As promised, the Peaseblossom Shawl was released yesterday! Without quite the fanfare it deserved because I was on my way back from holiday. You may have seen that I did an Instagram Live last night, and if you didn’t you can see it on my feed over there. I am not very comfortable with lives, but I did it anyway and hopefully there was some useful information there!
So, the pattern can now be bought and is ready to knit, from Payhip, Ravelry, and it will also go up on Lovecrafts, but that will be later in the week because my to do list is already somewhat overflowing!
But I did want to give you a bit of an overview of the pattern. Hopefully the photos show that it is lovely! And you can see the beauty of Amanda’s yarn (and don’t forget that you can still get 20% off the Peaseblossom shawl if you buy some of her yarn in June 2021).
But the information you need to decide whether or not this pattern is for you? Here you go!
It is a crescent shaped shawl and combines textured sections with a beautiful lace motif. The shawl starts with a garter tab cast on, which, if you’ve done shawls before, will probably not be new to you. And it isn’t hard (even if it can be fiddly when you first learn, but everything is fiddly when you first learn). The lace is pretty straightforward too, and I’ve worked hard to make sure the instructions and charts are as clear as possible! I think it would be absolutely fine for someone fairly new to lace shawls (one of my friends test knit, and she only learned to knit a couple of months ago) – and if you’re an old hand with it, then it should be a smooth and relaxing project!
Where do you stand on edgings? Points or no points? I love points, so I’ve also used a nice stretchy bind off to make it easy to do some lovely points! But if you don’t like them, then there is nothing stopping you from blocking the edge as a nice curve.
How much yarn do you need? I used a 400m (437yd) skein of Little Likac Yarn Luxury Merino in the Titania colourway. I had about 5g left over, and Amanda, when she knit her own version, had about 6g left over. If you find a beautiful yarn that is shorter then I have some tips in the pattern for managing that – and some tips for options if you end up playing yarn chicken. Because who amongst us hasn’t been in that position from time to time??
What sort of yarn should you use? Well, I used a sock base, 85% merino and 15% nylon, and pretty much any sock yarn would do a good job. Other 4ply yarns would be lovely too, although remember that not all yarns block the way wool blends do. Having said that, I’d love to see someone use a beautiful drapey blend to make this. Something with silk or bamboo? I wonder about alpaca, but that tends to be a bit fuzzy so I don’t think it would really show the stitch pattern as clearly. It might be worth if for the snuggliness though!! You could even knit it in a heavier weight yarn, although I’d recommend trying to match the gauge, or at least get close to it, otherwise you might have a tight and tiny shawl!!
Is there anything else you think I should have told you about the shawl?
I’m so excited that it’s out there and to start seeing the lovely versions that people make!!
