Midnight Harvest

Midnight Harvest Shawl by Cozy Up Knits

What is Being Made

Midnight Harvest is a large triangular shawl designed by Cozy Up Knits. This downloadable knitting pattern produces a finished shawl measuring 64 inches in length and 33 inches in depth, making it a substantial wrap suitable for layering or wearing as a statement piece. The shawl is constructed using a combination of yarn weights and fiber types to create visual interest and unique texture.

Yarn Materials and Construction Method

This pattern employs a creative multi-strand knitting technique. The shawl is knit by holding three strands of yarn simultaneously: two strands of fingering weight yarn and one strand of lace weight mohair. The total yardage required includes 4 skeins of fingering weight yarn (430 yards per 100 grams each) and 2 skeins of lace weight mohair (430 yards per 50 grams each). The pattern notes suggest splitting all skeins into 50-gram balls to allow for flexible color changes throughout the project. There is no required color sequence; knitters are encouraged to alternate colors however they prefer, making each finished shawl unique.

Needles and Gauge

The pattern calls for size 6mm (US 10) needles with a long cord, as the stitch count becomes quite large during construction. The blocked garter gauge is 13.5 stitches and 14.5 rows over 4 inches when worked in garter stitch.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

Midnight Harvest incorporates several intermediate-level knitting techniques appropriate for knitters with foundational skills. The pattern uses the following stitches and abbreviations:

• Basic stitches: knit (k) and purl (p) stitches form the foundation
• Increase stitches: kfbf (knit into the front, back, and front again of the next stitch), which creates a double increase, and kfb (knit into the front and back of next stitch), a single increase
• Slip stitches: sl3wyif (slip 3 stitches with yarn in front), used as part of the 3-stitch edging
• Pick-up technique: pu&k (pick up and knit stitch), allowing for seamless integration of new sections
• Marker management: pm (place marker) and sm (slip marker) to track pattern repeats and construction sections

Pattern Structure and Edging

The shawl features a 3-stitch edging that is worked throughout. At the beginning of rows, knitters work k3 (knit 3 stitches), and at the end of rows, they work sl3wyif (slip 3 stitches with yarn in front). This creates a neat, finished edge. The pattern uses markers to denote specific sections, indicated by the notation "bm" (before marker), helping knitters track increases and pattern progression as the shawl grows from a small cast-on to its full 64-inch length.

Difficulty Level

Midnight Harvest is rated as an intermediate knitting project. While it uses fundamental knitting stitches, the combination of working with multiple yarn strands simultaneously, managing increases, and maintaining a large stitch count on circular needles requires solid foundational knitting skills and comfort with reading pattern abbreviations and managing shawl construction.