During the 2016 summer Olympics, what would be more natural for knitters (and crocheters, spinners, and weavers) than to do what we do while watching the games? And to do as much as we could, as quickly as we could, responding to the athletic efforts we were watching? So Ravelry once again organized their Ravellenic Games. For knitters, this meant we were to knit an item – casting on during the opening ceremony and binding off before the torch was extinguished at the closing. I didn’t have a particular project in mind, but there was a design idea I had been playing with for a while to start with I designed it as I went, noting each row as I did it. This is a written rather than charted design.

Summer Games is a long, fairly shallow shawl, rather like a large scarf, which can be wrapped and worn any way you wish. The body is knitted in garter stitch with contrasting stockinette sections formed with short rows in an irregular pattern. Some sections have two rows of stockinette, some have four. This is an easy introduction for someone who has not done them - and it’s a break from garter stitch, which some knitters find tedious. The finished shawl needs to be strenuously blocked so the stockinette sections show – otherwise the garter portions just close down over them.

FINISHED DIMENSIONS: 72 inches wide, 13 inches long

This can be made as large or small as you wish, but be aware that you may need more or less yarn accordingly.

All size information and measurements are for the shawl as I made it.