Ellwood

Ellwood Shawl by Petra Christel Breakstone

What is Being Made

The Ellwood is a dramatic knitted shawl featuring an unconventional silhouette created through strategic shaping and directional changes. When blocked, the shawl measures 8 feet from tip to tip with a maximum height of 19 inches, making it a substantial triangular or crescent-shaped accessory. The design showcases striking visual interest through planned color and texture transitions throughout the piece.

Construction Method and Shaping

This shawl is knitted entirely in one continuous piece, employing a multi-directional construction technique. The knitting begins with an increasing half crescent shape that forms the foundational section. Once this initial phase is complete, the knitter picks up stitches along an edge and changes direction to knit perpendicular to the original work. This directional shift allows for the introduction of wave-like stitch patterns, followed by a series of decreased waves that create textural depth and movement. The pattern concludes with an unexpected top stitching detail that adds a finishing flourish to the overall design.

Stitches and Techniques Used

The Ellwood employs fundamental knitting techniques combined with strategic increases and decreases to achieve its dramatic shape:

• Knit stitch (K) - the basic foundation stitch throughout the piece
• Knit 2 together (K2tog) - a right-leaning decrease used to create the decreased wave sections
• Knit front and back (KFB) - an increase technique used during the initial crescent shaping phase
• Knit yarn over knit (KYOK) - a lace-making technique that creates a yarn over increase by knitting 1, creating a yarn over, and knitting 1 again all into the same stitch, adding openwork and texture
• Cast on (CO) - the foundation row to begin the shawl

Yarn and Materials

The Ellwood pattern calls for a carefully curated blend of yarns to achieve its distinctive color and texture changes. The primary yarn component is one skein of Yarnology totaling 238 yards, which features seven distinct color variations (C1 through C7) in varying weights and textures. These colors and weights progress as follows: C1 in Sport weight, C2 in Fingering weight, C3 in Sport weight, C4 in DK weight, C5 in Fingering weight, C6 in Sport weight, and C7 in DK weight. Additionally, the pattern incorporates two skeins of Bambon yarn, each containing 154 yards in DK weight with a bamboo blend fiber content. This combination of multiple yarn weights and textures—ranging from delicate Fingering to heavier DK—creates the visual drama and dimensional quality that defines the Ellwood's character.

Difficulty Level

The Ellwood is rated as an intermediate knitting project, making it suitable for knitters with foundational skills who are ready to explore more complex shaping and directional techniques. The pattern includes both written instructions and charts, along with a photo tutorial for the finishing details, providing multiple learning formats to support successful completion.

Pattern Format

This design is available as a downloadable PDF pattern that includes comprehensive written instructions, stitch charts for visual reference, and photographic guidance for the final finishing touches.