Summer Weight Shawls and a Ribbing Fix

At My Sister Knits, we like to put down our heavier knitting during the summer and opt for something lighter weight. For some of us, this means setting aside our in-progress sweaters and finding hats or shawls to make instead. Shawls are just the thing to stuff into your bag when you’re going out for the evening or might be in an air conditioned building. This summer I vow to remember to take one to the grocery store!

Possibilities for a fingering weight shawl

We have two shawls on display that we’d like to suggest! They both use fingering weight and size 6/4.0mm needles. Since they are shawls, gauge isn’t important for fit but it is if you want your shawl to be the same size as our samples. I have made more than one shawl that didn’t turn out the size I wanted due to lack of a gauge swatch!

More possibilities for a fingering weight shawl!

Our shawls were knit with Les Garcons BFL Sock but you can choose any fingering weight you like. This is another reason to do a gauge swatch, to be sure you like the fabric you create and that it drapes the way you want. I’d like to try one of these in Biches + Buches Le Petite Lambswool. It’s woolen spun which means it’s so very lightweight but, at the same time, warm! I’d just love to throw a shawl made out of it over my shoulders, I’d hardly know it’s there!

Akemi

Up first, we have Akemi, designed by Isabell Kraemer. If you’re wondering, as I am, what it means. It is of Japanese origin and generally means ‘bright beauty’, ‘beautiful dawn’, or ‘bright heart’. This shawl is about 31.5” deep and 79” from tip to tip. Directions are given for how to make size adjustments in the second lace band. 

The instructions are both charted and written. The chart is only 8 rows of lace and the lace panels only consist of yarn overs, purl 2 together, and sk2p (slip one stitch knit wise, k2tog, and pass the slipped stitch over the k2tog). The pattern does call for small bobbles near the edge, however, if you’d rather not do them, you can just knit the stitch. 

Akemi is worked from the top down with a garter tab cast on. I found this difficult to do before I found this tutorial. If you’re working from the chart, remember to work it from bottom to top, with the RS rows from right to left and the WS rows from left to right.

Next we have Liquid Gold, designed by Lisa Hannes. This shawl is worked from the tip to the widest part. You make the i-cord edge as you knit and the edges are gorgeous. This shawl is about 30” deep and 66” from tip to tip, a little less than Akemi.  It’s both charted and written out; the charts are large enough to read easily which is always a help. 

This shawl is easy to modify the size, use a different weight of yarn, or if you have a different gauge. You just knit the body until it’s the size you want or you’ve used up your yarn! Lisa used about 5g of yarn for her bind off; thank you Lisa for giving us that information! This video is suggested for the centered double decrease to form a defined rib between the yarn overs. If you’d like to try knitting cables without a cable needle, Lisa suggests this tutorial from Ysolda which is also how I learned! The last tutorial that would be helpful is this one which is written ‘sl2kw, k1, p2sso’ in the pattern.

The top section of ribbing looks so much better than the bottom, even before blocking!

I’ve had issues with my ribbing; it’s looked messy. I made a swatch using something we learned in our Patty Lyons’ workbook classes. I like the look of the top ribbing much better than the section under it. If you’re having the same issues with yours, try wrapping your yarn the other way because it takes less yarn and will look better. Normally, the yarn travels over the needle to under it for the purl stitch. Try the Easter Purl, which travels under the needle to over. This will put your purl stitch on your needle with the wrong leg in front but that is remedied on the next row by purling through the back loop. You can do this at the same time you’re wrapping your yarn from under to over. The top section of my swatch shows all purl stitches worked that way. Andrea Mowry has a video that shows exactly how to do this for both English and Continental knitters.

We invite you in to peruse all of the fingering weight yarns available to use with a summer shawl!

Happy knitting,