Diamonds have long been considered Girl’s Best Friend. Enamored young girls squeal at the smallest of diamonds given as promises of more to come. As they grow into adults, the small diamonds of their youth no longer give the same thrill. As they get a taste for the beauty of the gem, the more sparkle, the better. Eventually, as older women, wearing only one diamond is never enough, sometimes dripping with every diamond they own. This shawl reflects that trend with small diamonds at the beginning of the shawl that grow into larger diamonds. These large diamonds later become adorned with sparkly beads. At the edge, the diamonds become small again but only to concentrate the brilliance of the beads. Knit in a color that coordinates with much of your wardrobe, this shawl will likely become your new best friend (and cost considerably less)!

Girl’s Best Friend is a top-down triangle-shaped shawl in two sizes (one or two carats). It begins with a garter tab that becomes the top-center edge of the shawl. The diamond pattern is created with knits and purls on both sides of the fabric. As the shawl grows, beads are added to the points of the diamonds to make the wearer feel as special as her favorite jewelry. The beads are added as you go with a tiny crochet hook or a dental appliance threader, so there is no need to pre-string them. The shawl is then finished with a beaded bind-off.

Small shawl (pink) used about 420 yd. (383 m) of Malabrigo Sock and 268 size 6/0 beads. Large shawl (turquoise) used about 670 yd. (615 m) of Dale Garn Baby Ull and 360 beads.

Both line-by-line written instructions and charts are provided. You might consider reviewing the pattern before printing the entire document as it is 17 pages long.

Included in the pattern are links to videos for a garter tab cast-on, adding beads with a crochet hook and Oral-B Superfloss, and beaded bind-off. If you’ve never used beads in your knitting before, I’ll show you! Be brave!