A Shawl Based on a Weldon’s Veil Pattern to Knit

For this project, the designer wanted to create a lace-bordered shawl in a wide crescent shape, but with a lace pattern in the body instead of the solid fabrics shown in many patterns. Additionally, she wanted the construction to be a single piece worked in one direction to make it suitable for a gradient-dyed yarn.

Carolyn discovered the pattern A Veil: Knitted in an Open Diamond Pattern, with Vine Leaf Pattern Border in Weldon’s Practical Knitter, Fifteenth Series, included in Volume 5 of Weldon’s Practical Needlework. The original pattern is a rectangular shape, so she modified the shaping, charted the pattern, and added a decrease chart to create the desired crescent shape.

The silk-blend laceweight yarn shown produces a very light shawl with a nice drape. It uses only about 400 yards (365.8 m) of yarn and could easily be adapted for fingering-weight yarn with the adjustments suggested in the instructions.

MATERIALS

• Hazel Knits Filigree Silk, 50% merino/50% silk yarn, laceweight, 800 yard (731.5 m)/100 gram (3. oz) skein, 1 skein of White Winged Dove
• Needles, size 6 (4 mm), circular 32 inches (80 cm) or longer to accommodate the large number of sts
• Stitch markers

Finished size: About 58 inches (147 cm) wide by 16 inches (41 cm) deep, after blocking

Gauge: 24 sts and 30 rows = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in St st; one 12-st rep from Rows 3–14 of the Border Chart measures about 2½ inches (6 cm) wide, after blocking; exact gauge is not critical for the success of this project

Because her family was traditional, in that all the women did needlework, Carolyn Wyborny has been crocheting, knitting, and tatting since she was very young. She works as a software engineer for a large high-tech company but spends most of her free time coding up knitting and crochet designs. She lives west of Portland, Oregon, with her husband, two children, and several pets.