Tag: shawl

Alternatives to the Hidden Gems Shawl Pattern

Hidden Gems was a popular free shawl knitting pattern. Since it is no longer available, I have found some similar patterns for knitters. Check out the list and let me know if you choose one.

Maybe at some point the creator of the Hidden Gems shawl pattern will re-release her pattern. It was listed on her website, but the website is no long up. I’ve had readers ask about this pattern.

I want to be helpful, but I no longer have the pattern printout. All I can do is try to figure out how this thing was knit. Or, I can suggest some similar patterns that may be helpful. That would be easier, and it turns out there are quite a few very similar knits. None of the patterns I found were free.

Hidden Gems shawl knitting
hidden gems shawl
begging end of hidden gems
ending edge of hidden gems
end tail of hidden gems
Hidden gems shawl
Hidden Gems free shawl pattern
Hand-spun shawl / scarf
Hidden Gems shawl knitting

Triangle Shawl Patterns

The Hidden Gems is a triangle shawl. It was a free pattern. It has a “ridge” that begins by running down the center of the knitting. Once the shawl is wide enough, decreases are made along one edge, while the other continues with increases. You can read my notes on the page I wrote while knitting the pattern. I honestly don’t think the pattern would be difficult to figure out, but I don’t have time to do that. A savvy knitter could work it out.

Instead, I am going to list some shawl patterns here that may make a good substitute for Hidden Gems. I chose them because they have that center “ridge” for at least part of the shawl. They are not free patterns, and the difficulty (and yarn amounts) will vary. I honestly don’t mind supporting a designer who has gone to the trouble of creating a decent, readable pattern. All links go to the designer’s Ravelry page.

Search For Similar Shawl Patterns

If you’d like to do your own search for shawl patterns, in hopes of finding something that is free, keep these keywords in mind.

The Hidden Gems is listed as a triangle shawl, which it is. It is also asymetrical. If you want a smaller shawl, search for a shawlette. Search on Google, Ravelry, Pinterest, and Etsy to find shawl patterns. Just be careful of free patterns by designers that are not well known.

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Knitting The Hidden Gems Free Shawl Pattern (Discontinued)

This free shawl pattern is simple enough for beginners to get practice.

I knit this scarf back in 2022. It was offered as a free pattern by Lindsey Wong. The pattern came from her website, which is no longer up and running.

I’ve written a post about alternative and similar patterns for those who are interested, but none of them are free.

Hidden Gems shawl knitting
Continue reading “Knitting The Hidden Gems Free Shawl Pattern (Discontinued)”

Emma’s Yarn Colors Gatsby and Farmer’s Market

Whenever I buy yarn it’s a guess as to how it will look once knit up. Unless I am working with a solid color it really is a crap shoot with speckled and variegated yarns.

Below is my photo of some beautiful yarn purchased from Four Purls. The central Florida yarn store has a yarn truck which makes stops around the state to sell to us poor folk who don’t have a local store.

The yarn in my photo is “Gatsby” and “Farmer’s Market”. Gatsby is mostly white with blackish speckles. I’ve been looking online for similar yarn. The variegated Farmer’s Market caught my eye because of all those luscious shades of blue and pink. It’s a guess as to how it will look once knit up. So I’d like to share that on this page.

Emma's Yarn in Gatsby and Farmer's Market colors.
Emma’s Yarn colors: Gatsby and Farmer’s Market

I am using these two yarns to knit a triangle shawl with skinny stripes, alternating the two colors. The pattern is free to download at Ravelry. It’s called “Sun Kissed” by Veronika Jobe. Her stripes are green and white with speckles. I like the frilly lace edging. I don’t see anywhere what colors she used, only the yarn types. Someone guessed that “Optic” was the Mad Tosh color, and I think that my Gatsby skein comes close. The alternating stripes color could really be anything, but since I had purchased Farmer’s Market at the same time, I wondered what a variegated yarn would look like alongside the speckled white.

Farmers Market yarn skein is variegated blue, peach, teal, yellow-green and white.
Pretty “Farmer’s Market” skein by Emma’s Yarn

After I wound my balls of yarn (I don’t have a winder), I couldn’t wait to get started on this pattern. I have cast on and knit a few rows of the shawl, which is pretty simple (don’t know about that lace edge, but that comes later). Because both the colors are light, the stripes are not as noticeable, but I expected that. I think it’s pretty. I wish the white had more pronounced “speckles” but maybe they will show up more along the lacy border.

The Super Silky Emma’s Yarn is a joy to knit with. I just finished knitting the Dewdrops shawl using it, and had to buy more. I don’t really wear shawls, but they are fun to knit.

knitting sun-kissed shawl
Beginning knitting the Sun Kissed shawl pattern

Easy Knitting FREE Shawl Pattern For Gradient Yarns

Lots of knitters love to use gradient color yarns.  Often shawl patterns work best for this, and I have found a free, simple pattern to try.  It is called the Scrappy Bias Shawl and you can download it at Ravelry.  I am grateful to knitters who share their free patterns.  It’s the perfect way for beginners to get used to trying new things.

Some yarn shops will offer small skeins of colors that match or contrast which can be knit up in any order you choose to make your own gradient of color.  This requires adding new colors as you knit and can leave lots of tails to deal with.  The effect can be quite pretty, but with lots of weaving to come.

yarn tails
Changing colors makes many tails of yarn to weave in later

Speckled or variegated yarns can also be used to create a gradient effect, and I love the look.  I began the ‘Scrappy Bias Shawl’ using dark green fingering yarn, then dug out more skeins hoping to have the colors changes from dark to light along the way.  I am not finished, and will begin to revert back to darker colors to end with.

Create Your Own Design

What I love about this simple pattern is that once you know the basics of the shaping,  the colors can be anything at all!  It could be done in wide stripes, skinny stripes, a solid color, or add a simple pattern to some of the rows.

I decided to knit approximately 20 rows with one color, and then alternate two rows with my next color choice.  You can see that in my image below where I went from pink to yellow, then yellow to variegated white.  I did not buy any yarn, but used what I had in my stash already.  I believe the “scrappy” part of the title is meant for knitters to use up their scrap yarn on this project.

Mostly I am using Mad Tosh Merino Light and similar sock / fingering weight yarn.  It’s a simple garter stitch knit with increases at one side and a decrease at the other.  I wanted my colors to “blend” as I progressed.  Viewing the pattern page will also show how other knitters interpreted this pattern.

Gradient colors of garter stitch

Changing yarns:  All my new yarn was added on the same side of the project so each color row made one complete back and forth row. Then I would pick up the alternate color to knit. Once I was done with the previous color, I cut it and continued on with the new color.

For easy counting of stitches, I have added stitch markers at 20 stitch intervals.  Once you memorize the beginning and ending of rows, this pattern is super simple to knit while watching television.

new shawl
The shawl is finished… read more here.

Avoid All Those Tails by Using Gradient Yarn

After some searching online I found some lovely yarn at The Fibre Studio called 50 Shades of Gradient.  Check out “Nantahala” (one I must buy soon) and others that come in cake skeins which make wide color swaths that gradually change as you knit.  

My other WIP (work in progress) is the Bay’s Edge Shawl. And I just finished up a couple of hats and a thick scarf to give as Christmas gifts.