free pattern – Page 6 – New England's Narrow Road

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!

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.

Two Free Triangle Shawl Knitting Patterns Perfect For Beginners

Beginners and advanced knitters alike enjoy knitting shawls. They come in many styles, shapes and sizes, but the ones on this page are simple to knit and may expand your knitting knowledge as well.

For those knitters who can knit and purl and easily do simple stitches (or are willing to learn), I’ve found two free shawl knitting patterns. One I have knit, the other I have not.

Autumn Colors / Honey Cowl Pattern

How I Knit This Cowl

This cowl was knit based on the Honey Cowl free pattern download found at the Ravelry website.

I used Madeline Tosh yarn in autumn rust and gold colors. Tosh Vintage “Firewood” and “Liquid Gold” were used as well as Tosh DK in “Brick Dust”. This pattern would be perfect for a de-stash project, using up bits of yarn in gradients or matching colors.

I chose the size 10 circular needle for a looser stitch, and I usually have to go up in needle size anyway. (The pattern calls for size 8.)

I varied the colors beginning and ending with ‘Firewood’. Stripes were done with ‘Brick Dust’, putting only a couple rows of Gold in the center of the two wide stripes.

Knitting the first and last rows creates a rolled edge. The stitch is very simple and done by slipping a stitch for one row and knitting the alternate rows. The stitch ends up looking like a chain, and is appealing even on the wrong side.

This is a great pattern for a beginner knitter!

This last photo shows the wrong side of the cowl, which has a nice bumpy texture.

My Notes on the Finished Project

The yarn is very nice, but I do love Malabrigo yarn and I think it is softer than the Mad Tosh. I have used both (in fingering weight) to knit a shawl recently, and the Malabrigo is definitely better.

Another type of yarn, like part cashmere would be nice too.

I would make the cowl longer so it’s not as tight around the neck. This free pattern (link at beginning of page) comes in two sizes and I chose the longer one. Next time I would add some stitches to the cast on.