’I am a man, upon the lan, An I am a silkie in the sea; And when I’m far and far frae lan, My dwelling is in Sule Skerrie.’

Have you ever seen a seal bobbing in the water, watching you? If you have been to the north of Scotland you may have.
Seals swim in the Pentland Firth, to the north of Caithness, and out to the Orkney Islands. They catch fish and lie basking on the rocks.
The stories tell us that sometimes they shed their seal skins and walk on the shore on two feet as selkies! A fisherman might fall in love with the soft brown eyes of a selkie woman, hide her seal skin and make her his wife

The pattern has be greatly inspired by the Shetland haps, from the shape to the garter section, the lace and the yarn choosen.
But I also wanted to add a little technique that I learned here in Latvia while attending the workshop on Latvian mittens: the Latvian braid.

Yarn
• 4 skeins of Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Weight in the 202 colorways --> garter section
• 3 skeins of Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Weight in the 61FC OR 072 colorway --> lace section
• 1 skein of Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Weight in the 002 colorway --> braids section

Needles
A pair of US8 or needle size to obtain gauge

Notions
• 2 stitch markers
• stitch markers for the lace section (optional)
• tapestry needle to weave in the ends.

Gauge
15,5 stitches and 37 rows= 4”/10cm in garter stitch, or needle to obtain gauge.

Finished Measurements
57”(145cm) long and 21,6”(55cm) deep