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Having grown up in a part of the world where most trees lose their leaves in the winter, I was always struck by the spartan beauty of the woods during colder months. Patches of blue sky peek through the intricate, twisting branches, while the absence of greenery on the ground allows you to focus on the earthiness of rocks and roots on the ground (that is, when there’s no snow!).

The semi-circular Winter Twigs Shawl explores the simple, mysterious beauty of these textures with a repeating sequence of four stitch patterns - Stockinette, Twisted Rib, Garter, and Seed - worked over a total of 24 stripes.

While the pattern is written for four colors of fingering weight yarn, each stripe requires less than 80 yds / 73 m - which makes this a great option for using up mini skeins in as many colors as you choose!

Size: Width is approximately 23 in / 58.5 cm. Length is approximately 78 in / 198 cm. The final measurements will vary based on how gently or aggressively you choose to block.

Yarn: Each stripe in the sample used a separate Southern Skeins Sock mini skein (80 yds / 73 m each skein; 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon; 0.7 oz / 20 g) in one of four colorways: Wisteria, Reflecting Pool, Pacific, and Sunshine.

For non-mini skein use, the yardage / meterage requirements are as follows:

Color A: 396 yd / 362 m
Color B: 345 yd / 315.5 m
Color C: 304 yd / 278 m
Color D: 378 yd / 346 m

Needles: Size US 3 / 3.25 mm circular needles, or whatever attains gauge. I recommend using a circular needle length of at least 29” / 74 cm because the rows get very long!

Notions: Darning needle, stitch markers. Optional: blocking wires and pins.

Gauge: Approximately 20 sts / 44 rows to 4” / 10 cm in blocked Stockinette Stitch pattern. I blocked the pattern rather aggressively, resulting in a particularly large row gauge. Exact gauge is not critical for this pattern as long as you are comfortable with the resulting fabric and size of the shawl; keep in mind that a different gauge may require a different yardage/meterage of yarn.

I’d LOVE to see your in-progress and finished projects on Ravelry or Instagram! If posting on Instagram, please tag @alovelyblunderknits and use #alovelyblunderknits and #wintertwigsshawl on your post!

A HUGE thank you goes to:

• Southern Skeins for yarn support and
  collaboration

• Tech editor: Susan Hislop

• Test knitters: Kelli Siehl, Galina (@galinarezaei), Audrey, and Anonymous