Sneak peek – Japanese-inspired shawl

I mentioned recently that I had a couple of lace shawl designs in progress and I thought I would share a preview of one of them.

This shawl was inspired by the Japanese pattern sourcebook that I reviewed in April. The green version of the pattern is as it originally appears in the book (and on the accompanying CD).

I changed the green to red in an image editor to get a better idea of how the pattern might look in the colour of yarn that I wanted to use.

I found a flower motif in my Vogue Ultimate Knitting Guide that seemed perfect and proceeded to sketch and chart and swatch and then sketch and chart and swatch some more. I originally tried cables for the undulating lines but they weren’t showing up well in the laceweight yarn that I was using so I changed to eyelets instead and this is the final result:

The yarn is the Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Lace that I brought back from honeymoon and it’s beautifully light and soft.

What I haven’t decided yet is whether or not I will add a border. I have a couple of borders in mind but haven’t done any swatching or calculation to see which, if any, I could make fit. I’ve knitted the entire shawl (and worn it!) with just a narrow garter stitch border for now. It does curl slightly at the sides but I’m worried that adding a border will make it too fussy.

The other advantage of not adding a border is that it will make getting the pattern ready for publication much quicker! The chart is ready to go; written instructions are nearly done and I’m just waiting to be able to take some better photographs so that I can put the whole lot together.

The only other thing missing is a name! I’m still waiting for inspiration to strike so if you have any ideas, leave a comment or send me an email. If I use your suggestion, I’ll send you a free copy of the pattern when it’s published.