Saturday 20 February 2010

"Leaves dancing" shawl finished


Comparing the difference before and after blocking is always fascinating, especially when it comes to lace knitting. In this picture you can see the main pattern fairly clearly, but the bottom border looks all crumbled.

Nothing like the points in this picture:

Modifications
1. Three sections instead of one to get a crescent(-ish) rather than a triangular shape.
2. Rows 29-56 knitted three times instead of twice, since I used thinner yarn and needles than the instructions call for. It was easy adding rows and repeats to the design. (But I ended up with almost 700 stitches!)
3. At the very end I added six rows, continuing the pattern in the last section to close the points.
4. I skipped the crocheted edge, partly because I preferred the idea of knitted points at the very edge, partly because I was simply too lazy to try to understand the instructions. Charts with explanations in German was ok, but written instructions with abbreviations proved too much when I was eager to finish the shawl. Here's a picture of the original edge.
4. Stitches picked up along the hypotenuse (or what would have been the hypotenuse if I had knitted the original triangular shape) to add a border. I think it helps making a shawl look finished.

Measurements
Width top: 155 cm/61 in.
Width bottom: 390 (3x130) cm/154 in.
Lenght back: 70 cm (27½in)
Length diagonal between each section: 95 cm (37½ in)

The yarn, Viva (a wool-silk blend) from Finnish Wetterhoff, is wonderful: beautiful and a delight to work with. There's a lot of surplus dye in it, though, and it bled a lot when I washed the shawl. I rinsed the shawl at least fifteen times.

I like it that winter doesn't keep people from using their bikes!

Edited to add: here's a link to the shawl pattern.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

This entry is so full of interesting things and thought provoking information. I love your pictures of Uppsala and this is a good one. I can't figure out why I was never there. Your modifications to the shawl are wonderful. Your edge treatment is definitely the better. I stopped making triangular shawls ( I know they lend themselves to lace patterns so nicely) because my sisters would put them on when I visited but it was obvious they were not comfortable and it was such a fight to keep them on. The Faroese style is much superior and in fact, that is what you have done. Is it not? Or a very close rendition with the three panels. In any case, it is a work of art. Congratulations.

Docrock said...

I love, love, LOVE this shawl. I really like the definition and the knitted, not crocheted, edge. Are you going to write it up for those of us who need more direction? Vaer si snill? Tusen takk.

Liisa said...

I do like how the edges turned out on your shawl!! Nice! Thanks for sharing your modification notes

Johanne Ländin said...

Makalöst vacker! Utsökt kant.

Vad ska du sticka härnäst?

Asplund said...

Thank you, all!

I agree, this shape seems easier to wear than a triangle. It's true I've seen this and/or similar shapes in Faroese shawls and probably got the idea from one of those pictures.

Sharon: what I did wasn't actually too complicated. I didn't make up a pattern that I added, but I continued the pattern beyond the chart, so to speak. For example, I let the decreases keep slanting in the same directions until there was only one stitch between each a pair of decreases slanting towards each other. Then I made a double decrease. And I made new yarnovers as in previous rows. I think you will see how to do it if you look at the charts and perhaps add rows to it!

Borntoknit: inte riktigt säker - har två härvor av samma garn i en vacker turkos nyans, så det blir nog en till sjal. Det gäller bara att hitta det perfekta mönstret. Håller på och bläddrar i mina böcker för fullt. Något estniskt, kanske?

Lars said...

It's beautiful Asplund. You made the right decision by not crocheting the edge, your version has a much more finished look.

la dame hex said...

stunning! bellissimo!

ylva said...

Breathtaking!!!And I too love your edging.
/y.

Kerry said...

Your shawl looks beautiful Ivar, and such a gorgeous colour.

Anonymous said...

beautiful! And much nicer than the original, with your modifications.

FadenStille said...

Nun kann ich endlich deinen Schal bewundern,ja, es ist einfach eine große Steigerung zum Original, deine Änderungen nehme ich mir zu Herzen, denn Dreieckstücher haben einige Nachteile, Mittelnaht und wenig Volumen, aber die vielen Maschen deiner Version ohhhhhh, wie lang muss da die Rundstricknadel nicht sein...
Herzlichst Anett

Asplund said...

So many kind words - thank you. all!
Anett: the needle I used is 80 cm, so the stitches were fairly crowded the last few rows, but not so much it was a problem.

Unknown said...

Is this pattern anywhere in English?

Asplund said...

Diana: Not that I know - it seems to be in German only. But at least lace charts are international, so I think you will manage anyway.