Who says being spineless is a bad thing? Usoa is an “invertebrate” shawl that couldn’t be simpler to make. Instead of starting with just a few stitches and increasing to a miserable number, or at the outside edge with a daunting number of stitches, all the stitches are cast on at the neck edge then decreased down to a point. The edging is knitted along at the same time, so there isn’t any fussy picking up and knitting either.

Bonus: this method begins with fewer stitches than similarly-sized traditional bottom-up shawls, so it really is faster to make than all the other methods. It is also a stop-anytime shawl, so you’ll never have to worry about running out of yarn. (Two options for stopping anytime explained in pattern.) You can also make it bigger or smaller very easily (explained in pattern).

A basic silhouette with refined details is the best way to showcase a yarn as scrumptious as Lilura (the Basque word for enchantment). With its resilient mountain merino™ and creamy-soft American alpaca, Lilura is unlike any yarn you’ve tried before in that it has bounce and drape. The result? You will surely be enchanted with this easy and beautiful shawl!

**Helpful note: On row 20, one decrease of the first feather lace portion, and the double decrease in the second feather lace portion, will both involve removing the stitch marker to work the decrease, then replacing it on the needle. After working the decreases, you should have 8 edging stitches each end, then 4 feather lace stitches at each end inside the edging stitches.

Latest version of the pattern is April 4, 2012. The PDF is 5 pages and roughly 1.5 megabytes.