--Updated 8/1/12 for mod details-- The mirrored lace looks fabulous, plus the lace added at the top can be pulled up to cover the back of the neck!

I modified the design using what I learned from another shawl pattern, Kællingesjal 1897.

The Kællingesjal used the same lace design along the bottom, and Costumatty kindly shared instructions for making “mirror” lace. That pattern also provides a smaller version of lace along the top, so I incorporated that edging into the Clever shawl as well.

The shawl is too small for me to model it, but I managed to get a few photos showing how the lace lays along the top (before dropping and breaking the camera). :(

-- UPDATE --

Someone recently asked for details about the mods and thought I’d post it here. This account is to the best of my recollection…which isn’t so great, but hopefully it will help.

In the Kællingesjal pdf, go to “Lace Bottom Border” (top of Page 5). It is identical to the lace instructions in “Body of Shawl” in Clever except it has one more yarnover sequence. I substituted the Kællingesjal lace instructions after the “sl 1, k 45” of Clever so I could follow Costumatty’s instructions for the mirror lace as is without having to think…and I like the edging a little longer. (BTW, you may ignore Kællingesjal references to double yarnovers and use single yarnovers -- the doubles just make the hole slightly bigger.)

The only tricky part comes at the midpoint when the lace changes directions. (Kællingesjal is triangular and it has an extra triangular-shaped centerpoint section, “Bottom Border Center”. You may ignore any references to it.)

When you’re midway and ready begin the mirror lace, you may have to wing it for a couple rows. As best I recall, instead of binding off 8 stitches, I had to bind off extra stitches (1 or more, not certain). Next, instead of knitting all the way back to the top of the shawl, immediately cast on however many stitches to return to the proper stitch count, then knit back to the top of the shawl. This combined bind off/cast on is what gives you the open “V” shape you see in the next-to-the-bottom photo. If you don’t bind off enough stitches, then it doesn’t look right and it puckers. It may take some trial and error to figure out what works.

After that, though, it’s a piece of cake -- just substitute Costumatty’s instructions after the “sl 1, k 45” of the Clever pattern. You’ll notice that with the mirror lace, instead of adding one stitch with each row sequence and binding off x stitches on the last point row like you did in the first half, you will cast on x stitches and then delete stitches until you reach the last row of the point.

From costumatty, 10/2011: “mirroring the border lace”:
(Strikethroughs note deleted instructions and bold notes additions/changes.)

Row 1: Slip one, K7, K2tog, (yo, SSK)5x, (yo) twice, K2 (22 stitches)
Row 2: Purl 2 together, knit to end of row (21 stitches)
Row 3: Slip one, K6, K2tog, (yo, SSK)5x, (yo) twice, K2 (21 stitches)
etc.

For the top lace, I made the 8-stitch border following the same principle -- instructions from the .pdf and from Costumatty -- and then sewed it along the top of the shawl. (I didn’t feel confident enough to try knitting it on, fearing I’d end with a half-point.)

If you catch any errors in my recap, let me know. :)

Edited 4/15/14 to add strikethroughs -- I finally learned how to make them!