MEADOW DANCE SHAWL
 


Combining texture and colourwork in a wearable crescent shape, the Meadow Dance
 Shawl offers a contemporary folk aesthetic and an engaging knitting experience.

For those not yet familiar with mosaic knitting, learning this surprisingly simple technique will be especially enjoyable.

If you love the idea of a colourwork shawl, but don’t love steeking, or hiding the underside of stranded fabric - this is the perfect technique to try. No prior experience in colourwork is needed to knit this shawl - just
 an open mind and a readiness to enjoy the magic!


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MATERIALS & INFORMATION


Gauge

18 sts x 30 rows = 10cm/ 4” x 10cm/ 4”
in seed stitch and garter stitch
(or adaptable to any gauge)

Sizing

Size 1 (2, 3) 
140cm/ 56” (152cm/ 61”, 165cm/ 66”) wingspan

(or any size, according to preferred gauge)

Yarn

designed with Irish Artisan Yarns
in collaboration with This Is Knit 

for Festive Surprise 2023

suitable for fingering to sportweight yarns
(or, adaptable to any yarn weight)



Yarn Quantities: 

400m of BC, and 200m each of CC1 and CC2
should suffice for all sizes 



Needles

3.25mm in diameter or as needed to meet gauge



Notions

tapestry needle, measuring tape



Special Techniques

mosaic knitting, double increases 



Construction
This shawl is worked from the top down, flat, using crescent construction. The main body of the shawl is worked in seed stitch, followed by an eyelet border and an edging worked in garter stitch mosaic colourwork.

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Samples Info.

Saltwater Colourway
(pink + turquoise)
knitted with Irish Artisan Yarns merino, yak and nylon
Size 1

Atlantic Storms Colourway
(teal + gold)
knitted with Irish Artisan Yarns merino, yak and nylon
Size 2

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About the Mosaic Colourwork Technique

Mosaic knitting resembles stranded colourwork, but is created very differently: With only one colour worked at a time! There are no floats; there is no need to manage multiple strands of yarns at the same time, and the underside of the fabric looks tidy. There is also quite a bit more stretch to a mosaic colourwork fabric, than to a stranded colourwork fabric. It is an excellent technique for a shawl, since the colourwork can just as easily be worked flat as in the round.

It is not necessary to have any previous experience in mosaic knitting in order to make this shawl. However, those seeking an in-depth understanding of the technique should refer to the book Mosaic Knitting by Barbara G. Walker.

The Meadow Dance motif is adapted from Barbara G. Walker’s Mosaic Knitting. The original chart has been re-designed, and corresponding instructions re-written, to suit this shawl’s construction.