Levante Shawl in Berroco Remix Light - 386-3 - Downloadable PDF

Levante Shawl by Brenda York – Knitting Pattern Summary (Berroco Remix Light, PDF #386-3)

The Levante Shawl is an elegant, intermediate-level knitting pattern designed by Brenda York and published by Berroco as part of Booklet #386. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern produces a single, generously sized rectangular shawl with graceful lace detailing and carefully shaped corners. After blocking, the finished piece measures approximately 58 inches long by 17 inches wide at its widest point, making it a versatile accessory suitable for draping over the shoulders or wearing as a wrap.

What Is Being Made

The Levante is a one-size shawl or wrap worked flat from one end to the other. Its silhouette is shaped through a structured increase section, a long even center section, and a corresponding decrease section, giving it a symmetrical, refined profile. The combination of a repeating lace pattern stitch and charted lace motifs creates visual texture across the entire fabric, while short rows refine the corner shaping before and after the even center section. The result is a lightweight, airy accessory that benefits significantly from blocking to open up the lace and achieve the stated finished dimensions.

Construction and Techniques

The Levante Shawl is worked flat on straight needles, meaning every row is worked back and forth rather than in the round. Several key techniques come together to create the finished fabric:

• Lace knitting: The primary visual interest of the shawl comes from lace patterning worked throughout. Lace in knitting is created by pairing yarn-overs — which add a stitch and create an eyelet hole — with decreases such as p2tog (purl two together), which remove a stitch to maintain the stitch count. This interplay of increases and decreases produces the characteristic open, decorative fabric associated with lace shawls.
• Short rows: Short rows are used specifically to shape the corners of the shawl before and after the even center section. In short-row shaping, the knitter works only partway across a row, turns the work, and works back, creating extra rows in one section of the fabric. This technique allows the shawl to curve or angle at the corners without adding or removing stitches across the full width.
• Charted lace sections: The pattern is organized into three distinct charted sections. Chart A (Rows 1–52) is worked once during the increase section. Chart B (Rows 53–72) forms the repeating center of the shawl and is worked multiple times to achieve the desired length. Chart C (Rows 73–124) is worked once to complete the shawl. Reading and following knitting charts is an important skill at the intermediate level, as charts represent the right-side and wrong-side rows visually using symbols.
• Stitch markers: Two stitch markers are used throughout to delineate the central spine stitch from the pattern stitch sections on either side, helping the knitter track placement of increases and pattern repeats.
• Make One (M1) increases: During the increase section, M1 increases are worked alongside the central marker to expand the stitch count and shape the shawl from its cast-on edge outward.

Pattern Stitch Detail

The Pattern Stitch is a six-stitch repeat that runs along the edges of the shawl throughout. It is a simple two-row repeat:

• Row 1 (RS): K4, yo, p2tog
• Row 2: K2, yo, p2tog, k2

This compact lace edging stitch creates a neat, textured border that complements the larger charted lace motifs in the body of the shawl. Because the yarn-over and decrease are paired within the same row, the stitch count remains constant, making it a stable and manageable edging even for knitters who are newer to lace techniques.

Structure of the Shawl

The shawl begins with a cast-on of just 9 stitches and grows through the increase section as Chart A is worked. By the completion of Row 42 of Chart A, the stitch count has grown to 29 stitches. The shawl then transitions into the even center section, where Chart B is repeated as