Another knitter introduced me to the amazing weavings of the Kuba people, also known as the Bakuba, and the book, Textile Art of the Bakuba: Velvet Embroideries in Raffia by Sam Hilu and Irwin Hersey. (My apologies as I haven’t yet found anything that explains when to use which term.) The Kuba Kingdom is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between the Kasai and Sankura rivers. The weavings are similar to the knotwork of the Celts and Vikings and are stunning. I couldn’t resist adapting some of them.

The size of this rectangular shawl is adjustable.

I used handspun yarn spun from a blend of North Ronaldsay, Merino, Polwarth, silk, and bamboo (1300 yards/195 grams of 2 ply).

Warning - the pattern has not been test knitted by anyone other than myself so there may be errors. Please let me know if you find any and I will post a corrected version. Thanks.