The National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan, is an annual extravaganza of all things cherry. Its events include picnics, parades, orchard tours, an art fair, and of course, all the cherries you could dream of in every form you can imagine (and some you probably couldn’t). It’s a highlight of the cherry season for Michiganders and the visitors from around the world who come to enjoy it every year.

Our Cherry Festival stole evokes northern Michigan’s sweetest delight in playfully elegant fashion. Knit end-to-end in sumptuously dyed Merino lace from Why Knot Fibers, the stole showcases the best the cherry has to offer: delicate blossoms, clusters of ripe fruit, and the wide lattice weave of a perfect pie crust.

And like the cherry itself, Cherry Festival is a delightful combination of sweet and tart. The lace patterns are suitable for an advanced beginner, with enough repetition to catch the flow but enough challenge to keep the knit interesting. The motifs are designed to complement one another and transition seamlessly. Each section can be lengthened, shortened, or omitted entirely to accommodate your yardage and preferences.

Version: This pattern is the lace-weight version. For the sport-weight scarf, please see the Cherry Festival Scarf.

Instructions: The pattern includes charted instructions.

Techniques: Basic-to-intermediate lace knitting (lace worked only on the front side, all-over motifs, double yarn overs), purling through the back loop (ptbl), working back and forth.

Notions: Two stitch markers, and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Case Study in Blocking: Finishing is the pits, but this stole really shines after a good blocking. Preliminary tests suggest that eating a slice of cherry pie speeds the drying process.

Juice Warning: The beautiful, tonal red of the Inara colorway is a dead ringer for ripe fruit, and the springy Merino yarn just begs to be smooshed between your fingers. Take care not to accidentally confuse treat real cherries with your stole! Smooshed cherries have their place, but your hand probably isn’t it.