Knit and Pearl Triangle Shawl

The other day I pulled out my lovely triangle shawl that I knitted back in October to wear to a friend's wedding. I must have started it over about a dozen or more times before I found sometihng I was happy with...or thought I was happy with. I ended up knitting a huge triangle shawl with 19 size needles. I wasn't all that thrilled with the results. But I knitted in the ends and dashed off to the wedding, which was a very windy outdoors wedding and I ended up wearing a sweater underneath the shawl and still was freezing. I thought I would would give the shawl one more try the other day. However even though my friend raved over it, I came home and took it off and sat it down wondering what I should do with the it. I love the yarn and the colors, just didn't love the shawl.

For one thing I never did figure out how to neatly knit in all the ends I had and ended up knotting them and sticking them in between the stitches...you could still see them. The second and most annoying part was that the stitches would pull and I would have these big loops here and there and the corners that hung in the front looked awful. After three days of walking by the poor thing and wondering if I would ever attempt to wear it out in public again, I sat down and frogged the entire shawl. What a relief. (For my non knitter friends and family, frogged means I ripped it out...albeit gently and careful winding it back into balls of ribbon yarn.)

So I worked a swatch up and tried out a few simple stitches with size 10.5 needles. I had pretty much decided not to turn it back into a triangle, but rather a rectangle shawl this time around. Yet after several attempts, I decided to stick with the triangle concept and rework the pattern. So here is what I came up with. This picture shows the beginning of the pattern and I will knit either until I run out of yarn or it's big enough.

The pattern is a combination of garter and seed (or moss) stitches. With a Yarn Over used as my increase. I wanted a more sturdy border and left that in the garter stitch. However I wanted something other than a garter stitch in the middle, but it had to be something I could do easily. The knits and purls are hard to see so I needed to avoid something I would have to pay too much attention to. I never could get the point to come out neatly on the other one so I figured I didn't really need super fine point to begin with. The ribbon can be slippery and if you drop a stitch you have to be extra careful otherwise you will find yourself starting all over again.

Knit and Pearl Triangle Shawl Pattern

Yarn: Crystal Palace Party Ribbon, "Roses" color (I haven't determined the amount, but I have 4 or 5 balls ready to be used.)
Needle Size: 10.5 I am using a circular one that I can add on to the cord if I need to.

Cast On 6 Stitches loosely

Row 1: Knit 3, Yarn Over, Knit to the end.

Row 2: Knit 3 Yarn Over...

This is the tricky part where you will start the seed pattern. If the stitch is a Knit stitch on the needle, then knit a purl stitch into it, then continue in the seed stitch pattern, P1, K1, P1, K1, to the end. If the stitch on is a Purl Stitch, then knit a knit stitch into it and then continue in the seed stitch pattern. K1, P1, K1, P1 to the end. Be sure to Knit or Purl into your Yarn Over.

Continue the row the same way until your shawl is the size you want it to be.

A few reminders. When you work the Yarn Over make sure to do it correctly when you need to purl into the next stitch. You will need to bring your yarn all the way around so your yarn is in the front.

When working the seed stitch pattern always remember to Knit into the purl stitches and Purl into the knit stitches.

When joining a new ball, it's best to do it on the edges when you can sew them in more securely and less noticeable.

It seems confusing but it is really easy once you understand the seed stitch and how it works.

Cast Off and sew in ends.

Lauren's Jumper Progress....

I have been working on Lauren's jumper and determined to get that finished, however I made a mistake the other day and ended up having to take out about 20 rows and I am in the process of reworking those. Both Lauren and I are getting anxious to see the finished results. I am not all that sure how to finish it with the seams and picot edging so a trip to our LYS (Local Yarn store) will be needed before we can call it a FO (Finished Object.)

Aaron's Blanket...

Check out Mama Bear's blog and see the blanket square count. (Link is at the right hand side under favorite blogs). What a great way to show a family who needs a little extra comforting that others care.

Happy Knitting and Pearling!