Roughlock Falls Shawl was inspired by a family trip to the Black Hills in western South Dakota. The shawl has a fine balance of ruggedness and femininity, qualities that I imagine were essential in a pioneer woman of the Gold Rush era. The timeless top-down triangle shape is knit to a generous size in sport weight yarn to ward off the chill.

Like the landscape of the Black Hills, this shawl is rich with entrancing texture. Complementary stitch patterns alternate in deep bands down to the border. The Gold Rush lode features a vein of knits and purls passing through eyelets that catch glints of light as the wind stirs. The band of Whitewater Lace combines small cables and yarnovers to create the look of water rushing over rocks. Crooked lines of decreases stream down through the lace like water spurting through the canyon walls at Roughlock Falls.

The pattern includes charts and written instructions. To reduce the number of printed pages, print Pages 2-5, then print Pages 6-9 to knit from the charts or Pages 10-15 to knit from the written instructions.