This is one of the most unusual shawls/stoles I’ve made and one of the most beautiful. The asymmetrical design makes it very modern and also helped to reduce the boring factor of knitting with the same yarn for months. I don’t remember when I started this, but I believe it was last fall and I finished it July 15.
While knitting it I thought the pink was too feminine and too school-girlish for me and that it would be more appropriate for a teenager or twenty-something. Now that I see it blocked and with the beads it still looks feminine, yet sophisticated and I believe would be quite striking worn over black or brown or a deep blue. Or as part of a wedding ensemble if you were so inclined.
Pattern: Hanami by Pink Lemon Twist See the site for an explanation of the symbolism behind the design.
Yarn: Heaven by Yarn Place, “Cotton Candy”, 45% tencel, 55% merino cobweb lace weight used double. (3100 yards, 120 grams/skein) I used less than one skein. Unfortunately the color of this yarn doesn’t photograph well, but it’s a clear strong pink. Their website shows a good picture of it.
Beads: Size 8 Round, clear with silver lining.
Size: 23 inches wide by 72 inches long. This is wider than the pattern called for but a perfect width for me. The stole was less than 60 inches before blocking so this yarn has a lot of give.
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace US 3. Love these, need more.
Modifications: I made several modifications: I increased the repeats from 4 to 6, hence the extra width.
The second modification was to incorporate beads into the second half of the shawl. When purling back, I added a bead at every yarn over, attaching them with a crochet hook. It was a little slow but since I was only adding the beads every 12th row it wasn’t a major obstacle. As the yarn overs increased in number (as the blossoms got heavier), I decreased the interval between bead rows; adding beads every 10 rows, then 8, then 6, then 4.
I only did two repeats of the last chart (G) because I wasn’t sure how I would like the repeat for that long a part of the shawl. I was concerned it would look too rigid in comparison to the rest of the pattern. I like the shawl the length it is and if I had done all 8 repeats it would probably have grown another foot, so the decision worked out for the best.
Finally, I made the ruffle two rows longer and also added beads to the purl row just before the cast off.
Unfortunately when blocking the stole, I found a few places in the first section where I didn’t catch both strands of yarn so I had to do some repair work. It’s mostly invisible from a galloping horse, but I wouldn’t submit this for judging.
Thumbs up on this design. I enjoyed knitting it and didn’t find it all that difficult. The beaded cast on was a little tricky but the designer provides good instructions.
Beautiful. Cannot wait to see it in person. It is too bad the color doesn’t come across well, but I suspect that pink can have a tendancy to do that in a bright light, and you know how I love pink. See you and Hanami tomorrow! Kathy
Your Hanami is gorgeous! Great job!