Summer Trellis Shawl

Summer Trellis Shawl by Susan Hanlon

Project Overview

Summer Trellis is a rectangular knitted shawl designed by Susan Hanlon as a lightweight layering piece that functions as an alternative to a jacket. This intermediate-level knitting project features an elegant lace construction that creates an open, breathable fabric ideal for warm-weather wear. The shawl is worked in a repeating eight-row lace pattern that produces a trellis-like visual effect across the fabric.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a rectangular shawl with generous dimensions. When unblocked, the finished shawl measures 57 inches long by 10 inches wide. After blocking, the dimensions expand to 73 inches long by 17.5 inches wide, allowing the lace pattern to fully open and bloom. The increased width after blocking demonstrates the dramatic effect that wet blocking has on lace garments, transforming a narrow rectangle into a more substantial wrap suitable for draping across the shoulders.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

The Summer Trellis shawl employs several fundamental lace-knitting techniques that create its signature trellis pattern. The eight-row repeat uses a combination of decreases and yarn overs to form the openwork design.

• Yarn overs (yo2): Double yarn overs create larger eyelets within the lace pattern, contributing to the open, airy quality of the finished fabric.
• Decreases: Knit two together (k2tog) and slip, slip, knit (ssk) decreases are paired with yarn overs to maintain stitch count while creating directional shaping in the lace.
• Stocking stitch: The base fabric between lace motifs is worked in stocking stitch (knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows), providing structure and contrast to the openwork sections.
• Twisted stitches: Knit through the back loop (k1tbl) appears in the pattern, adding textural variation and helping to prevent distortion in certain areas of the lace.

The pattern begins with a cast-on of 70 stitches, though the designer notes that the width can be easily adjusted by adding or subtracting multiples of 4 stitches. This flexibility allows knitters to customize the shawl to their preferred dimensions while maintaining the integrity of the lace repeat.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

Summer Trellis is designed for DK-weight yarn, requiring approximately 615 yards (560 meters) of yarn to complete the project. The pattern is shown knitted in Rowan Wool Cotton in the colorway Dream, a blend of 50% merino wool and 50% cotton that provides both warmth and breathability. This fiber content is particularly well-suited to the shawl's intended purpose as a lightweight summer layer.

The pattern recommends using 5mm needles with the specified DK-weight yarn. The gauge is established at 18 stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches in stocking stitch, which helps knitters ensure proper fit and fabric drape.

Pattern Adaptability

One of the strengths of the Summer Trellis design is its flexibility. While the pattern is shown in DK-weight yarn, Susan Hanlon notes that it could easily be adapted to any yarn weight by adjusting the number of stitches cast on. This means knitters working with fingering-weight, sport-weight, worsted-weight, or other yarn weights can successfully recreate this design by scaling the stitch count appropriately, making it an excellent pattern for stash-busting or creating multiple versions in different fibers.