Introducing the Beautifully Blocked collection
Nov 27, 2020
I have recently republished a number of shawls originally designed for magazines in my first Beautifully Blocked collection.
I used to work in theatre production and in theatre “blocking” refers to working out the movement of a performance. These days, for me, my designs are my performance so we had a theatrical photoshoot to put these eight designs in the spotlight.
The patterns are available individually on Ravelry and Lovecrafts plus on Ravelry you can buy any three for the price of two or select all eight patterns for the special price of £30 (add all of them to your basket and use code BB30).
The eight shawls (clockwise from top left) are:
Inspired by semi-precious gemstones and designed to show off a luxurious laceweight yarn, the Facet shawl is made up of three triangular panels featuring a small and then large diamond pattern.
The shawl is worked from the centre top, increasing outwards thanks to yarnover increases and the edge of each panel.
Don’t be alarmed by the lace in this shawl - it is all created using simple decreases and yarn overs. Just take it one stitch at a time and you will have a beautiful wrap.
100g laceweight
Inspired by hand dyed yarns, this shawl is shaped using wedges of stocking stitch and lace created with short row shaping. This is actually quite simple and fully explained in the pattern. It is designed to show off a yarn with strong flashes of contrast colour in a yarn that is at least 50% a solid main colour.
Colourway used for the sample is Cosmic Girl on BFL Bamboo 4ply Fingering by The Wool Kitchen.
200g 4ply
Who says a rectangular stole has to be knitted from end to end? This wrap is worked from corner to corner, using increases and decreases to create the wrap shape. This creates a bias fabric with lovely drape with the lace running in diagonal stripes. This is fun and adaptable way of making wraps and makes for an interesting knit.
100g laceweight
This is the shawl that I imagine Bathsheba Everdene, Grace Melbury or Tess Durbeyfield
wrapping themselves in. Made with soft but robust West Country wool and richly coloured, it
features a Victorian stitch pattern for the knit on edge.
The half hexagon shawl has three triangular panels and is worked out from a garter stitch tab
and provisional cast on. It is worked in rows on a circular needle.
200g 4-ply
Graduated mini skeins and garter stitch stripes create the gentle colour change in this asymmetric shawlette which ends in a ripple pattern.
It is inspired by the Donegal sea views of my childhood where the shades of the water would subtly change as the waves came into the beach.
175g 4-ply in total
The combination of silk and seacell (seaweed sourced fibre) creates a lovely light, draping fabric that is perfect for a glamorous wrap. The stole is begun with a provisional cast-on and knit in two directions outwards. The lace pattern is presented both in charts and in written form.
200g 4-ply
This long draping stole is made is fine Shetland wool in a natural shade that will work with any colour.
The stitch patterns are adapted from traditional Shetland lace patterns. Drape it over your shoulders to combat a breeze on a summer evening or wrap it round your neck as we move into autumn.
The stole is made in two parts and grafted at the centre for symmetry.
125g laceweight
As light as a snowflake, this shawl features wide band of zigzag lace pattern. The shawl is worked in segments, using short-row shaping with wraps and turns to show the gradient of the yarn to best effect. Each wrong side row of the segment is shorter than the previous one, to create the wedge shapes.
100g laceweight