Working up a simple design can sometimes be more difficult than working up a complicated one. It is easy to keep adding elements to a design, more stitch patterning, more shaping, more... bobbles... But paring one down to a few simple elements, maybe only one stitch pattern and a simple shape for an easy knit is something I find really difficult.
When I came across this skein of luscious Cashmere Merino at my local yarn shop it was the color that drew me in, something about the deep burgundy, rich cream and acidic yellow/green just works so well. I bought it on a whim and thought I would just find a nice simple one skein project to whip up. But all the projects that worked best with variegated yarn were too simple, and not pretty enough. This particular skein was just... rich, royal, pretty, lux, it needed something more than just garter stitch. It needed scalloped edges and lace, it needed some sort of simple shaping, it needed short rows, it needed to be designed!
And here we are.
This shawl uses a stitch pattern that is a combination of Feather and Fan, Seed Stitch and Ribbing. Worked from the bottom up it has short rows to create the triangular shape, they are the same for each repeat of the pattern and so are pretty easy to work. After the triangle is complete all stitches are worked across with a variation of the stitch pattern for the border.
After I completed the first version I just had to know what a striping version would look like. I had a skein of Knitpicks Chroma in my stash and thought it would be fun to have two samples that show how the stitch pattern works with variegated yarn and the shaping works with striping yarn.
