This is an easy lace pattern that takes only one hank of my Triple Luxury DK yarn, or you may substitute 3.5 oz / 252 yds of a similar yarn. Sample was knit with the color Forest Dusk.
The finished size after blocking is appx. 30"x12". Notes are given for making the cowl larger.
You will need to be comfortable working in the round on circular needles, know how to knit, purl, yo, slip/pass slipped stitches over.
You will need a 24" US size 8 circular needle, a stitch marker, yarn needle for weaving in loose ends, and wool wash or gentle soap (optional).
Pattern is written with a chart for the main stitch used.
One of my first knitting projects was a triangle shawl. I've always loved shawls, and couldn't believe how easy it was to knit one.
There are many ways to knit a triangle shawl. This time, we are going to cover going from the bottom up using yarn overs to make the increases. I also show doing a KFB (knit front and back) increase if you want a less obvious increase.
This is just the bare bones of triangle shawls. I am sure you have seen many beautiful shawls that are lacy, some that are cabled, and many others.
The shawls pictured here were knit years ago. I am not certain what yarn was used. I think the one on the right is Caron Simply Soft, but it could very well be something else.
Below are a few examples of how to do a simple triangle shawl. Nothing fancy here. A shawl is a great beginner project if you want something larger than a scarf, but still want to keep it simple. You don't have to worry about gauge either.
These shawls are also a great project for seasoned knitters, because you can sit and watch TV and just mindlessly knit.
You can use any yarn and needles you like - the needles should be circulars though, to accomodate all of the stitches as the shawl grows. I'd say you want a 32 inch minimum. Of course if you are using a thin, lace weight yarn you could probably get away with a 24 inch circular; if you are using a thicker, bulkier yarn you may need to use a longer needle.
A good place to start is go to the craft store or your LYS, find a yarn you like, and just swatch using the needle size recommended on the ball band. If you find that you want a looser fabric, try a larger needle; if you want a denser fabric, go down a needle size. There is no wrong way to do this, so don't be worried that you may be using the wrong needle for your yarn. If you are pleased with your swatch, then you are using the right yarn and needles.
My shawls pictured above are just garter stitch, as are the samples in the video. You can do garter stitch if you like, or stockinette - maybe even alternate a few rows of garter with a few rows of stockinette.
Below are only a few ways you can do a bottom up triangle shawl. If you don't like any of these looks, play around and see what you can come up with. I used a US size 10.5 Knitter's Pride Cubics needle in my samples, and the first three were done in Mulberry Merino yarn, and the last in Paton's Classic Wool.
The first sample is a mini shawl from cast on to bind off. Yours of course will be much bigger.
Cast on 3 stitches
Knit across, turn
K1, YO, knit to end
Repeat the K1, YO, knit to end until the shawl is as big as you want it to be. Bind off, weave in loose ends and block if you like.
The second sample is done by making the yarn over at the beginning of each row. This makes a very decorative edge along your shawl.
Cast on 3
Knit across, turn
YO, knit to end
Repeat from YO, knit to end until shawl is desired size
Our third sample also uses a yarn over increase, and will create a wider border than either of the two above. This also gives a less pointy tip to the shawl.
Cast on 5
Knit across, turn
Knit 3, YO, knit to end
Repeat from Knit 3, YO, knit to end until shawl is desired size
Maybe you don't like the look of yarn overs. You can do any increase you like and are comfortable with. In my sample below, I used the KFB increase - knit front and back of the stitch.
Cast on 3
Knit across, turn
K1, KFB, knit to end
Repeat from K1, KFB, knit to end until shawl is desired size
Here is a video showing how I did all of the samples. I hope this helps those of you thinking about making a triangle shawl, but aren't quite sure where to start.
I decided to do a tutorial on yarn overs, since there can (and is) often times a lot of confusion on the topic. When I first began knitting, I was good with the YO - yarn over. But then I started seeing things like yon, yrn, yfwd... I didn't quite understand what I was supposed to do. I thought it was a yarn over, but then again, it seemed different. It must be different, otherwise the pattern would just say YO, right? As a result, I avoided anything that contained these goofy instructions. Somewhere along the way, I figured out that these were all yarn overs, and the only difference was yon, yrn, etc. were there to indicate how the yarn was treated, depending on whether the next stitch was a knit or purl. These days, whenever I see any of these directions, I just make a yarn over and don't even worry if I am going over the needle, around the needle or whatever. I know my working yarn has to be in the front when I purl, and in the back when I knit, and that my yarn will be going over the needle. So I just throw the yarn over my needle, place it in the correct position, and make my next stitch. It really is that simple.
I know a lot of knitters are very passionate about this topic. For me, as I said above, they are all yarn overs, and I don't get too particular what "kind" of yarn over it is. I just do it. I knit to relax, and really don't need to stress over a hole in my knitting.
Here is a printable reference guide on yarn overs, including what to do when you forget to make one and what to do when you make one you don't need. There is also a video which demonstrates everything on the sheet. I hope this helps anyone who may be as confused as I was. Happy Knitting!
There are many different types of ruffles that you can add to your knitting in many different ways. I'm just going to cover a few simple ruffles here. If you like ruffles, you may want to check out Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein
First up is the simplest and most basic ruffle. It is just a gentle ruffle - nothing too frilly or over the top.
All you have to do is cast on twice as many stitches as you plan to use for your main pattern. Knit a few rows - I like the look of a stockinette ruffle, but you can certainly use garter stitch if you like; or experiment with different stitches such as seed stitch. After a few rows, you will need to decrease. Just work a row of K2tog - or P2tog even. So for instance, if you plan to work with 10 stitches and you've cast on 20, you will be removing 10 stitches on the decrease row and be left with the 10 you need for your project.
Next is a more ruffly ruffle. This one simply expands on the above idea. Cast on three times as many stitches as you plan to use for your main pattern, work a few rows, then decrease. You can simply work a row of K3tog or P3tog as the decrease, or you can flex your knitting brain and calculate how to work the decreases over the next two rows instead of just one. Knitting or purling 3 together can be a little tight/tricky, so you may opt for spreading the decreases out over two rows. For instance, let's again say you want to work with 10 stitches. You have 30. You could work the decreases this way: Next row, *K1, K2tog* along the row. This should leave you with 20 stitches. Next row, K2tog across the row, and you should have left the 10 stitches for your main pattern.
Finally, you can pick up and knit along the edge of a finished piece to make the ruffle. You want to add the ruffle to a finished edge, not live stitches. Ruffles need a nice, firm edge to hold on to. If you add a ruffle to live stitches, the ruffle will spread the fabric out.
Say you are knitting a scarf and want to add a ruffle to each end after the fact. To make the picking up easier, you may want to use the crochet cast on so that the cast on stitches are clearly defined and easy to pick up. Your standard knitted bind off also created a nice edge easy for picking up and knitting. I'm sure there are other cast ons and bind offs that will give you a nice edge to pick up, but since I typically just use the ho-hum knitted bind off and crochet cast on or long tail, I couldn't give an example of any others.
In this particular sample, I picked up 14 stitches along my cast on edge, then knit a few rows in stockinette, then increased big time. I knit into the front and back of each stitch in the next row, as well as making a yarn over between each stitch, totaling 42 stitches. I next worked a plain row and then bound off. This gave me a very ruffly, eyelet edge.
You can knit the ruffle as long as you like, but the longer it is, it will turn to a flounce as opposed to a ruffle. It's really all a matter of personal taste. So get out your yarn and needles and start playing. You might like the same method of making a ruffle in one type of yarn but not another. Experimenting is part of the fun of knitting.
Here is a video of the ruffles in this post. Happy Knitting!
