Crest and Fall by Jennifer Beaulieu

Crest and Fall

Knitting
November 2023
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
23 stitches and 54 rows = 4 inches
in mosaic pattern
US 5 - 3.75 mm
1680 yards (1536 m)
One size, 80" (203cm) long x 15.5" (39cm) wide, blocked
English
This pattern is available for $6.50 USD buy it now

Ideas have a tendency to morph, often taking an unexpected shape in the end. Shawls and wraps are also beautifully creative pieces that don’t have to conform to any particular shape or size in the end, as long as it works for the wearer. The combination of free-flowing ideas and yarn led to the wave shape that this wrap takes.

I had a vague idea for a shawl that incorporated mosaic knitting that had been bouncing around in my brain for months, maybe longer. That original idea did not come to fruition, because when the yarn entered the creative studio that resides inside my brain, it changed the entire shape of the shawl until it turned into a wrap. The rainbow colors dictated that there needed to be some curves added, but not just in one direction. Suddenly I had a wave shape forming in my mind, and I knew the mosaic sections had to follow the curves of the wave. The solid color sections not only provide a transition between the mosaic sections, but exist to show off the beauty of each individual yarn color.


Dimensions:
Before blocking:
Width: 14.5” (37cm)
Length: 69” (175cm)

Blocked:
Width: 15.5” (39cm)
Length: 80” (203cm)

Yarn:
Fingering weight
12 colors x 140 yds (128m) each, with decent contrast between consecutive colors
OR
1 MC x 840 yds (768m), plus 6 CCs x 140 yards (128m) each

Needles:
US size 5 (3.75mm) circular needles, 24” or 32” inches in length, depending on preference

Extras:
Locking stitch marker
Tapestry needle

Gauge:
Before blocking:
24 stitches and 61 rows = 4” (10cm) in mosaic knitting
24 stitches and 37 rows = 4” (10cm) in combined stockinette and garter pattern

After blocking:
23 stitches and 54 rows = 4” (10cm) in mosaic knitting
23 stitches and 32 rows = 4” (10cm) in combined stockinette and garter pattern

Each section (mosaic and solid color) is approximately 3” (7.5cm) long before blocking and nearly 3.5” long after blocking.