This should have been last week’s post; but life happened, so today I get to introduce you to my Overland shawl!
Overland is published by Quince & Co. This design should have come out almost 2 months ago, but ran late due to supply/shipping hiccups with their linen yarns. In the meantime, it’s been really, really hard to hide it! I started working on it last October and have teased it once or twice on the blog, but it’s a relief to not have to keep quiet about it any longer!
This shawl is an asymmetrical triangle with alternating bands of reverse stockinette and openwork (yay double yarnovers!). Twisted stitches run across both, unifying the design. I’ve designed many shawls that were more complex, but I’m still thrilled with this one. Other than a few setup rows, the entire shawl is worked from just 2 charts, which are interchangeable, meaning that it can be customized to any size and the alternating bands can be of any width. Want mostly solid fabric with only a hint of lace? Work fewer repeats of the lace and more of the reverse stockinette. Want your shawl to be all lace? You can do that too. What about making the bands of the same width, but making them narrower or wider than in the sample? No problem. It’s truly the most adaptable design I’ve created so far, which is super exciting to me.
This design was created specifically for their Aran-weight linen tape yarn, Kestrel. Kestrel is essentially a flattened tube of spun linen that looks more like a ribbon than a yarn; it’s a thick yarn but is light, airy, breezy, and swingy. It’s the perfect quick-knit summer yarn. It also comes in an array of gorgeous colors, so I definitely want to add shawls in other colors to my wardrobe at some future point. After all, the shawl only requires 4 skeins at this size (there are also instructions in the pattern for a larger size.) Meanwhile, I am eagerly awaiting the return of my sample, which is currently touring the country on a trunk show. My shawl will have been to more places than me by the time it comes back to me. Huh.
Overland is available on Ravelry and on Quince’s website as an individual pattern and as part of their Linen II: Kestrel collection.
So that’s it for today—I’m excited to hear what you think about this shawl!
