High Country Circle is a circular shawl or blanket using Elizabeth Zimmermann’s pi shawl formula, and a companion piece to the High Country Crescent shawl. The High Country of the South Island of New Zealand is a uniquely desolate yet beautiful landscape that both inspires and dwarfs the human spirit. This rugged land is connected from the mountains to the sea by a network of sprawling braided rivers, depicted here by branching cable motifs and delicate lace pebbles. Knit in a heavier gauge yarn as pictured above, the final piece serves as a beautiful warm throw for your home. Alternatively, for a delicate shawl to warm your shoulders on a cool evening, knit your High Country Circle in a lace or fingering weight yarn – a pi shawl folded in half and wrapped about your shoulders is a decadent display of overlapping lace fabric, a true celebration of hand-knitting magic

Yarn
The shawl pictured was knit in a discontinued Sports weight woolen yarn, and the yardage listed reflects that.

Approximate yardage required:
Sports weight: 1700 metres. (1859 yards)
Fingering Weight 1600 metres.(1750 yards)
Heavy Lace WeightL 1300 metres (1422 yards)

Needles
If using sports weight or fingering weight yarn use 4mm needles (US 6).
If using a lace weight yarn use a 3.5 - 3.75 mm needle (US 4-5), depending on your tension and the yarn.

This shawl begins with a circular cast and is largely plain stockinette at first - you will therefore get a good idea of the needle size you need to use to get a pleasing fabric density. If in doubt, knit a swatch - wash and block.

Links:
A video link to Emily Ocker’s Circular Cast On.
(also described here in text)

A video link to a provisional cast on for the beginning of the knitted on border.