Lamingtons are a tasty dessert here in Australia, made from chocolate-coated sponge cake sprinkled with coconut and often sandwiched with delicious jam in the middle. As this shawl shares layers of soft, squishy goodness with that mouth-watering treat, the name just had to be borrowed! With an easy half pi shape and video tutorials included, Lamington is a perfect project for sinking your teeth into the sweet magic of brioche knitting. Or, if you’re an experienced briocher, you can enjoy the shawl as an afternoon treat of relaxation knitting! Have fun choosing a few skeins of fingering weight yarn from your stash (maybe with some coconutty-like speckles), and working them into this delectable accessory!

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 50.5” / 128cm width at wingspan, and 22.75” / 58cm depth at center, relaxed after aggressive blocking.

YARN
Fingering weight / 4ply yarn, in 3 colours (Colour A is predominantly used for the garter stitch sections and right side purl columns in the 2 colour brioche sections, Colour B is predominantly used for the 1 colour brioche sections, and Colour C is predominantly used for the right side knit columns in the 2 colour brioche sections). Worsted spun, plump, and Merino wool yarns work particularly well, either on superwash or non-superwash bases.

Approximate yardages
Colour A: 360yds / 330m / 82g
Colour B: 330yds / 300m / 70g
Colour C: 295yds / 270m / 64g

Sample used
Colour A: We Love Knitting, 4ply Fingering (75% extrafine Merino, 25% nylon; 437yds / 400m per 100g) in unknown colourway (brown) – discontinued yarn

Colour B: Circus Tonic Handmade, Jubilee Sock (75% superwash Merino, 25% nylon; 464yds / 425m per 100g), in colourway Bourke’s Parrot (mint)

Colour C: HalfBaked HandDyed, Merino Sock (75% superwash Merino, 25% nylon; 462yds / 422m per 100g), in colourway A Lady Without Passport (pink)

NEEDLES
– US 4 / 3.5mm, OR size to obtain garter stitch gauge, circular needle
– Optional for 2 colour brioche sections: US 3 / 3.25mm, OR 1 size smaller than needle to obtain garter stitch gauge, circular needle (see GAUGE, below)

It is recommended to use circular needles with 60” / 150cm cable lengths to comfortably accommodate the large number of stitches at the end of this shawl, but at a minimum just ensure you’re working with needle cables at least 32” / 80cm in length.

NOTIONS
– 1 removable stitch marker / progress keeper
– Scissors
– Tape measure
– Tapestry needle
– Optional for blocking: blocking mats, wires, and / or T-pins
– Optional for lifelines: small amount of smooth, contrasting waste yarn in fingering weight or lighter

GAUGE
20.5 stitches x 37 rows = 4” / 10cm square in garter stitch (knit every row), knit flat and relaxed after aggressive blocking

19.5 stitches x 39 rows = 4” / 10cm square, in 1 OR 2 colour brioche stitch, knit flat and relaxed after aggressive blocking

To measure your brioche row gauge, count the “v” stitches in the knit columns of your brioche. Each “v” represents 2 rows worked, therefore 2 “v”s equals 4 rows worked, 3 “v”s equals 6 rows worked, etc. Only count this way if you’re certain you’ve completed a multiple of 2 rows of brioche (i.e. both a right side and wrong side row in 1 colour brioche, or both Row 1A and Row 1B in 2 colour brioche), as the slipped stitches can make 3 rows looks like 4 rows, 5 rows looks like 6 rows, etc.

Please be conscious of your tension if you tend to wrap your yarn looser when making purl stitches than when making knit stitches! If this is the case, you may find while working the shawl that your 2 colour brioche stripes are turning out larger than your 1 colour brioche stripes. To fix this, you can manually tug your brioche purl stitches tighter as you work them, or you may need to go down a needle size during those 2 colour brioche stripe sections.

VIDEO TUTORIAL LINKS INCLUDED IN THIS PATTERN
– How to work 1 colour brioche, flat
– How to work 2 colour brioche, flat
– How to work a garter tab cast on
– Long tail cast on method
– Knitted cast on method
– Picot bind off method
– Optional substitute bind off: Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off

This pattern has been test knit and professionally tech edited. Instructions are provided in a written format only (no charts required).