L & B Yarn Co. | The Spin

Self-fringing Shawl

Shawls are my absolute favorite thing to knit.  One thing that makes knitting shawls so appealing for me is that they remind me of the tradition of knitting more than any other knitted objects do.  People have knitted shawls for centuries, both for everyday wear and to commemorate special occasions like weddings.  Whereas garments and accessories like hats, sweaters, and scarves more or less keep up with fashion trends, there is something timeless about knitted shawls that makes them special to me.

This shawl is one of Leslie’s beautiful creations.  The pattern is a house pattern, available on the “free pattern” section of our website.  Leslie used four skeins Rowan’s PureLife “Revive,” a gorgeous 100% recycled yarn that is a blend of silk, cotton, and viscose.  The neat thing about the pattern is that you can use any yarn you like, at any gauge you like–just knit until the shawl is as wide as you’d like it to be, and then begin decreasing to bring the other end of the shawl to a point!  Unraveling the four edge stitches once you’re done knitting is what makes the fringe, but if you prefer a fringeless shawl, you can omit this last step.

To get started, you’ll need 250+ yards of the yarn of your choice and needles appropriate for your yarn weight.  I’m always on the lookout for patterns that can help me knit through my undesignated-for-projects stash yarn.  This shawl would look great in many different gauges, fibers, and colors–the sky’s the limit, so get creative!  Shawls are surprisingly warm additions to winter outerwear, but come in useful on cool spring and fall evenings, too.  I attribute the longevity of the shawl to its versatility, and I know that I for one will be knitting and wearing and proselytizing about shawls for years to come!

-Elizabeth