New Favorites: Crochet shawls

There was a whole lot of crochet going on around me on my trip last weekend, further stoking my urge to crochet right now. I’m holding steady on my no-shawl-knitting vow, but I wonder if the long rows would bother me as much with crochet, given the difference in how they’re worked? So I keep going back to these two beauties from Quince and Co’s recent crochet collection (all of it extremely lovely):

TOP: Celia by Sara Kay Hartmann is a mesh triangle with zigzag border that reminds me of bunting

BOTTOM: Leilani by Julie Blagojevich has a subtly swooping allover texture

(Note to Cal: One of these days, I’m taking you up on your offer of assistance is getting past granny squares!)

PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: WATG knitted denim jammies

15 thoughts on “New Favorites: Crochet shawls”

They have such a great aesthetic!

can someone explain briefly how shawls are crocheted? are they worked in long rows like knitting or do you work the short side(s)?

It depends. Sometimes they are rocked in short rows from side to side. Quite a few are worked from a short tip, up and across, in which case you would start with 3 stitches or so and then progress from there. Others are worked in long rows top-down with a foundation chain, similar to casting on 254 stitches for a shawl that made my heart hurt just looking at the pattern. And then there are the motif styles that are made of small segments of a repetitive pattern that are joined to together at some point, either as you go (my preference) or later after you’ve made bunches of pieces that go together to form a pattern from there.

danielle says:

June 16, 2016 at 9:20 am

thanks!! cool, I should learn more about shawl construction although “Others are worked in long rows top-down with a foundation chain” sounds really hard!!!

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- Teia Collier says:
  
  June 22, 2016 at 4:37 pm
  
  It’s not. I learned from youtube videos and then a bit of trial and error. I think that’s the way most crafting is learned :)
  
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I both knit and crochet and crochet is so much more efficient at making lace that I will never knit a lace shawl again. Crocheting long rows is a drag although not as much a drag as knitting them as crochet goes much faster. Making a long foundation chain and working the first row is a pain, though, just like a very long cast on. I was hopeful that I could achieve the long row shape in crochet without misery but it turned out not to be true. Sob. I have a severe shawl habit and now crochet them all. Knitting makes better socks and plain sweaters.

Crochet is great for shawls. I recently finished an Elise with Quince and Co’s Chickadee (lovely yarn) and that one starts with a few stitches, and increases on both sides of a central “spine” stitch. It’s very similar to the yo/central stitch/yo construction of knit shawls. I honestly think anyone who knits can crochet, because you’re only manipulating one stitch at a time. Karen, you are totally ready to advance beyond granny squares!

And yes, the Quince crochet collection is lovely. I am overrun with patterns but I might have to buy it!

Maybe it’s time to get my crochet on again. I did the day-glo granny square thing back in the late 70’s and can’t make myself enter that territory again. They’re the first thing that comes to mind when I hear “crochet.” These shawls, however, have a sophistication about them that could make me pick up a hook again.
Also, why no shawls for you?

Crocheting shawls is fun, easy and fast. The thing to remember, though, is that the nature of hooking essentially doubles the yarn, so using a weight other than lace or light fingering, can make for a clunky fabric. For me, slippery silks (and silk mixes) are torturous to knit, but divine to crochet. And they make a shawl that drapes and wears beautifully, as a shawl, or as a scarf. Fairly all-season as well. And crochet makes for the best travel project ever.

Thanks for all of these comments and recommendations! I love crocheting small bowls and a few other little things but never thought of crocheting shawls until this post. I must try it! And with the lace weight recommended by Clare. (I usually knit shawls with fingering.)

For everyone who finds it challenging to crochet into a long foundation chain (me too!), have you tried foundation crochet stitches? Analogous to how a long-tail cast-on both forms a set of foundation loops and knits the first row into them all at once, foundation crochet both forms a chain and crochets into it in one step — with similar benefits. I find foundation crochet stitches to be superior to a foundation chain in pretty much every way (sturdy, flexible, better match to the main fabric, and less annoying to work once you get the hang of it).

Two great resources :
– Vashti Braha’s classic post: http://crochetpatterncompanion.blogspot.com/2011/05/which-foundation-stitch.html
– Marty Miller’s Craftsy class (“Mastering Foundation Crochet Stitches”), which both explains the basics clearly and goes deep into the possibilities (how about a lacy foundation row for your lacy shawl?)