Buchanan Shawl in SweetGeorgia Merino Silk Fine - Downloadable PDF

Buchanan Shawl in SweetGeorgia Merino Silk Fine – Pattern Summary

The Buchanan Shawl is an elegant, side-to-side knitted shawl designed by Grace Verhagen for SweetGeorgia Yarns. Released as a downloadable PDF, this intermediate-level knitting pattern is thoughtfully engineered to make the most of a single luxurious skein of yarn, ensuring not a single yard goes to waste. Its clever construction and adaptable sizing make it a rewarding project for knitters who are ready to move beyond basic shawl shapes and explore more refined techniques.

What Is Being Made

The Buchanan Shawl is a side-to-side shawl, meaning it is knitted horizontally from one end to the other rather than from a central spine or top-down. This construction method creates a graceful, flowing fabric with a distinctive drape. The pattern includes two size options:

• Slim Version: Height of 12" / 30 cm and length of 58" / 148 cm
• Wide Version: Height of 16½" / 42 cm and length of 52" / 133 cm

Both versions are designed to be worn as a shawl or wrap, and the finished dimensions make either option suitable for draping around the shoulders or wearing as a lightweight scarf-style accessory. The shawl is structured around an increase section followed by a decrease section, with the midpoint of the yarn supply serving as the natural turning point — a practical and elegant design feature.

Construction and Design Details

One of the most distinctive features of the Buchanan Shawl pattern is its yarn-adaptive construction. Rather than requiring a fixed yardage, the pattern instructs knitters to weigh their yarn before casting on and again at the midpoint. When half the yarn has been used, the knitter transitions from the increase section to the decrease section. This approach works equally well with handspun yarns or any luxury skein where the knitter wants to use every last inch of fiber. Charts for all written instructions are included at the end of the PDF, offering a visual reference alongside the written directions.

Techniques Used

The Buchanan Shawl is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it ideal for knitters who have moved past beginner projects and are comfortable with a handful of more nuanced skills. The key techniques required include:

• Lace knitting – A basic understanding of lace structure is required, including working yarn-overs and maintaining stitch counts through decorative eyelets and openwork sections.
• Short rows using wrap and turn (W&T) – Short rows are used to shape the shawl as it grows from one side to the other. Knitters must be comfortable picking up wraps as they encounter them to avoid gaps or dropped stitches. The pattern specifically notes that any yarn-overs completed before a wrap and turn must not be lost.
• Increase and decrease shaping – The shawl grows through a structured increase section and then mirrors that growth in a decrease section, creating a symmetrical, well-balanced finished shape.

Short rows are a technique in which the knitter turns the work before reaching the end of a row, working back in the opposite direction. This creates extra fabric in specific areas without adding full rows across the entire piece. In the Buchanan Shawl, this technique is central to achieving the side-to-side shaping that gives the design its character.

Stitches Used

The primary stitch structure of the Buchanan Shawl is worked in stockinette stitch, which forms the base fabric and is used as the gauge reference. Lace elements are incorporated through yarn-overs, which create the decorative openwork typical of shawl knitting. The combination of stockinette and lace detailing gives the finished shawl a refined texture that showcases the sheen and drape of the recommended yarn beautifully.

Gauge

The pattern specifies a gauge of 28 stitches and 34 rows = 4" / 10 cm in stockinette stitch, after blocking. While exact gauge is noted as not essential, deviating from it will affect the finished dimensions of the shawl and the total amount of yarn consumed.

Materials

Yarn