Kabat Shawl in Berroco Splash - Downloadable PDF

Kabat Shawl in Berroco Splash — Knitting Pattern by Alison Green

The Kabat Shawl is a striking, large-format knitted shawl designed by Alison Green and published by Berroco. Available as a downloadable PDF, this intermediate-level pattern produces a dramatic, generously sized wrap with impressive finished dimensions of approximately 92 inches (234 cm) wide by 41 inches (104 cm) long down the center after blocking. The scale and refined construction make it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with shaping, provisional cast-ons, and responsive stitch work.

Design Overview

The Kabat Shawl is designed to showcase the unique, self-striping and color-pooling character of Berroco Splash yarn. Rather than fighting the spontaneous pops of color that variegated yarns produce, the pattern actively responds to them — shifting between Stockinette Stitch and Reverse Stockinette Stitch as each burst of color appears in the yarn. This reactive approach creates an organic, textured surface where color and stitch structure work in harmony, giving the finished shawl a lively, dimensional quality that changes with every skein.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for 5 hanks of Berroco Splash in colorway #2419 Anacostia, each hank weighing 50 grams. Berroco Splash is a DK weight yarn known for its vibrant, multicolored pops of color distributed throughout the skein, making it ideally suited to the reactive stitch technique at the heart of this design.

• Yarn: Berroco Splash, DK weight, 50 g hanks
• Colorway: #2419 Anacostia
• Quantity: 5 hanks

Needles and Notions

Two needle sizes are required to achieve the correct drape and edging finish. A 32-inch (80 cm) circular needle in size 6 (4 mm) is used for the edging, while the main body of the shawl is worked on a 32-inch (80 cm) circular needle in size 8 (5 mm), or whichever size is needed to obtain gauge. Circular needles are used throughout, accommodating the large stitch count of this wide shawl. Waste yarn is also required for the provisional cast-on.

• Primary needle: Size 8 / 5 mm, 32-inch circular
• Edging needle: Size 6 / 4 mm, 32-inch circular
• Notions: Waste yarn for provisional cast-on

Gauge

The pattern gauge is 20 stitches and 28 rows to 4 inches (10 cm) in the Pattern Stitch using the larger needle, measured after blocking. Because the finished dimensions depend heavily on blocking, the pattern strongly encourages knitters to check gauge carefully before beginning.

Techniques and Construction

The Kabat Shawl is built using several thoughtful construction techniques that give it its distinctive character. The shawl begins with a provisional cast-on using waste yarn and the larger needle, casting on just 8 stitches to start. This technique allows live stitches to be recovered later for the edging, creating a seamless, polished finish at both ends of the shawl.

Pattern Stitch — Reactive Stockinette

The central stitch pattern is the defining feature of the Kabat Shawl. On both right-side and wrong-side rows, the knitter works in Stockinette Stitch as the default, but switches to Reverse Stockinette Stitch whenever a pop of color appears in the yarn. Once the color section ends, the knitter returns to standard Stockinette. This means the texture of the fabric is directly dictated by the yarn itself, creating a one-of-a-kind result with every project.

• Right Side (RS): Knit in Stockinette; purl over colored