Almost every person first of all associates Loch Ness with a huge monster that lives (or does not live) in its depths. Naturally, this is not surprising, because the first legends and eyewitness stories about this most mysterious reservoir in the world and the prehistoric monster living in it date back to the year 565. In addition to the mystery surrounding the lake, Loch Ness is also the largest reservoir of fresh water in the entire UK.

This reservoir, the water surface of which shimmers like a diamond in the sun, is located almost 40 kilometers from the Scottish town of Inverness, is constantly replenished by the waters of the Moriston River. In addition, the lake gives rise to the Ness River, so for more than 300 million years the reservoir, surrounded on all sides by mountains and picturesque forests, has remained in its original form.

For many people, the very name of this beautiful lake has become synonymous with a secret, mystery, and magic. Therefore, when I got my hands on Knoll Yarns Noble yarn (1000 m / 100 g, 95% merino + 5% cashmere) in color ‘Loch’, I realized that I wanted to knit a beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious lace shawl in Shetland lace technique, and call it ‘Loch Ness.’

This is how this shawl turned out: large, warm, cozy, in which you can wrap yourself up on long winter evenings and dream of meeting the amazing Nessie.

Translated by Vera Tanabe
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‘Loch Ness’ is a square-shaped shawl made in Shetland lace technique.
It’s worked in 3 stages:
First, the central panel is worked flat; its top edge is left open.
When the square is completed, stitches along all 4 sides of the square are picked up and knitted, and the border is worked in the round.
Third: the edging is worked and joined perpendicularly around the entire shawl.

Yarn: I recommend using fine wool yarn approximately 1000 - 1500 meters per 100 g.

Meterage depends on the desired finished size of the shawl. It’s better to have up to 2800 - 3000 m.

Difficulty level: intermediate. You have to be able to read knitting charts, work garter stitch and lace pattern in RS and WS rows, cast on sts with waste yarn; pick up sts along vertical edges; graft live sts.

Gauge: may vary depending on the yarn weight, needle size, and your knitting tension.

Finished size of my big shawl shown here is 210 x 210 см, weight 347 g
Yardage (when used 1 strand of yarn) - 3470 meters.

If the original size shawl seems too big for you, here I offer a slightly smaller version.
The order of knitting and pattern charts remain the same.
Reducing the final dimensions is achieved due to the smaller size of the main part - central panel.
I knitted one large shawl and two smaller ones.

Needles and notions: circular knitting needles 2.5 mm - 3.0 mm, stitch markers, tapestry needle, blocking pins.
If you tend to knit loosely, I suggest using needles of smaller size - about 2.0 mm - 2.5 mm

Markers: I prefer using removable markers and place them directly on the stitch, not on the needle between stitches. Of course, you are welcome to use any method of marking your stitches, just keep this note in mind while reading the following instructions. Note that markers move on some rows.