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Madreperla is a two-color brioche shawl worked in an allover stitch that reminds me of sea shells.
The shawl ends with a complex border featuring another kind of “shells”, with a completely different shape.
Big beads underline the dramatic increases used for the “shell” repeats, making them look like pearl oysters. These oysters have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as “mother of pearl” (Madreperla).
The shawl has an asymmetrically crescent shape and it is worked from the tip to the final border.
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The shawl is constructed as a sideways crescent shape, adapted to brioche knitting. A “normal” sideways crescent shawl would have 3 sts increased on one side and one stitch decreased on the other side every two rows. With brioche increases and decreases always involve two stitches, so there are two LC LS Rows with only a brioche increase on the top (longer) side of the shawl, followed by a LC LS Row with both the increase on the top side and a decrease on the bottom one.
This sequence is worked throughout the shawl, with the exception of the last rows of the final Border.

Finished size: 170 x 110 cm (67 x 43.25”).

Yarn
Rowan Fine Lace (80% suri alpaca, 20% merino wool; 400 m 436 yds/50 g); col. 00925 Quaint and 00920 Cameo, 2 balls per color.
Note: The shawl is worked using the yarn held double throughout the work.

Needles
3 mm US 2 ½ * circular knitting needles with 80 cm/32” cable.
* or size needed to obtain gauge.

Notions
10 markers.
Tapestry needle to weave in ends.
(optional) 31 vintage beads with 1/2 cm (0.25”).

Gauge
20 stitches x 18 rows = 10x10 cm (4”) in brioche stitch.
Note: Gauge is not critical for this project.