Design Notebook: Seafoam Shawlette-to-Shrug


Way back last year, a knitting magazine was calling for Summer designs and the theme was 'travelling light'. I'd had an idea for a convertible shawl/shrug for some time and thought this might be an opportunity to try to get my work published elsewhere (this was before I was approached about writing various other things). The inspiration was a desktop wallpaper image which had been on my laptop (source).


The initial sketches were for a rounded shrug so I swatched and submitted my idea... which wasn't commissioned. At this point, and totally coincidentally, Daisy from Devon Sun Yarns got in touch and we started chatting about yarns and projects that were planned. I mentioned my pattern idea and from the screensaver image, Daisy came up with 'Island Beach' colourway using her merino/bamboo base. It's a very soft yarn and the colours are so subtle and delicate - I think it's absolutely perfect for the design.


The yarn and sketches sat on my shelf all over the winter. The nice thing about letting an idea 'stew' is that you can change your mind about it. When I eventually cast on, it had developed into a different shape - like a square, but with one triangle missing (does that have a name?).



There are several things I think work well about this pattern: 

  • It takes only a single 400m skein of 4 ply yarn
  • It's a quick project for an experienced knitter (mine took just a couple of evenings to knit)
  • It can be worn in various different ways - around the neck, over the shoulders, or fastened with removable buttons, as shown in the pattern
  • The border is simple enough for a relatively inexperienced knitter, and it's easy to spot any mistakes as the stitches 'line up' - in the questionnaires they completed, testers rated the level of difficulty as being 2 or 3 out of 10 
  • The same size can be worn by a child, teen or adult and when used as a shrug it only needs to 'fit' across the back, so will suit most adults regardless of chest size (testers ranged in size from UK 8 to UK 20)

    Seafoam Shawlette-to-Shrug

    Yes, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. It would seem that many other people like it too - I've had lots of emails and messages asking when pattern will be available. The good news is that it has been uploaded to Ravelry so you can buy it now.

    Untitled

    If you make it, I'd love to see how you get on. Please link your photos to the project pages on Ravelry, and if you use Instagram, the tag is #seafoamshawlshrug.

    2 comments

    1. Absolutely beautiful! It's gone straight in my favourites and will take all of my strength to not cast this on as soon as I get home. The yarn I want to use is still in a hank and needs to be balled if I can wait that long!

      ReplyDelete
    2. That yarn looks absolutely lovely! Great design.

      ReplyDelete

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