This is a simply shaped Faroe style shawl with Shetland style construction variations knitted in garter stitch. The lace edging and open work motifs lead to new adventures. Typical shawls from the island of Faroe, near Iceland, sit neatly on the shoulders, begin with many stitches and decrease to form a garment with “wings” and a central trapezoidal gusset.

Shetlanders, who live between Norway, mainland Scotland and the Faroe Islands, are production knitters from way back and like all knitters, borrow ideas. Their desire is to cast on and bind off as few stitches as possible. So like them, we will begin by casting on 8 stitches and when we are through we will graft (or weave or Kitchener) 6 stitches at the back neck. There are very few stitches cast on and none bound off (Shetland) but the shape is from Faroe!

This pattern is available from The Yarn Circle in Murphy, NC, and from the Peace Weavers booth at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.