Half the Calories! Knitting the Semi-Circular Half Pi Shawl
Most people wear a round shawl by first folding it in half; making a semi-circular shawl eliminates the fold and cuts your knitting time in half. That means you only expend half the calories in the making, compared to a full circle, but you can knit two different shawls to get back to that full calorie count!
During this workshop, we will:
- examine the mathematical concept that makes the construction of this shawl work, and look at some of the shawls that have been made with this method;
- share tips for starting the shawl with a garter tab cast-on;
- discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different increase techniques;
- look at various stitch patterns that fit into the formula easily;
- examine ways to "fudge" your stitch count to make other stitch patterns fit;
- compare different bind-off techniques.
The sample in the photo has the set-up rows and a fourth increase row completed, and is ready for the next tier to be worked in pattern.
To make an average-sized shawl, knitters will need approximately 850 yards of fingering-weight yarn, 750 yards of DK, or 650 yards of worsted weight yarn; with additional yarn, they could make a larger shawl. Aggressive blocking is needed at the outer edge, so wool-rich yarns that block easily are recommended.
Skill Level: | Beginner |
Skill Details: | Adventurous Beginner and up.
Skill Details: Cast on, knit and purl, lace basics (yo increase, k2tog decrease, ssk decrease, cdd double decrease), bind off |
Requirements: | Bring some solid-colored yarn in your favourite weight and appropriately sized needles for your yarn (straights are fine, but a circular needle will help you see the shape as it grows), 3 locking stitch markers, scissors |
Instructor: | Nancy Lekx |
Instructor Bio: | Nancy Lekx lives in a small town on the southern shore of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada - a beautiful location that provides inspiration for a thriving arts and crafts community. There's a Fall Fair with displays of all sorts, and a great craft show in December where the fee for a vendor table is $25.00 and two dozen cookies for the charity bake sale! Some of her designs have been published in Interweave Knits, Knitscene, and A Needle Pulling Thread magazines, and by yarn companies like Cascade Yarns. You can find her designs on Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/designers/nancy-lekx . |