Peppy's Simple Shawlette Pattern

 PEPPY'S SIMPLE SHAWLETTE [ Ravelry: Peppy's Simple Shawlette ]

This is a shawlette pattern that I designed a couple of months ago. I wanted to design a shawlette that would be fun to knit but that wouldn’t require much attention, so I created this very simple garter stitch pattern. There are no short rows involved, all the shaping is done by just decreasing or increasing stitches.

Being a continental knitter, I prefer to have all my stitches fit onto a straight needle. That’s why I designed this shawlette to be knit ‘lengthwise’. Another advantage of this construction is that in this way you know exactly at which point you have knit up half of your yarn, so you can make that your turning point in the shawlette, and start decreasing stitches again instead of increasing further.

The pattern is generic, so you can use any type (or thickness) of yarn that you like for this pattern: the resulting dimensions/size of the shawlette will always be more or less the same. As you can see on the pictures, I’ve tried the pattern out myself with 3 different types of yarn, varying in gauge.

You can customize your shawlette by using two colours instead of just one to add stripes or blocks of colour (I did this in different ways in all three versions of the shawlette). Also, you can make the edges less pointy by casting on more than 3 stitches in the beginning (I did this in the super bulky version of the shawlette). And of course, if you like, you can add a knitted or crocheted border of your choice to the shawlette.

You can make your shawlette as big or small as you want to. My versions of the shawlette have the following dimensions (approximately):

Materials

You can use any type or thickness of yarn that you like. I used the following material:

For the super bulky weight version (gauge: 12 sts/24 rows = 4 inches garter stitch):

• Schachenmayr/SMC Boston [70% acrylic, 30% wool; 55 m per 50 g skein]; color: Sisal; 2 skeins
• Lana Grossa Mille II [50% acrylic, 50% wool; 55 m per 50 g skein]; color: 046; 2 skeins
• 1 set 7 mm straight needles

For the sport weight version (gauge: 24 sts/48 rows = 4 inches garter stitch):

• Noro Silk Garden Sock [40% wool. 25% silk, 25% nylon, 10% mohair; 300 m per 100 g skein]; color: 308; 1 skein
• Noro Silk Garden Sock [40% wool. 25% silk, 25% nylon, 10% mohair; 300 m per 100 g skein]; color: 289; 1 skein
• 1 set US #4/ 3.5 mm straight needles  

For the fingering weight version (gauge: 30 sts/60 rows = 4 inches garter stitch):

• Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball 75% wool, 25% nylon; 420 m per 100 g skein]; color: 1153 1701; 1 skein 
• Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Llight [100% wool; 384 m per 100 g skein]; color: winter wheat; 1 skein
• 1 set US #1.5/2.5 mm straight needles

Pattern

Set-up: Cast on 3 stitches (or more, if you prefer a less pointy edge)

Increase section:

Row 1–5: Knit.
Row 6: Slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over, knit to last stitch, knit last stitch, knit same stitch again into back look, knit same stitch yet again into front loop.

Repeat rows 1-6 until you’ve reached the length and width that you like.

Middle section:

Knit 4 rows (or a larger - even - number of rows if you prefer the middle section to be less pointy).

Decrease section:

Row 1: Decrease 2 stitches as follows: knit 2, pass first knit stitch over second knit stitch, knit 1 more stitch, pass previous stitch over knit stitch. Knit until last stitch, knit into front and back of stitch.

Row 2-6: Knit.

Repeat rows 1-6 until you’ve knit rows 2-6 with the same number of stitches that you cast on.

Cast off and weave in ends.

Terms of use: This is a free pattern. You are welcome to copy, distribute or alter this pattern, as long as you credit my name and list my website. You may sell products made using this pattern, but the pattern itself should remain free. Thanks!