As we move into summer, I thought it would be a great time to share some pattern ideas for summer shawls. What makes a good summer shawl? Well, in my opinion it should be lacy and light and really pretty. It should serve as an extra layer for cool evenings and air conditioned spaces. And, since the journey matters as much as the destination with the fiber arts, it should be fun to make! In order to make it light and airy, I decided to focus my attention on shawls that call for light fingering-weight yarn, though I did include a few patterns that use “regular” fingering-weight yarn.
Light Fingering-Weight Yarn
Before I share the shawl patterns, let’s talk a bit about what light fingering-weight yarn is. There is no separate category for it on the Craft Yarn Council’s system of yarn weight, but there is a separate category on Ravelry. I think of it as a subcategory of fingering-weight or sock-weight yarn that’s at the light end of fingering but not as light as lace. Fingering-weight or sock-weight yarn typically has between 400 and 550 yards per 3.5 ounce skein of yarn. Anything above about 450 yards could be considered light fingering-weight yarn. That said, if you have the perfect fingering-weight yarn to use for one of these patterns, it should work just fine, and the difference will be minimal.
Now that we have that sorted out, let’s move onto the patterns. I’m going to divide them into Crochet patterns and Knit patterns with links to Ravelry for each. If you are not on Ravelry, you can probably find most of these patterns elsewhere.
Crochet Shawl Patterns
- Shawl Grècque Crochet by Angèle Lumière – Lacy rectangular shawl.
- Suncatcher by Elena Fedotova – Gorgeous lace and several size options.
- The Bubble Wrap by Tricia Kopko – Perfect lacy shawl for an assigned pooling colorway.
- Pinku Hebi Shawl by Angela Tong – This one is big enough to wrap up in.
- Escape by Elena Fedotova – Just wow!
- Trellis by Dawn Barker – This is another great lacy shawl for an assigned pooling colorway by none other than Dawn Barker, the creator of assigned pooling.
–
Knit Shawl Patterns
- Wild Poppies by Charlotte Walford – Heart-shaped shawl with the option of beads.
- Patronus Shawl by Madeleine Windsor – Kite-shaped shawl with open and solid sections.
- Gardens of Giverny Shawl by Alina Appasova – She had me at Giverny! Stunning shawl with beautiful lace.
- Waveform by Helen Kennedy – Unlike most of the others this one does not have open lace, but it has this really intriguing wave pattern running through it.
- XLECS by Deborah Bowanko – This gorgeous crescent shawl is all about the lace.
- Slow Curves by Joji Locatelli – This long rectangular shawl uses short curves to good effect, and what list would be complete without at least one pattern from the amazing Joji?
- Ziggy Shawl by Joji Locatelli – Okay, how about two? This one is so lacy and wonderful.
- Saudade by Susanna IC – Beautiful lace with beads.
- Reflexions by Alla Saenko – Lots of fun patterns to knit on this asymmetrical triangular shawl.
- Itbe by Laura Nelkin – Beautiful lace with beads. This is a crescent-shaped shawl.
- Wind of Change by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne – A combination of garter stitch and lovely lace.
- Dogfish by Nick Davis – Triangular shawl with beautiful lace.
- Sunlight Beach Shawl by Marie Greene – Lovely geometric lace.
- Beach Nights by Lisa Ross – Beautiful asymmetrical triangular shawl with lots of lace.
- Luxino by Beagle Knits – Wide variety of lace patterns. Scroll down to get to the English description.
- Quiet Blooms by Lena Mathisson – Lovely shawl with two colorways and a variety of stitch patterns.
- Shawl Hayat by Olya Kilic – Beautiful lace and a shawl that is adjustable as you go in terms of size.
- Galvanism Shawl by Marie-Elyse Dugal – This gorgeous shawl was inspired by Mary Shelley.
- Swimmetry by Martina Behm – This curved crescent by the iconic Martina Behm looks fascinating!
- The Power of Laughter by Paula King – All the different stitch combinations in this shawl look like so much fun!
If you’d like to see all of these in one place, take a look at the bundle I made on Ravelry.
–
Feather Sock
When I decided to make these lovely summer shawl patterns the focus of today’s newsletter, I thought it would be a good idea to dye up some more Feather Sock to go with them. While Sock Perfection is right on the edge of light fingering-weight yarn, Feather Sock falls solidly in the middle. It has 490 yards, and it’s a 2-ply yarn made of 85% merino and 15% mulberry silk. It’s a non-superwash or untreated merino, so it does need to be washed by hand.
Feather Sock is great for sweaters, hats, and–of course–lovely lacy shawls. I have four colorways dyed up right now. They are Lilac…
Purple Delight…
Northern Lights…
…and Eowyn Meets with Aragorn…
These four look great together too. From left to right here are Lilac, Purple Delight, Northern Lights, and Eowyn Meets with Aragorn:
You can see them all right here.
I also have Feather Sock available as an option in the Dyed to Order section of my shop, so you can order any colorway you like there.
–
Fresh from the Dye Pots
In addition to the colorways on Feather Sock, I dyed lots of different yarn colorways on a variety of bases this week. You can see them all in the New Yarn and Fiber section of my shop. However, I’d really like to call your attention to a new fiber blend I dyed up. It’s made of 70% merino and 30% bamboo. Here it is on Purple Delight:
…and here it is on Ocean at Night:
You can find these in the Hand-Dyed Top section of my shop.
–
Show and Tell
Next week we’ll be doing a Show and Tell newsletter. I’ve already gotten some beautiful contributions, and I want to thank those of you who emailed them to me.
If you have a work in progress or completed project to share, that would be super. Please send it to me by next Wednesday. Include a photo or two and any relevant pattern info.
I have some amazing fiber artists among my customers, but if you are just starting out on this journey, please don’t feel intimidated. We’d really love to see what you’re working on!
Have a wonderful week. See you next Friday.