shawl – Granary Knits

1 February 20251 February 2025

Imbolc

Imbolc is the second Celtic celebration and the third festival in the Wheel of the Year. It falls on the first day of February, and is also celebrated as St Brigid’s Day. Winter is still gripping the islands of Britain, but there are signs of the coming of Spring and a sense that the sun will return soon. Small buds are beginning to appear on trees and shrubs, and snowdrops are emerging and flowering, half hidden in borders. The early flowers are grateful for any rain, but in February we in the north of England sometimes get too much rainfall – the old country name for February is Fill-dyke referring to the overflowing ditches along rural roads.

Imbolc the shawl is a delicate beaded crescent/triangle hybrid, equally at home at a winter party or snuggled up beside a log fire. Its design suggests the rain using beads, as well as the promise of Spring in the bud motifs of its border. It is knit in 4ply/fingering weight yarn, and can be made in any size by repeating the main pattern, before working the border. Both charts and written instructions are provided.

Materials
Any 4ply/fingering weight yarn with good stitch definition and drape. The sample was knit in Eden Cottage Yarns Milburn 4ply; 85% Bluefaced Leicester 15% silk; 50 g per 200 m/ 218 yds; both the Fichu and Large Shawl are shown in shade Natural, using 1 and 4 balls respectively.
4 mm /#6 beads (optional); the sample beads are Debbie Abrahams in colour 34 Silver-lined Clear.

Tools
4 mm [US size 6] circular needle (for knitting flat), minimum 60 cm / 24” in length (or size required to obtain gauge).
Crochet hook size 1 mm [UK size 4, US size 10] or beading needle (optional).
Stitch markers, as many as you find helpful.
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends.
Blocking mat and pins (optional but recommended).

Tension
19 sts and 36 rows = 10 cm / 4” on 4 mm [US size 6] needles, over the reverse stocking stitch and beaded twisted stitch pattern after washing and blocking.

Finished size
Four sizes are described, but a larger shawl is possible if desired. I have named these sizes Fichu (Shawlette, Medium Shawl, Large Shawl). The table below shows approximate sizes and quantities of yarn and beads. Finished size of the two samples (smallest and largest) shown are:
Size 1 Fichu: 140 cm / 56” length along top x 26 cm / 10 ¼” deep at widest point.
Size 4 Large Shawl: 254 cm / 101 ¼” length along top x 48 cm / 19 ¼” deep at widest point.

This pattern has been fully professionally tech edited, but has not been test knit except by me. Full pattern support is available by email. The pattern is available as a PDF from the Granary Knits stores on Ravelry and on Payhip.

31 October 202431 October 2024

Samhain

Samhain (pronounced Sa-win, /ˈsɑːwɪn/) is the first of the Celtic/Pagan Sabbats or festivals in the great Wheel of the Year, ever turning. It is the celebration of Autumn’s End occurring on 31 October/1 November. The veil between the worlds is thin at this time, the year is dying.

Samhain is the name of a traditional Gaelic festival held around 1 November. The name and date were adopted by Wiccans for one of their four Greater Sabbats. It closely matches Halloween (31 October) and the two festivals are intertwined. For Wiccans, Samhain is a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets, and other loved ones who have died. Aligned with the contemporary observance of Halloween and Day of the Dead, in some traditions the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the Wheel by the festival of Beltane, which is celebrated as a festival of light and fertility.

Samhain is a time for bonfires, honouring the ancestors, and for contemplation when entering the quiet part of the year. A time when the earth sleeps and humans (and animals) need warmth and shelter. A snug triangular shawl or cowl will keep you warm until the year turns and the earth awakens.

My interpretation of Samhain is of simplicity. It can be made as a cowl, using a single precious skein of 4ply/fingering yarn, or as a shawl. It can be knit in any weight of yarn, and can be made as long as you wish. As befits the time of the year, it gives warmth where it is needed. I chose reds and oranges for my samples, as well as a light grey reminiscent of the mists of Autumn. It can be worn any way you like, casually tied or fastened with a favourite brooch or shawl pin.

It can be knit in any weight yarn, in any type of yarn, in one colour or two. It is a warm double-thickness fabric using an interesting construction, with a simple but effective shape.

Samhain is available as a pdf download from the Granary Knits Ravelry store and from the Payhip store.

20 January 202420 January 2024

The Yorkshire Collection

For over a year now, I have been working on a collection of shawls and related accessories inspired by the Yorkshire countryside in which I live. It has been a magical experience, exploring my surroundings and being enthused by the landscape. The first two shawls in this collection, Harden Moss and Whitley Common, are available now, with more to come.

Harden Moss was inspired by the shapes of reservoirs in the High Peak District of Derbyshire and West Yorkshire. These typically have a distinct wide dam wall at one end gradually narrowing to a point, reflecting the shape of the valley that was flooded to create them. There are many such reservoirs dotted about all over the Peak District, varying in size from a small tarn to an entire rift such as Longdendale, flooded to provide water to local communities. This simple scrunchy garter shawl, worked sideways in a hazy laceweight yarn on very large needles, is quick to work, and the allover pattern of eyelets is easy to memorise. The pattern is available in the Granary Knits Payhip store and on Ravelry.

Whitley Common is a light capelet perfect for a summer wedding shawl. It’s shape is three-quarters-pi, and is covered in a graduated pattern of zigzags which mimics the many becks, streams, and rivulets that cover the heathery landscape. These lacy rivulets culminate in a border of flower motifs to represent the beautiful cotton grass that covers the common in summer. The pattern is available in the Granary Knits Payhip store and on Ravelry.

25 January 202225 January 2022

Sock Yarn Shawl: a new free pattern

My first design release of the year is the easiest of easy shawls. Knit from any sock yarn you have in your stash, this scrunchy garter shawl is a perfect go-anywhere knit. Use up leftover scraps of yarn for a unique stripey look; or colour block two or more yarns. It can be made from any amount of yarn; the sample shown was knit with 100g of self patterning sock yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners, but you could use any fingering/4ply yarn.

The shawl features an open top edge and a simple stretchy cast off. This is the perfect go-anywhere knit, requires no special techniques, and will look great in any yarn.

Available now in the Payhip Granary Knits store .

27 January 202130 December 2021

The Wind That Shakes the Barley Pattern

Another new pattern from me, a lovely semicircular shawl called The Wind That Shakes The Barley. It was inspired by the Irish folk song, and features ears of barley blown hither and thither. It has an interesting construction, being knit from the bottom edge of deep picot-tipped scallops to top, but despite the complicated-looking cast on it is a quick knit in DK weight yarn.

The pattern was first published in Knit Now magazine in March 2020.

Available now in the Payhip Granary Knits store .