Fin de Siècle refers to the end of the 19th century, and one of the dominant art movements at the time was Art Nouveau. Inspired by the more unruly elements of nature, art nouveau is characterized by organic shapes, curling lines, and floral motifs. In the world of knitwear, entwining cables offer the perfect opportunity to explore this artistic style.

This shawl combines cabling with garter stitch stripes and slipped stitches to acheive cable strands that pop from the background, even though only one color is worked at a time. This technique is perfect for making the most of those highly variegated or watercolors skeins by pairing them with a semisolid or solid background color.

This pattern includes full written directions as well as charts, so you can choose which you prefer!

Fin de Siècle was designed in collaboration with Malabrigo Yarn as part of Malabrigo Quickies.

SIZES
One size; finished shawl measures 64” (163 cm) long and 10.5” (26 cm) wide

MATERIALS
2 skeins Malabrigo Rastita (310 yds/100g) in contrasting colorways; sample shown in Arco Iris (MC) and Dewberry (BC)
US 7/4.5 mm straight needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Cable needle
Yarn needle

GAUGE
25 sts x 40 rows in 4 inches (10 cm) in unblocked garter stitch cable pattern
23 sts x 36 rows in 4 inches (10 cm) in blocked garter stitch cable pattern
(gauge not critical, but will affect yarn usage)

NOTE
Yarn use in garter stitch varies greatly among knitters. If you are at all loose in your knitting, or choose to knit at a different gauge, you will likely require more than one skein of the MC, up to 350 yards.