In 1979, the year my family settled in Guelph, ON, the historic carrousel at Riverside Park reopened after years of disrepair and disuse. The restoration of the carrousel had been spearheaded by Ken Danby, a somewhat famous local painter, amongst others. This beautifully restored antique carrousel was originally created in 1917 by Allen Herschall and features hand-carved wooden horses and other animals. It is one of only 148 antique carrousels still in operation in North America.

This shawl is a full circle using pi shaping, worked from the middle out. The zig zagging mesh stitches invoke the movement of the carrousel ride, while the cabled “spokes” mimic the ridges and pillars supporting the roof. A ring of carrousel animals circles the shawl, and the river ripples along the bottom edge.

Materials Needed:
- @1200 yards lace weight yarn
- 3.25mm (US 3) circular needles or size needed for a pleasing fabric
- Start/end of round marker
- Darning needle to weave in ends

Optional Materials Needed:
- Scrap yarn (lace, fingering, or sport) for provisional icord cast on
- Stitch markers to separate motif repeats
- Cable needle

Instructions
Instructions are both Fully Written and Fully Charted, except for the cast on instructions which are written only.

This is an advanced level pattern: it is not easy to use markers with mesh lace, nor is it easy to correct errors. Additionally for the filet lace section there are four different panels of instructions to follow. This is not tv-knitting friendly pattern.

A note on gauge:
I do not consider gauge to be particularly important for a lace shawl. Instead, find the size of needles that gives you a fabric you like. If your needle size is significantly larger than suggested, be certain to have extra yarn on hand.

A note on the spelling of the pattern name:
Carrousel is an older version of the more modern Carousel spelling. It is used in this pattern because it is inspired by a vintage Carrousel, and because that is the spelling on the mural that decorates the actual Carrousel at Riverside Park.