During the past seven years of turmoil and change, I haven’t had much of a chance to design. I’ve been looking forward to the luxury of putting out some of my own patterns at my own pace. No deadlines, using the yarn I want to use, having a chance to noodle around if things don’t come out as I envisioned. Today I’m releasing a new shawl pattern called Syrenka. I’ve excited about the pattern because it fits into the way I’m knitting now: at a relaxed pace, without generating stress, interesting enough to avoid boredom but not so challenging that I have to keep ripping out.
Syrenka is a half-circle shawl, knit from the top center outwards. All the increases are clustered into single increase rows, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting a yarn over here or an increase there. The final sample is made with five colors of sport weight wool yarn. I chose shades of blue, green, and silver, but the possibilities for combining other colors are endless! (Perhaps gradient skeins? vivid rainbow hues? a mix of multicolors and solids? leftover bits from other projects? Multiple tones of the same color? Self-striping yarn?)
I know that everyone’s worried about inflation and cost so I’d like to emphasize that this pattern can be knit economically. The sample was knit in Cascade 220 Sport, which costs around $5.50 to $6.50 per skein. Ten skeins (and you’ll have some leftovers) will cost $55 to $65 dollars (less if you can nab a sale or discount) — and the shawl is huge! You can, of course, substitute your own sport weight yarn choice (Cat. 2) and/or reduce the number of colors to trim down the price. Given the large size, I’d suggest something with at least some wool to avoid sagging and to keep the shawl relatively lightweight.
The pattern is available via Ravelry using the link above — but if you aren’t using Ravelry because of the accessibility issues, please feel free to leave a comment and I can invoice you through Paypal and directly email the pattern to you. Thank you!
