The Northern Flurries Shawl includes alternating sections of double short rows (two short row turns, one stacked on top of the other) and lace. At about the same time I was playing with double short rows, I found (and kinda fell in love with) the Snow Flurries lace pattern in the Lace Vogue Stitchionary.

Northern Yarn 4-ply, made from a single flock of Poll Dorset sheep in the north of England, provided the inspiration to combine the two in what turned into the Northern Flurries shawl. Northern Yarn is woollen spun and very “sheepy”, bringing cosy warmth and structure to the design.

Materials
2 skeins of Northern Yarn 4-ply. The pattern assumes the use of two contrasting colors, but you could make it all in one color if you prefer. Kate at Northern Yarn has almost sold out of the 4-ply, (as at May 2017) but 4-ply/fingering-weight woollen-spun alternatives include: Blacker British Classic 4-ply / Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift / Brooklyn Tweed Loft.

Gauge
22sts per 10cm in garter stitch, knitted on 3.5mm needles. This is quite a large gauge for a 4-ply/fingering weight yarn, but its woollen-spun construction means that the fibers are happy to expand and take up the space.

Tools

• 3.5mm needles (or size needed to get the correct gauge). A 100cm circular needle is comfortable for the longer rows.
• Blunt-ended needle for sewing in ends.

Techniques

• Short rows. I’ve used the “Yarn Over” technique for the short rows: I tried five different methods for the double short rows and the Yarn Over method worked out best! I’ve not assumed any prior knowledge of short rows and the technique is fully explained in the pattern.
• Lace: the lace pattern is straightforward, containing only right and left-leaning decreases and yarn overs. It is given in both chart and written form.

Further information and video tutorials can be found at http://muddysheep.com/northern-flurries-shawl

Language
The pattern is written in English.