Unicornucopia

Unicornucopia Shawl by Carissa Browning

Project Overview

Unicornucopia is an intermediate-level knitted shawl designed by Carissa Browning. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a stunning triangular shawl with a finished span of 70 inches and a center point height of 16 inches, making it an elegant accessory suitable for various occasions and styling options.

What Is Being Made

The Unicornucopia is a one-size triangular shawl featuring brioche rib as its primary stitch pattern. The generous 70-inch span provides ample coverage, while the 16-inch height at the center point creates a dramatic silhouette when worn. This shawl design showcases the interplay between two distinct yarn weights and fiber types, resulting in a visually striking and textured finished piece.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs brioche knitting as its foundational technique, a method that creates distinctive horizontal ridges and exceptional elasticity. Brioche knitting involves working yarn overs in combination with knit and purl stitches to achieve its characteristic dimensional appearance. The pattern also incorporates decreasing techniques to shape the triangular silhouette, requiring intermediate-level skill in managing yarn overs and their corresponding stitches.

Stitches and Abbreviations

The primary stitch used throughout the Unicornucopia is brioche rib, which combines brioche knit and brioche purl stitches. Key stitches and techniques include:

• Brioche knit (brk) – knitting the next stitch together with its yarn over
• Brioche purl (brp) – purling the next stitch together with its yarn over
• Brioche left-slanting decrease (brLsl) – slipping a stitch and its yarn over as if to brioche knit, then brioche knitting the next two stitches together, and passing the slipped stitch over, resulting in a 2-stitch decrease
• Knit two stitches together (k2tog) – a standard decrease reducing stitch count
• Slip one yarn over (sl1yo) – bringing yarn to the front on a knit row between stitches
• Pass slipped stitch over (psso) – completing decrease sequences

Materials and Gauge

The Unicornucopia pattern calls for two distinct yarns that work in complementary harmony. The light color (LC) is Leon Alexander Yarns Countess Fingering, a fingering-weight yarn composed of 85% merino wool and 15% nylon, offering 430 yards per 100-gram skein. The dark color (DC) is Leon Alexander Yarns Jester DK Mohair, a DK-weight yarn made from 75% mohair, 20% wool, and 5% nylon, providing 240 yards per 100-gram skein. Only one skein of each yarn is required to complete the project.

The pattern is worked on US #5 (3.75mm) circular needles, which accommodate the brioche rib construction. After blocking, the gauge is 28 stitches and 20 rows over 4 inches when measured in brioche rib. A tapestry needle is needed for weaving in ends and finishing the shawl.

Yarn Weight Considerations

The combination of fingering-weight and DK-weight yarns creates visual interest and textural variation within the brioche rib pattern. The merino and nylon blend in the light color provides durability and elasticity, while the mohair-wool blend in the dark color adds softness and subtle sheen. This pairing demonstrates how working with multiple yarn weights in a single project can enhance the final aesthetic while maintaining structural integrity.