Delectable Herbarium
Herbarium, designed by Lisa Hannes of maliha designs, is an eye catching shawl on display at My Sister Knits! Several of us have fallen in love with this stunning accessory and it’s at the top of our to-knit list as soon as the weather cools down.
This shawl is impressive looking with its combination of stripes, garter stitch, and mosaic pattern. The mosaic pattern is created by using slipped stitches; such a fun and stress free way to do colorwork!
Using two skeins of fingering weight yarn and size US5 and US6 needles to create excellent drape, Herbarium will be a fall staple in many a wardrobe. Lisa has given us a meticulous pattern with both written and charted instructions. The skills needed are: slipping a stitch purl wise, kfb, k2tog, and m1L. If you need assisance with any of those, we’ll be happy to show you! If you need help outside of shop hours, two of our favorite websites are KnitFreedom and Very Pink.
A combination of any two of these yarns would be stunning! From left to right: Sprigs and Stone Hearty Fingering in Wiseria, Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Simple in Sabine, and Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Simple in The d’apres-midi.
If you’d rather not weave in ends, on page 2 of the pattern Lisa explains how to carry your unused color up the side. There are only five cast on stitches! The shawl is knit sideways starting at the right tip. You shape the shawl, which has a curved top edge, by increasing at the top edge and decreasing at the left edge. There is an informative schematic so you can see how this lovely is created!
On the left are Six and Seven Fiber Barley in Lichen and Roots. On the right are baa ram ewe Titus in yorkstone and bramley baths.
Lisa suggests going up a needle size when doing the mosaic pattern because slipped stitches most often create a denser fabric which will change your gauge. If you have an interchangeable needle set, it is simple to change the tips. Otherwise, just knit onto the larger needle and then knit onto the smaller needle when you’ve finished the mosaic pattern.
When knitting the mosaic pattern, we encourage you to put stitch markers after each 12 stitch repeat. This practice catches any mistakes early!
On the left are The Farmer’s Daughter Soka’pii in The Highway Man and Juniper. On the right are baa ram ewe Titus in yorkstone and bramley baths.
Your yarn choices for Herbarium are countless! Be sure to leave plenty of time for playing with different yarns and different colors when choosing what to use for this project. Keep in mind that you can combine yarn from two companies!
We invite you to call us at 970.407.1461 if you’d rather not come in. We can send you photos and help you choose that way!