Tag: crescent

Crescent-shaped Shawls to Knit

One of the first things I knit was a shawl. A shawl can be a very easy project and might be perfect for a beginner knitter to make.

Shawls can be knit in various ways to make a variety of shapes. Most are triangular, rectangular, or crescent shaped. They can be knit from the top down, end to end, or a combination.

Crescent, or Half Moon Shawl Patterns

Because I live in the sub-tropics, I never wear any type of shawl. They can be fun to knit though. My favorite shape is the crescent. A crescent shawl can also be called a “half moon” or “half pi” or “pi shawl”.

Occasionally I come across a nice crescent shawl that I might want to knit one day. A smaller size shawl can often be knit using one (decent size) skein of yarn. That makes them cheap to knit, as opposed to a sweater project. It also gives a beginner knitter some practice on easier stitches, as well as practice reading a pattern.

I have not yet knit any of these patterns, but they are in my list of faves. Choose a wool yarn of some type and use the shawl like a scarf. All links go to the designers Ravelry page where the pattern is sold.

  • Interisland Shawl, by Donna Smith. Knit in fingering weight yarn, this one has a lace edge that is knit first. Very pretty. Yardage: 437-470 yds / 400 – 430 m
  • Dutch Tulips, by Alina Appasova is listed as “crescent” but it is kinda triangular too. I like it, so I am including it here. This one is done in various stitches including slipped stitches. Sounds interesting. 2 colors, 800 yards?
  • The Lone Skein Shawl, by Joji Locatelli, needs 440 yards (402m) so takes one large skein. It is crescent, but asymmetrical (one side is longer).
  • Slumber Shawl, by West Knits, has been a long time favorite. It is listed as a triangle, but is basically rounded with a wavy edge. It is listed in Stephen West’s Beginner Friendly Patterns.

Shawls I Have Knit – Mostly NOT Crescents

The Spindrift Shawl, by Helen Stewart – link is to her pattern page at Ravelry – was a free pattern (and still is if you sign up for the workshop) and the first shawl I made. It happened to be crescent shaped.

When I began knitting I went for yarn colors that seemed fun to use. Now I am more discerning about yarn type, and colors that I would actually wear! The shape is more important too.

All of the shawls pictured here (except for Vine Pops) were very simple to knit. Vine Pops was a MKAL (mystery knit-along) and I can’t even believe I stuck it out and finished. I was new to knitting, and the shawl had lots of lace. I’ve since decided that I do not like KALs.

Spindrift shawl and Meadow Moon sweater
Spindrift pattern (see link above)
Hidden Gems shawl knitting
Hidden Gems
no fuss shade loving shawl
No-fuss Shade Loving Shawl
Moon sisters shawl knitting
Moon Sisters
Knitting Bay's Edge shawl
Bay’s Edge pattern
MKAL finished shawl
MKAL – had no name – ended up Vine Pops
Dewdrops shawl
Dewdrops pattern
knitting sun-kissed shawl
Sun Kissed shawl
colorful scrappy bias shawl
Scrappy Bias shawl

The block of photos above shows all my finished shawls. I have worn exactly NONE of them!

All, except for Spindrift, are angular. When I was ready to take a trip to New Hampshire, I wanted a little wrap for my neck, and knitted the Railings pattern by Janina Kallio. It was a little crescent-shaped shawl and I added some mohair. Using mohair was a mistake, because the fuzz near my face was not good. But, I did wear it during my trip and it provided nice warmth, as intended. It’s a sweet little shawl pattern.

Knitting the Railings crescent shawl
Railings crescent shaped scarf tied around my neck
Railings crescent scarf in gray showing the pattern

Maybe I need to write a page about knitting little travel scarves.

ball of yarn divider
Keep reading all the knitting stories…

A Quick Little Scarf Knit For a Visit North

A trip to New Hampshire is planned – finally. With all this Covid stuff, New Englanders do not want visitors! I have not visited my children for over two years at this point. So it’s time.

I won’t be traveling in deep winter, but early Spring. It could still be cold and I suddenly thought about packing frugally for cold weather. Although I have loads of hand knits, most are bulky and I will only take one medium sized suitcase.

For this reason I decided to knit a smallish neck wrap.

I like the shape of crescent shawls. I wanted something not as big as a true scarf, and I wanted it to be useful and warm. Something I could just wrap around my neck on walks.

