Blacklock

Blacklock Shawl by Taiga Hilliard Designs

What is Being Made

Blacklock is a super-chunky knit shawl featuring a delicate leaf motif lace pattern. This is an exceptionally quick knitting project, requiring only 21 to 23 rows of knitting total. The design offers two size options—a smaller and larger version—making it adaptable to different preferences and yarn quantities. This shawl is designed to provide cozy warmth while showcasing an elegant lace detail.

Techniques Used

The Blacklock shawl employs fundamental lace knitting techniques combined with strategic shaping. The construction begins with a long-tail cast-on and progresses through charted and written lace rows. The pattern uses a repeating motif structure that creates the leaf design across the width of the shawl. Both written instructions and stitch charts are provided, allowing knitters to follow their preferred method. The shawl is worked flat in rows, with clear designation of right-side and wrong-side rows to guide proper stitch orientation and pattern placement.

Stitches Used

This intermediate-level pattern incorporates several essential knitting stitches and techniques:

• Knit (K) – The foundation stitch used throughout the pattern
• Purl (P) – Used on wrong-side rows to create texture and structure
• Yarn Over (YO) – Creates the openwork lace characteristic of the leaf motif
• Knit Two Together (K2tog) – A right-leaning decrease that shapes the lace pattern
• Slip, Slip, Knit (SSK) – A left-leaning decrease that balances the K2tog decreases
• Centered Double Decrease (CDD) – Slip 2 stitches as if to knit, knit 1, then pass the slipped stitches over the knit stitch for a centered decrease
• Slip Marker (Sm) and Place Marker (Pm) – Used to track pattern repeats and shaping sections

Materials and Specifications

The Blacklock shawl is designed to be knit with super-chunky weight yarn, specifically tested with Madelinetosh ASAP and Malabrigo Rasta. The pattern requires US 19 (15.0 mm) needles, or whatever size is necessary to achieve the specified gauge of 6.0 stitches over 4 inches. The yardage requirement is modest, ranging from 90 to 150 yards depending on which size you choose to knit. The smaller size begins with a cast-on of 31 stitches, while the larger size uses 40 stitches. This minimal yardage requirement makes Blacklock an ideal project for using yarn scraps or exploring new colorways without significant material investment.