This rectangular stole is knit from one end to the other, seamlessly. The main color begins the shawl with a lattice-work/diamond motif border and then features a center panel of easy slip-stitch colorwork in two colors, framed by the same lace diamond motif, and finishes with a matching border of the same lace. I took inspiration from Moroccan architecture of the lattice work surrounding walled gardens, and a play on the design of Persian flying carpets.

The stole is knit from two colors of fingering-weight yarn. You will need approximately 800 yards for the main color (purple) and 300 yards for the contrast color (gold). The size of the stole may be adjusted, but you will need more or less yarn, depending on the adjustments you make.

I highly recommend doing a large swatch using the center chart, working at the lace borders at the edges, and the center section in the slipped-stitch pattern to double-check that you are working this section loosely enough. It will be very springy before blocking, but after a bath, will relax into a lovely lightweight fabric.

My inspiration for this piece was Scheherazade , heroine of 1001 Nights. This Persian princess, despite finding out that the Sultan has put to death one thousand wives for infidelity, agrees to spend the night with him. Once there, she begins to tell the Sultan a long and involved tale, and he is fascinated by it and by her. As dawn breaks, Scheherazade is only halfway through the story, so the Sultan spares her life so that he may hear the ending the next night. The second night, she finishes the first story and begins another, even more exciting one, and so the Sultan spares her life a second night.

A HUGE thank you to tobyknits for knitting the sample for me, as well as Kristen Brooks Photography for the photos.

This pattern is also available as one of eight in the Legendary Knits, volume 1, collection.