the stiches together, turn the piece on the wrong side and unravel the last rows of different color that were just added for easier grafting. (pic 5)
And ta-daa! Now you have one big shawl! :)
Now wave in all ends. And the most important part for the look of the shawl is left: blocking!
This is what my shawl looked like before blocking. (a little bit crumpled :) )
There are many different ways to block knitted items. Usually, I am a fan of spritz-blocking. But for this shawl I highly recommend wet blocking!
To do that, simply take a bowl of water (add very little soft detergent or special wool detergent if you like) and put the shawl into the water. Wait until the whole thing is wet, but do not let soak for too long.
Then take the shawl out and squeeze as much water out as you can. But be very careful! Do not twist the piece!!! Then lay the shawl onto a towel and roll it up, squeeze some more water out.
Then pin it in shape. For a shawl like this it would be great to use blocking wire but I don't have that. I simply used many many pins :) That's ok, too. (but the perfectionist among you should use some blocking wire ;) )
Remember: In this part you can add some length to the shawl if you pin it accordingly (do not strech it too much of course)
Leave it to dry for about 24 hours. Then un-pin the shawl and try it on! :)
My shawl has finished measurements of about 218cm x 46cm. That's so great! And I made it from only one skein (100g)!
I have two more pictures for you where you can see the lace pattern clearly. I think it's soo georgeous! <3
By the way, my sister fell in love with this shawl at first sight as well and already "ordered" one for herself. :) Looks like I get to make one more! :)
Have a wonderful and great weekend everyone! :)
Stefanie
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