385 Iced Branch Shawl - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Longmeadow

385 Iced Branch Shawl – Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Longmeadow

The 385 Iced Branch Shawl is a beautifully detailed knitted shawl pattern designed for women, published by Valley Yarns and worked in their Longmeadow yarn. This downloadable PDF pattern produces an elegant, lace-edged shawl featuring a central panel of intricate branching lace motifs flanked by symmetrically increasing side sections, creating a graceful, wing-like silhouette. The finished piece is ideal as a lightweight wrap, a decorative accessory for layering, or a special handmade gift.

Skill Level and Suitability

This pattern is rated advanced beginner, making it an excellent next step for knitters who have mastered basic knit and purl stitches and are ready to explore simple lace techniques. While the center panel introduces a repeating lace sequence, the structured row-by-row instructions and the straightforward increase system on the side sections keep the overall project approachable. Knitters comfortable with yarn overs and basic decreases will find this pattern a rewarding and confidence-building project.

Construction and Technique

The Iced Branch Shawl is worked flat, meaning all rows are knitted back and forth on straight or circular needles rather than in the round. The shawl begins with a cast-on of 29 stitches and an initial four-row garter tab or border foundation. From there, the fabric grows outward symmetrically on both sides through a series of yarn-over increases worked on every right-side row, while the center lace panel remains a fixed-width feature running the full length of the shawl.

Stitch markers play an important structural role in this pattern. Type A markers delineate the individual increase sections on either side of the center, while Type B markers frame the 19-stitch center lace panel. On every right-side row, the knitter works yarn-over increases up to each marker, slips the markers, and then executes the corresponding row of the center panel chart between the B markers before mirroring the increases on the opposite side. Wrong-side rows are worked as straightforward purl rows with a two-stitch garter border maintained at each edge.

The Center Lace Panel

The heart of this shawl is its 19-stitch center panel, which features a 10-row repeat of lace patterning on right-side rows, with all wrong-side rows purled. This panel evokes the look of delicate iced or frosted branches, giving the shawl its name. The lace motif is achieved through a carefully balanced combination of increases and decreases that maintain the stitch count within the panel throughout.

Stitches and Techniques Used in the Center Panel

• Yarn over (yo) – the primary lace increase, creating the open, airy eyelets that define the branching pattern
• Ssk (slip, slip, knit) – a left-leaning decrease paired with yarn overs to shape the lace
• K2tog (knit two together) – a right-leaning decrease used symmetrically alongside ssk
• K3tog (knit three together) – a strong right-leaning double decrease used at key points in the pattern
• Sl2tog-k1-p2sso – a centered double decrease worked by slipping two stitches together knitwise, knitting one, then passing the slipped stitches over; creates a neat, symmetrical decrease point
• Sl1-k2tog-psso – another centered double decrease, slipping one stitch, knitting two together, then passing the slipped stitch over
• Standard knit and purl stitches – used throughout to build the fabric between lace elements

Shawl Body Increases

• Yarn over increases worked at each marked section on every right-side row, expanding the shawl width evenly and creating a soft, lacy edge along the increase lines
• Garter stitch border – a two-stitch knit border maintained at both edges on all rows for a clean, non-curling selvedge

Materials