WNW: Textured Waves Shawl

What's New Wednesday

I had a lot of fun working up the Textured Waves Shawl in the new Spring Issue of Crochet! Magazine. The design was inspired by a stitch pattern I found in a Japanese Stitch dictionary I picked up at Vogue Knitting Live in Seattle last spring.

Although I often start with inspiration from a stitch dictionary, the stitch pattern seldom stays the same as I play with the stitches. I was intrigued by the changing stitch heights combined with rows of front and back post single crochets.

The post stitch rows create ridges between the waves and are alternated front and back so there are ridges on every other wave on both sides. By skipping every other stitch to create the dips in the waves, you get the open lacy look of a 'feather and fan' pattern.

Although it is worked in fingering weight yarn, this is a very quick project to work up, on a nice big J (6.00mm) hook. The hand dyed Jitterbug yarn I used for the sample comes from Colinette Yarns, in Wales.

I have had the pleasure of doing a lot of designs with Colinette yarns lately, and just LOVE the rich, multi-tonal colors they have. Jitterbug seems to be spun a little more densely than some fingering weight yarns, so a different yarn may give you even more drape. But I tend to wear my shawls more as scarves, wrapped around my neck, and have been enjoying wearing this sample when I head out on a cold evening.