For the Love of Lace!

Sunflower from Tin Can Knits.

When I suggested recently to a friend that she might like to knit a lace shawl she came over in a hot sweat and replied there was no way she could ever tackle such a tricky project, no way on this earth! But lace doesn't have to be tricky, if you can knit and purl, do yarn over’s, increase and decrease then lace should be no problem. It comes down to choosing the right pattern and right yarn.

Captiva Wrap from Designer Stolen Stitches offers an alternative to traditional lace

Chose a knitting pattern with perhaps just a simple lace edge to start with, something like Buttermere or Ullswater. You might also find that knitting in a 4ply yarn easier than a 2ply lace weight yarn when you’re just starting out.

Mountain Moss Shawl in PomPom Quarterly would be the ideal shawl to knit in a sock weight yarn, such as Eden Cottage Yarns BFL Sock.

  I love shawls where the designer has incorporated lace panels interspersed with simple stocking stitch, like in Knightsbridge shown here knitted in Malabrigo Sock in Cote d’Azure and Playa, the pattern requires only one skein of each colour. Knightsbridge is just one pattern featured in London Underground a series of seven shawls by designer Toby Roxane Barna.

Knightsbridge from London Underground

There something exceptional beautiful about geometric lace two of my favourites are Branching Out and Tilt, both very different in terms of shape Branching Out offers a very traditional triangular shape, whilst Tilt that is part of the latest Brooklyn Tweed collection is square.

For the more experienced knitter then Rock Island by designer Jared Flood is a must, but be prepared to work lace on both rows though! Malabrigo Silkpaca would be the perfect yarn choice. 

If you’re looking for a lace shawl with a traditional Shetland Construction than take a closer look at Gundrun Johnston’s Flukra, a simple garter stitch centre with the lace edge picked up and worked later. One skein of Dream in Color Baby would be enough to knit Flukra.

 Flukra by The Shetland Trader