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Minerva
A mystery Knit-along from Fiddle Knits Designs
A mystery Knit-along from Fiddle Knits Designs
Cast On: Friday, May 3, 2013
Skill Level: Intermediate
Should know how to (or learn how to):
Clues will be sent on the following Fridays: May 3, 10, 17, & 24 – Knit along with us on Ravelry!
My goal in designing this shawl was to create something that was basic enough to use beautiful variegated yarns, but interesting enough that the knitter wouldn’t be bored. Of course, just because I used a variegated (purple on purple and white) yarn doesn’t mean you have to. A solid or semi solid yarn will work just as well for this shawl.
Pattern Instructions
You will receive fully charted and line by line instructions for every section of the shawl!
Size
Your finished size will vary depending on your gauge, blocking style, and yarn used. If you match my preblocking gauge your shawl should be approximately 60 (70.5) inches prior to blocking.
Construction – One piece from the bottom up
Recently I’ve been designing a lot of shawls that require you to pick up stitches. You won’t have to do that for this shawl. (Was that a big sigh of relief I heard?) There is, however, some short row shaping. You can find videos on wrapping stitches for short rows on YouTube or KnittingHelp.com. Lots of instructional videos/articles will focus on how to hide the wraps on the following row. You won’t need to worry about that for this shawl!
Other than the short rows, the stitches in this design are all relatively basic. There will be decreases, yarn overs, and knit and purl through the back loops (border only). For the most part the wrong side rows are “rest” rows (after the border), meaning you work them straight across without patterning. On the border, the patterning consists of working in the stitches as they appear (meaning knit the knits and purl the purls).
Beads (optional)
I chose to use seed beads on my shawl. This is completely optional. They serve to add some sparkle and weight to the edge of the piece and nothing more. If you do use beads don’t obsess over the count. As long as you’re more or less around the general number you’ll be fine. (Beads will be discussed more in the first clue.) The use of beads will only come into play on the first section/clue of the design. Beads must be pre-strung. You will unfortunately not be able to place them with a crochet hook.
Selecting Yarn
I will be using Soli V1.0, a 100% merino single spun fingering weight yarn. This yarn is now out of stock. However, Dye-A-Tonic or Soli V2.0 (a soft spun single) are still available for custom dyed kits. Several of the colorways shown below are shown on the Dye-A-Tonic yarn base.
If you’ve already purchased the pattern and decide you would like to use my yarn please send me an email or Ravelry message (FiddleKnitsDesign) telling me you have the pattern link and need yarn. I will discount the $4.00 pattern price from your yarn purchase.
Color: As I wrote in my introduction, I designed this shawl with the use of hand dyed and variegated yarns in mind. Feel free to use a solid, semi solid, tonal, or multi colored skein for your project. A few folks asked if a solid/semi solid will still work for this design even though I chose a multicolored yarn. The answer is yes. If you prefer solid or more subtle colorways then do feel free to go this route.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Should know how to (or learn how to):
- Work lace & texture from written or charted directions
- Work through the back loops (knit and purl)
- Work basic short rows (wrap & turn, no hiding wraps required)
- Decrease (all the usual suspects: k2tog, ssk, cdd, p2tog, etc.)
- Increase: yarn over
Clues will be sent on the following Fridays: May 3, 10, 17, & 24 – Knit along with us on Ravelry!
My goal in designing this shawl was to create something that was basic enough to use beautiful variegated yarns, but interesting enough that the knitter wouldn’t be bored. Of course, just because I used a variegated (purple on purple and white) yarn doesn’t mean you have to. A solid or semi solid yarn will work just as well for this shawl.
Pattern Instructions
You will receive fully charted and line by line instructions for every section of the shawl!
Size
Your finished size will vary depending on your gauge, blocking style, and yarn used. If you match my preblocking gauge your shawl should be approximately 60 (70.5) inches prior to blocking.
Construction – One piece from the bottom up
Recently I’ve been designing a lot of shawls that require you to pick up stitches. You won’t have to do that for this shawl. (Was that a big sigh of relief I heard?) There is, however, some short row shaping. You can find videos on wrapping stitches for short rows on YouTube or KnittingHelp.com. Lots of instructional videos/articles will focus on how to hide the wraps on the following row. You won’t need to worry about that for this shawl!
Other than the short rows, the stitches in this design are all relatively basic. There will be decreases, yarn overs, and knit and purl through the back loops (border only). For the most part the wrong side rows are “rest” rows (after the border), meaning you work them straight across without patterning. On the border, the patterning consists of working in the stitches as they appear (meaning knit the knits and purl the purls).
Beads (optional)
I chose to use seed beads on my shawl. This is completely optional. They serve to add some sparkle and weight to the edge of the piece and nothing more. If you do use beads don’t obsess over the count. As long as you’re more or less around the general number you’ll be fine. (Beads will be discussed more in the first clue.) The use of beads will only come into play on the first section/clue of the design. Beads must be pre-strung. You will unfortunately not be able to place them with a crochet hook.
Selecting Yarn
I will be using Soli V1.0, a 100% merino single spun fingering weight yarn. This yarn is now out of stock. However, Dye-A-Tonic or Soli V2.0 (a soft spun single) are still available for custom dyed kits. Several of the colorways shown below are shown on the Dye-A-Tonic yarn base.
If you’ve already purchased the pattern and decide you would like to use my yarn please send me an email or Ravelry message (FiddleKnitsDesign) telling me you have the pattern link and need yarn. I will discount the $4.00 pattern price from your yarn purchase.
Color: As I wrote in my introduction, I designed this shawl with the use of hand dyed and variegated yarns in mind. Feel free to use a solid, semi solid, tonal, or multi colored skein for your project. A few folks asked if a solid/semi solid will still work for this design even though I chose a multicolored yarn. The answer is yes. If you prefer solid or more subtle colorways then do feel free to go this route.
Finished Size
Approximately 60 (70)” wingspan unblocked
(introduction sheet will provide more info on calculating size)
Suggested Yarns
2 (3) skeins Fiddle Knits Fibers Soli [100% superwash merino; 400 yds; 100 g; fingering weight],
Color: Purple Passion
2 (3) skeins Fiddle Knits Fibers Dye-A-Tonic [75% SW BFL/25% Nylon; 463 yds; 100 g; fingering weight],
Color: Purple Passion
Needles
US 6 / 4mm 32” circular needle or longer
Adjust needle to obtain correct gauge
Gauge
31 sts & 28 rows = 4” in 1x2 twisted ribbing (k1tbl, p2tbl)
Notions & Extras
Beads, 307 (348) size 6 seed beads (optional)
Stitch markers
Purchase Pattern
$4.00 PDF
Secure transaction via Ravelry
Content copyright . Erica Jackofsky. All rights reserved. Fiddle Knits Designs
Contact: Erica@FiddleKnits.com
Contact: Erica@FiddleKnits.com