In the end, as you all suspected, everything is fine. With the knitting finished and the object blocked, it’s smaller than a shawl but bigger than a kerchief. I failed to measure anything before I blocked it, but I suspect it wound up about 32 inches wide. After blocking, it’s 42 inches wide and 21 tall. It’s just big enough to be useful, but I had an idea and it may be going to live with someone else anyway. I’ll definitely make it again, either way. I just love this combination of textures.
For the sake of anyone who’s wanted to knit Orlane’s Textured Shawl Recipe but didn’t know how to fill in the blanks, here’s how to do it:
It’s a top-down shawl, which means you begin with the few stitches right at the base of the neck and work outwards into the triangle, which is shaped by increases along the way. Start with the garter tab cast-on — Stephen West’s tutorial is terrific — which will leave you with 9 stitches on your needle. Now work a setup row: k2, place marker, m1L, k2, m1R, place marker, k1, place marker, m1L, k2, m1R, place marker, k2. You’ve now marked off the two edge stitches and the center stitch. The top edge (the two stitches on either end) is worked in garter stitch, so you’ll knit the first and last two stitches on every row. Every right-side row is an increase row, worked the same as the setup row above: k2, slip marker, m1L, work to next marker, m1R, slip marker, k1, slip marker, m1L, work to next marker, m1R, slip marker, k2. A wrong-side row in a stockinette or textured portion of the shawl is: k2, purl to the last two, k2 (slip all markers, obviously). Once you get to the garter border, a wrong-side row is just knit every stitch. Hope that helps.
If you’re smarter than me (especially if you’re using a yarn that’s a drastically larger or smaller gauge than her DK), you’ll knit a gauge swatch and measure your row gauge. If you have a target height you’d like your shawl to be, multiply that by your row gauge and you’ll know how many rows you’ll be knitting. Then you can divide those up between stockinette, textured and garter rows however you like.
Mine is 16 rows of stockinette (41 sts on the needles), then 14 rows of the textured stitch, 14 stockinette, 14 textured, 14 stockinette, 8 textured, 30 garter. The yarn is the really delicious Pioneer from A Verb for Keeping Warm, knitted on US8 needles.
After consulting with Twitter friends, given that I wanted to block this fairly aggressively, I used Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind-off, and wow, I love it — this despite the fact that it took me THREE AND A HALF HOURS! I also took the time to use blocking wires on this to make it as perfect as possible. And it was perfect when the wires came out. But two hours later, when I took the photo on the right above, it had already started to go a little wobbly along the top edge again. Of course, when it’s around your neck nobody knows if that edge is straight or not. As long as the rest is flat and lovely, I’m content.
Cheers to Orlane. And heartfelt thanks if you’d favorite it on Ravelry.
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In other news (for anyone who missed the edit), Pom Pom Quarterly is back in stock!
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I tried a gazillion times to do that garter tab cast-on for the Pogona Shawl, finally just had MJ Kwiatek due it for me (my knitting lifesaver, who hopefully will help me rescue my current poncho that is in distress). Thanks so much for that Stephen West link! And I’ve had that textured shawl in my favorites for awhile. Yours looks so lush-luscious!
We have to get to that, Kris! I keep forgetting. Anyway- your shawl is lovely, per usual!!!! Thanks for all of the useful info. I’ve never used blocking wires before.
This was my first time. I thought about skipping it and just pinning it out, but the garter edge was threatening to look like a ruffle, so that had to be stopped.
This is just so beautiful. The combination of stitches and the yarn you’ve used is so perfect, we’ll forgive it for insisting on wavering a little, no?
I was worried it had dried out too much by the time I got the wires in. (Took me forever.) But I couldn’t find my spray bottle and wasn’t going to take it off the wires for another dunking! It’s fine. Next time it needs a soak, I’ll do better.
I think you did a splendid job. It is a think of great beauty.
It turned out great! Love that slip stitch (?) texture above the garter…yum.
ps. just looked at the slip stitch and it is a variation on the stitch used for Audrey In Unst, which I finished not long ago. Thought it looked similar.
