Names for my designs come from the rich history of Philadelphia neighborhoods. Drawing on both current and historic names gives me endless inspiration.
At a yarn show, I was asked why I hadn’t done a Kensington shawl; coincidentally, I was right by the booth for Youghiogheny Yarns. Within minutes of that conversation, the idea of contrasting bricks and lace came into my mind. And the colors of the Youghiogheny Yarns were perfect.

The Kensington neighborhood is lined with brick row houses and factories, and was home to the Quaker Lace Company, the largest producer of lace in the US. Long gone but not forgotten, the memory of lace blooming among the bricks inspired this shawl. The shawl is an asymmetrical triangle worked from the point to the base, alternating bands of bricks and lace.

I would gauge this as an Intermediate project: it’s not a difficult lace pattern but you should have some experience in working lace and also changing colors.

The instructions are written for both the brick and lace sections.

You will need a US size 4 (3.5mm) 32” circular needle, a removable stitch marker, and approximately 335 yards of Color A (grey) and approximately 285 yards of Color B (blue).

The finished dimensions of the shawl are a wingspan of approximately 62” and a center back length of approximately 28”; these measurements are after blocking.

The shawl can be made larger by adding sections, making the given sections longer, or working a longer garter stitch section at the end.

Thanks to Lisa for tech editing.