The stripes in this easy asymmetrical triangle shawl echo the sharp, stacked angles of the Flatirons, a neat arrangement of five linked peaks just outside Boulder, Colorado.

Each stripe is picked up along the previous one, log cabin-style, starting with short rows and then shifting to the long, mindless rows that make garter stitch so comforting to knit. In other words, it’s a garter stitch shawl that doesn’t make you knit the exact same row hundreds of times over — the widest stripe is less than 30 rows deep! The shawl ends with a pinstriped edge and striped i-cord, for a polished finish.

The shawl was born to show off bold stripes, and really shines in hand-dyed yarn. The tonal brown sample uses two sock yarns from Boulder’s own Gypsy Wools in the same colorway, one all wool and one wool-silk blend, and highlights the way different materials are transformed in the dye pot.

The easy-to-follow pattern includes hand-drawn illustrations and instructions for up to 18 stripes, which makes for a sizable shawl even in fine yarn. The size of your shawl will vary with the weight of your yarn and the number of stripes you choose to knit.

For a shawl the size shown, you’ll use about 600 yards of sport-weight yarn, 800 yards of sock yarn, or 1000 yards of laceweight. Reserve about 5% of your yarn for the striped trim.

Resources
If you’re brave enough to try purling backwards, Flatirons’ short rows are a great chance to practice on all those even-numbered rows.
Video: “How to Purl Backwards” from Lucinda Lee
Knitting-and.com: Knitting backwards (It’s called “knitting” instead of “purling” but it’s the one you want!)
Knitting Database: Purling backward