Mauka Garter Stitch-Striped Shawl in SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock - Downloadable PDF

Mauka Garter Stitch-Striped Shawl by Tabetha Hedrick – Pattern Summary

The Mauka Garter Stitch-Striped Shawl is a beautifully structured knitted shawl designed by Tabetha Hedrick and published by SweetGeorgia Yarns. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern produces a stunning hexagonal semi-circular shawl with a finished wingspan of 56 inches (142 cm) and a center-back-to-edge depth of 21½ inches (54.5 cm). It is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it an engaging and rewarding project for knitters who have moved beyond the basics and are ready to explore structured shaping combined with decorative lace.

What Is Being Made

The Mauka shawl is a large, wearable accessory designed to drape elegantly over the shoulders. Its hexagonal semi-circular silhouette is achieved through carefully placed increases that radiate outward from a central starting point at the center-back neck. The design builds gradually through garter stitch stripes before culminating in a gorgeous lace border that adds a refined, decorative finish. The interplay of two contrasting colors gives the shawl its signature striped character, while the lace edging elevates it from a simple everyday wrap to a polished, style-forward piece.

Construction and Techniques

The shawl is worked top-down, beginning at the center-back neck with just 5 cast-on stitches and growing outward through a series of systematic increases. This top-down construction allows knitters to watch the shawl bloom organically as they work, making the process as satisfying as the finished object. Key construction techniques include:

• Top-down shaping starting from the center-back neck
• Increases on both right-side and wrong-side rows, which is a notable feature of this pattern and contributes to the smooth, even growth of the hexagonal shape
• Two-color striping using a main color (MC) and a contrast color (CC), alternated in a repeating sequence to create the garter stitch stripe pattern
• Lace border worked at the end of the shawl body to create a decorative, open-work edging
• Stitch marker placement to track the five increase points that define the hexagonal structure

Stitches Used

The Mauka shawl draws on a focused but expressive set of stitches and techniques. The body relies primarily on garter stitch — knitting every row — which creates a squishy, reversible fabric with natural stretch that is ideal for a shawl. The striping effect is achieved by alternating between the MC and CC yarns in a consistent row sequence. The lace border introduces additional stitch techniques. Specific stitches and abbreviations used in the pattern include:

• Knit (K) — the foundation of the garter stitch fabric throughout the body
• Purl (P) — used selectively within the pattern
• Yarn over (yo) — used extensively for increases and to create the open, airy quality of the lace border
• Double yarn over (yo2) — worked on one row and resolved on the following row as k1, k-tbl, adding decorative detail
• Knit through back of loop (k tbl) — used in conjunction with the double yarn over
• Knit 2 together (k2tog) — a right-slanting decrease used in shaping and lace sections
• Bind off (BO) and cast on (CO) techniques to begin and finish the piece

The garter stitch stripe sequence follows a repeating six-row structure, with increases placed at the edges and at five internal marker points on right-side rows, and edge increases only on wrong-side rows. This creates the characteristic hexagonal spread of the shawl.

Materials – Yarn and Needles

The pattern is specifically written for SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock, a 3-ply yarn in a fing