I’ve knit quite a few shawls and wraps, but few have been crescent shaped. My pattern collection has built up over the past couple of years and I began to dig through. It’s been a year of conserving and using up what I have, including yarn.

The Pattern is “Railings”, by Janina Kallio of Woolenberry

Railings is a pattern I had purchased and printed out a while ago, but never knit. To be sure of the shape, I looked it up on Ravelry and read the comments of other knitters. Many said it ended up too small, so I have added a few more rows.

Knitting the Railings crescent shawl
My Railings with stripes of mohair

First thing to consider, after the pattern was chosen, was color. I didn’t want sock yarn because I want this wrap to be warm. It also had to be soft. Digging through my stash, I found a ball of Anzula in dark gray. It is soft and wonderful and has 10% cashmere. To add some fuzziness, I made stripes of Anzula and mohair held together. White mohair would not have been my preferred choice, but it’s what I had.

I might run out of yarn, but I have more dark balls to use up. I’m not really concerned with color matching, just a warm and comfy end product.

Railings crescent scarf in gray showing the pattern
Showing the patterning

Railings crescent shaped scarf tied around my neck
This scarf is the perfect fit

The plan is to have this shawl wrap around my neck with the ends hanging down in front. *Update: photo above shows it wrapped and tied twice in front. I think it is the perfect size. The other thing I’d like to knit before my trip is a pair of fingerless mitts.

Woolenberry Patterns – She Does Shawls

When I think of Woolenberry, I think shawls. She is a good designer to follow if you are a bit of a beginner and want knitting practice. She offers a nice variety of fairly easy patterns which are easy to follow. She may also have more difficult patterns as I am not familiar with all she offers.

I have knit her Dewdrops shawl. It was an easy knit and is triangle shaped.

Fear No More, Knit a Shawl For Free With Help From the Designer

I have knit one shawl in my life and I finished it just about a week ago. Shawls are for old ladies, right?  I never considered knitting one, until I saw how beautiful shawl patterns are. Just do a search for hand-knit shawls and you will see what I mean!  They are colorful and fun and perfect for women (and men!) of any age.

Now all I regret is that I don’t live in a climate where shawls could be worn. Still, it will not stop me from mastering shawl-knitting.

My First Shawl Project

My one and only shawl project was the No Fuss Shade-loving Shawl which can be downloaded at Ravelry and is offered for free by Susan Ashcroft. Her directions were easy to follow and there was no weird garter tab cast on – which I have yet to figure out how to do.  See my finished shawl below.
I had some trouble choosing a yarn, and ended up trying 3 different ones! It came out a little small also. I should have continued for a few more rows.  But okay for a first try!

shawl
No Fuss Shade-Loving Shawl by Susan Ashcroft

The Spindrift Shawl is Free and Comes With Encouragement

When I saw the lovely Spindrift Shawl offered for free on Ravelry, I thought I was too late to get in on the action. Then I went to Curious Handmade site and there it was.. the offer to get this free pattern … on the right sidebar.  Go to either link to find the free pattern.  You will have to sign up to receive e-mails, but this designer has a beautiful selection of patterns and I won’t mind getting mail from her.

Helen, who runs the site, will send me the downloadable pattern and a welcome video.

As she says in her video, when she began shawl knitting she wished she’d had this type of help. It’s perfect timing for me, and I am grateful for the help even if Helen is a stranger who lives in England!  Thank you Helen.

knitting a shawl
Beginning the Spindrift Shawl

What a nice idea. Also, Helen has tons of gorgeous shawl patterns (and more) to purchase. I can’t wait for the time when I feel confident enough to buy a shawl pattern and create something intricate and beautiful myself.

Baby steps. For now I will try my hand at the Spindrift Shawl.  I have downloaded the pattern.  And I received the second e-mail, which was about choosing the yarn.

Here are the particulars:

Yarn:  Need 437 yards of fingering or sock yarn.

The crescent shaped shawl begins on a size 5 circular needle and switches to a size 6 and is worked from the top down.

The cast on is done using the backward loop method…and I chose a yarn I had purchased from Miss Babs.  It’s a “Wild Iris” which means “one of a kind” color.  I love the lavender, off-white and brown accents.

As you can see in my photo, I have begun knitting the shawl.