Archival Note: During the Spring 2014 designer-led knit-along, a single free digital download of this pattern was included with each purchase of one of the five limited-edition SWTC Dragonfly shawl yarn kits then available at YarnZone.com.

The DRAGONFLY shawl is a distinctly different type of knitting pattern. It is modular, in having four separate parts (or components) that are knitted separately and then attached together to form one shawl, but during its creation – until the point of permanent joining -- each module can stand alone and be worn on its own, not necessarily as a shawl, but as a shawlette, ruff, stole, muffler, wrap, scarf, etc. The four modules are non-identical, consisting of upper wings, lower wings, a central columnar body portion (the spine), and a bottom-edge culminating frill or gathered-ruffle border piece.

Four types of yarn combine in various permutations in the DRAGONFLY shawl … The various yarns’ color-ways are chosen, further, to complement -- but not to “match” – each other, and the individual knitter’s creativity can change any or all of them, yarns and/or color-ways, even omitting (or multi-stranding) one (or more) to make a truly and personally unique shawl that is expressive of just what the knitter chooses. Yarn texture, content, construction – all of these fiber characteristics come together to create an aesthetic that is both functional and beautifully emotive.

The DRAGONFLY shawl incorporates a fascinating array of stitch patterns and techniques … Lacy openwork, basic faggoting, reversible cabling, turned wrist accents, rounded and angled end points, and so forth. Not one of these, however, is beyond the reach of the motivated advanced-beginner knitter. They may appear complex, but when set forth step by step in narrative form, the simplicity of their construction is revealed.

The 15-page PDF pattern also includes extensive guidance (in the form of a practical mini-tutorial) on creative yarn-substitution possibilities. Numerous photo-illustrations and drafted-to-scale schematics accompany the clear, comprehensive directions.