’No,’ said Faramir, looking into her face. ‘It was but a picture in the mind. I do not know what is happening. The reason of my waking mind tells me that great evil has befallen and we stand at the end of days. But my heart says nay; and all my limbs are light, and a hope and joy are come to me that no reason can deny. Éowyn, Éowyn, White Lady of Rohan, in this hour I do not believe that any darkness will endure!’ And he stooped and kissed her brow.

-- J.R.R.Tolkien, The Return of the King

The Cloak of the White Lady is inspired by the cloak that Faramir gives to Éowyn in the Houses of Healing. Tolkien described that cloak as being “a great blue mantle the colour of a deep summer-night, and it was set with silver stars about hem and throat.” This cloak is likewise adorned with stars about the throat, but with the foaming waves of the ocean adorning the hem.

The cloak is worked flat in three parts, and is joined at the shoulders with a three-needle bind off. The collar is then picked up and worked in the same seed stitch as the borders of the main cloak. Stranded colourwork is used for the waves at the bottom of the cloak, and intarsia is used for the stars around the neckline. This is a fairly heavy piece, so the gauge is denser that expected to mitigate sagging.

Size Options:
The length of the piece can easily be adjusted by adding or subtracting rows in multiples of four in the solid main colour section.

Adjusting the width of the cloak is more challenging; it can be made wider by adding 20 stitches to each of the front pieces and 40 stitches to the back piece, working the extra stitches on the edges at either side of the star field. This will make the cloak @50” across.

Making the piece narrower may be done by reducing the stitches similarly; in this case the outer stars will have to be left off. This will result in a cloak @34” across.

Notes on Gauge:
The gauge listed is for unblocked stocking stitch. It may be useful to also work a gauge swatch in the stranded pattern and adjusting your needle size in that section as needed. Blocking for this piece should involve simply patting to size; no stretching of the fabric is desired.

Materials Needed:
- 4.5mm (US size 7) needle or size needed for gauge (circular needles may be preferred for the back section which is the full 42” across)
- @1664-1747 yards of Main Colour aran weight yarn
- @832-873 yards of Contrast Colour aran weight yarn
- waste yarn or spare needles to hold the finished back piece while the front pieces are being knitted

Notes on Instructions
This pattern is fully written: it can be worked completely without using the accompanying charts.
This pattern is partially charted: while there are charts for the stranded sections and for the intarsia stars, they are supplementary rather than complete, and the written instructions will also need to be used.