I started designing this shawl while I was watching Downy Woodpeckers work outside my windows in April. I was inspired by their stark plumage.

I finished it in the weeks after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. In my home state. I had originally planned to name this shawl after the birds that inspired it. Instead, this shawl is named “The Lake Street Shawl” to mark what I hope is a dramatic shift in our attitudes and our actions around racism. The Lake Street neighborhoods near where George Floyd was murdered are working to rebuild their communities and businesses. All proceeds earned from the sale of this shawl will be donated to the Lake Street Council to support these efforts.

This triangular shawl is quick to knit. It’s knitted in Brooklyn Tweed’s worsted weight Shelter yarn, which works up at an airy gauge into a warm and lightweight accessory. For this sample, I chose two colors that are opposite one another on the spectrum to create bold contrasting sections. Some testers chose lighter colors for their main color; highlighting the deeply textured panels in between the mosaic stitch sections.

Yarn
Worsted Weight
Main Color: 495 yards / 453 meters.
Contrast Color: 245 yards / 224 meters.
Sample Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Cast Iron and Fossil (American Targhee-Columbia Wool; 50 grams/140 yards 128 meters). MC: 4 skeins. CC: 2 Skeins.

Gauge 16 sts and 28 rows = 4” in Stockinette Stitch Knitted Flat.

Suggested Needles*
US Size 9 / 5.5 mm circular needle 32”/80cm length for the neckline AND 40 - 60” / 100-150 cm length for the body and border of the shawl. You can knit it with a 40” circular but it gets uncomfortable to knit with towards the bottom as the shawl grows.

Always choose the needle size that you need in order to obtain the pattern’s gauge.

Notions

• Stitch markers
• Highlighter Tape (optional - to keep your place in the pattern)
• Measuring Tape
• Tapestry Needle
• Wool Wash and Blocking Mats

Techniques Used

• Garter Tab Cast On

• Make One Left and Make One Right Increases

• Mosaic/Slip Stitch Knitting