Shawl

I've started working on a shawl with a pattern from a book called Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman. It is called Garter Lace Triangle Shawl. I've knit this shawl pattern before and found it to be a real treasure. The first time I knit it I had a fairly bulky weight peach woolen homespun yarn it turned out to be simply lovely. It was very soft and cozy and it made me think of soft kittens curling up. The next time I knit it I used a light grey coarse wool with stripes of woad dyed woolen yarn, that I spun myself. It too was lovely though not as soft as the peach version. It had a much more hardy look and would have been "in the olden days" considered a working shawl. So yesterday, I decided to knit the same pattern again and this time I am using an ivory coloured yarn that I spun worsted to enhance its lovely sheen. This yarn is called Karaoke and is a combination of merino, and soysilk. I spun it fairly finely at about sport weight. Once again I am pleased with the results so far.
I love shawls because they are triangles of perfection and I have knit many. I have also woven many too. I tend to pick patterns that I like and knit them over and over trying different types of yarn to see what each yarn will bring to the pattern. This pattern could easily be adjusted to turn it into a sweater or a blanket just by changing the increases or not having increases at all to suit the shaping of your chosen garment.
Drape is an important factor in considering the perfect fibre for a shawl. The yarn you use should be knit loosely but not so loosely that the stitches become holes (unless that is the effect you are trying to achieve). The sport weight yarn that I am using is being knit on 3.25 mm knitting needles. This is fine but I would have liked this shawl to be a bit drapeier. I did try a size 3.00 mm knitting needle however, that was definitely too tight. Then I tried it on a 4.00 mm knitting needle and that was too loose. So I didn't have 3.50 mm knitting needles so I chose a pair of 3.25 mm knitting needles. #.75 might have been better too but I didn't have them either. Soysilk feels a little like cotton when it is being knit with very little memory and so that also detracts from the drape of the shawl. Still this shawl is pleasing to touch and I feel it will be fine when it is finished.