Wacky Shawl Construction: The Headwind Shawl
I love a shawl with funky construction. Modular, short-rows, knitted-on edgings—they all make my knitterly heart go pitter-pat. Any project that makes me pause and look more closely at it is sure to end up in my queue. Jennifer Miller Comstock’s Headwind Shawl from knitscene Spring 2019 is just that kind of shawl.
At first glance, the Headwind Shawl looks like a simple mesh-lace wrap. But take a second look—there’s more going on here. First, it’s Z-shaped, not rectangular. Second, it’s made up of a bunch of triangles, and they don’t look like they’re worked back and forth in rows. And where does the yellow yarn come in? Are those seams?
Nope, no seams on this piece! The Headwind Shawl is composed of eight equilateral triangles, each worked in the round from the outside edge to the center. Each subsequent triangle is picked up from one edge of the previous, thus joining the triangles as they are worked; the yellow trim makes up the cast-on stitches. The pattern even provides a diagram to explain how all the pieces are joined and worked without any seams.
Isn’t that terribly clever? This is definitely a shawl I need to make! (Jennifer Miller Comstock has a knack for unique shawl construction—check out her non-planar Star Cradle Wrap from Interweave Knits Winter 2019 too!)
Pattern Details
FINISHED SIZE 66″ wide and 20″ tall.
YARN Jagger Spun Zephyr 2/18 Lace (50% Merino wool, 50% tussah silk; 560 yd [512 m]/1¾ oz [50 g]): teal (MC), 2 skeins; chrome (yellow; CC), 1 skein.
NEEDLES Size 8 (5 mm): 16″ and 32″ circular (cir) and set of double-pointed (dpn). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
NOTIONS Markers (m); tapestry needle.
GAUGE 14 sts and 26 rnds = 4″ in Mesh Lace patt.
Stretch your brain and cast on a Headwind Shawl!
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