It’s a nice stitch — very meditative to knit. Slip 1, knit 1, yarnover, pass over. Next time, though, I’ll do it so the textured is mirrored as some on Rav have done.
Love everything about your shawl.
The texture combinations are lovely together.
The size is perfect.
See knitting flat isn’t so bad :-)
I’ve been doing more and more of it, wondering if anyone had noticed. I’ve come to realize that it’s only when rows get really long that I start getting fidgety and lose interest. This one wrapped up *just* as I started getting worried about my ability to stick with it.
Oh! This turned out so lovely! The yarn and stitch texture gives me that “happy yarn jolt” (if you know what I mean… :) I’m so glad I did as you suggested and followed Stephen West’s tutorial for the start tab of my first shawl (shawlette.) Yes, it did take me forever to figure out how to do it right but once I started knitting, I saw why it works. So shawlette and I are happily going along together and I can see that there’ll be more kerchiefs and shawlettes in my future! Definitely will make this one. Thank you!
I like “happy yarn jolt.”
Knitting shawls are usually not in my queue, but I am putting this one in my queue for sure…it is wonderful!!!!
it’s beautiful karen, makes me want to make one too.
Thanks, Jorjan and Lori.
You guys I have it on right now and have decided I don’t think I would want it to be any bigger! It’s perfect for chilly days in the studio — stays put, and I don’t feel like anyone’s grandma.
Also added it to Ravelry — big love to anyone who hits the like button.
I like it for just that reason of it NOT making me feel like anyone’s Granny!!! although I am a “Nana”. This would make great gifts for the holidays wouldn’t it? I need this for in my studio as well…ok so maybe tonight I will get this little gem started…
Lovely!
Gorgeous! I love how knitters are always worried they’ll run out of yarn, or the size is wrong, or whatever (I am notorious for this!) and then it all works out in the end, often thanks to the magic of blocking. I’ve had this shawl in my queue for a while, but given how chilly our spring is being, I might have to bump it up to the top of the list.
You’d think I’d learn! This one really is much smaller than I imagined it, but turns to be a really useful size. So all’s well that ends well!
I feel like this “For the sake of anyone who’s wanted to knit Orlane’s Textured Shawl Recipe but didn’t know how to fill in the blanks, here’s how to do it:” you wrote specifically for me. Thanks a bunch for sharing.
I’m so glad! At least half of what I know about knitting was gleaned from people spelling things out on their blogs and Ravelry project pages, so I always feel compelled to pay it forward.
Beautiful! I love EZ’s sewn bind off for stretchiness.
Lovely shawl!!! Congrats on the FO.
By the way – any thoughts on designing this lovely chunky cotton sweater?
http://www.tsecashmere.com/shop/women/chunky-cotton-handknit-top.html
Holy crap, that’s gorgeous! Same basic idea as the Anthro one, and nice that you can actually count the stitches, but I need to think about the increases to create that big stockinette V. Might be able to formulate something …
Oooh, I think I found what I’m going to make with my next lot of Great White Bale!
I got to fondle that yarn at her Verb talk — it’d be great for this.
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Hi,
Thanks for making the pattern more understandable. Just a quick question, how do I increase the textured part of the pattern?
Love your blog!!
Hi, Nadia. The increases are the same throughout the whole shawl — doesn’t matter if you’re working a stockinette, textured or garter section, you just keep doing the same increases as established at the outset.
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Oh, Karen!
Thank you SO much for taking the time to fill in the blanks. I offered to make a triangular shawl for a friend and sent her some pictures and gee, surprise, she picked the Textured Shawl. I knew I’d printed it out at some time, but when I looked a the original instructions I was heartsick. Then, the ever helpful Ravelry project search led me to someone who had your three versions linked. Happy dance! Which of course led me to your blog, to which I am now subscribed and have been browsing.
The link to Stephen West’s garter tab tutorial goes to a page not found on his site and even a search for it there comes up empty. But, YouTube to the rescue. I’ll practice a few (it’s been awhile since I did one) while I wait for the yarn to arrive.
I’m sad that you’re so far away, but so pleased with what you’ve been doing in Nashville. Carry on!
Leah! Great to hear from you.