747 Montaine Shawl - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Pocumtuck

747 Montaine Shawl – Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Pocumtuck

The 747 Montaine Shawl is a beautifully crafted knitting pattern designed by Sara Delaney, worked in the luxurious Valley Yarns Pocumtuck. This pattern produces a large, elegant triangular shawl with a finished size of 58 inches wide on the longest side and 25 inches long at the point — generous enough to drape dramatically over the shoulders or wrap warmly around the neck. The design is described as a decadent cashmere shawl, and every element of the construction supports that sense of refined indulgence.

Construction Method

One of the most distinctive features of the Montaine Shawl is its sideways construction. Rather than being worked from the top down or from the center out — as many shawls are — this piece is knitted from side to side, with decreases worked throughout to create the triangular shape. This approach has a practical and motivating benefit: the row count shortens as the project progresses, meaning the knitting naturally speeds up as you near the end. It is a clever and rewarding construction method that keeps the project feeling fresh and achievable.

Techniques Used

The Montaine Shawl is worked flat (back and forth in rows) and combines two primary textural elements that alternate in undulating bands across the fabric:

• Seed Stitch: A classic knitting texture created by alternating knit and purl stitches across each row, then reversing them on the following row so that knit stitches sit over purls and vice versa. Seed stitch produces a beautifully dense, pebbly fabric with excellent drape-stability, and it forms the structural backbone of this shawl in multiple bands throughout the design.
• Hourglass Lace: A lace pattern worked over a multiple of 6 stitches, incorporating yarn-overs (yo), ssk (slip, slip, knit — a left-leaning decrease), and k2tog (knit two together — a right-leaning decrease). These paired decreases flanking yarn-overs create the open, decorative eyelets characteristic of lace knitting. The hourglass motif gives the lace bands a graceful, symmetrical quality that contrasts beautifully with the solid texture of the seed stitch sections.
• Integrated Shaping: Decreases such as k2tog and p2tog are worked at the beginning of wrong-side rows throughout the seed stitch bands, and a simple knit decrease row transitions between the lace and seed stitch sections. This keeps the shaping seamless and continuous rather than concentrated in one area.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k) and Purl (p) — the foundational stitches forming the seed stitch texture
• k2tog — right-leaning decrease used in both shaping and lace
• ssk — left-leaning decrease used in the Hourglass Lace pattern
• p2tog — purl decrease used in seed stitch band shaping
• Yarn Over (yo) — creates the open eyelets in the lace sections

Materials

The pattern calls for 3 skeins of Valley Yarns Pocumtuck, a sumptuous 100% cashmere yarn that comes in 50g skeins with approximately 165 yards per skein. The sample is shown in color 011 Moss Green, a rich, earthy tone that perfectly complements the organic, nature-inspired feel of the design. The combination of cashmere's incredible softness and warmth with the open lace panels makes this shawl as practical as it is beautiful.

Knitters will need US Size 7 (4.50mm) needles, or the size needed to achieve the pattern gauge of 18 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches in seed stitch. Achieving gauge is particularly important in a shawl of this size, as even small variations can significantly affect the finished dimensions.

Difficulty and Suitability