Lattice Sampler Shawl in Cascade 220® Fingering - FW240 - Downloadable PDF

Lattice Sampler Shawl in Cascade 220® Fingering – Pattern FW240 by Jennifer Weissman

The Lattice Sampler Shawl (FW240) is a stunning, large-format knitted shawl designed by Jennifer Weissman and published by Cascade Yarns®. This free downloadable PDF pattern produces a finished shawl measuring an impressive 64 inches wide by 32.5 inches deep, making it a generous, wrap-worthy accessory suitable for all seasons. The design is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it an ideal next step for knitters who are comfortable with basic lace techniques and are ready to explore a more varied, sampler-style approach to shawl construction.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a large triangular or crescent-style shawl featuring a lattice sampler aesthetic — meaning the finished fabric showcases a collection of related lace and textural stitch patterns arranged in sections, much like a knitted sampler. The result is a richly detailed, heirloom-quality piece that demonstrates a range of techniques within a single cohesive design. At over five feet wide, the shawl is substantial enough to wear as a wrap, a scarf, or a decorative shoulder piece.

Construction and Techniques

The shawl is worked using several key techniques that give it both its structure and its decorative character:

• Worked flat: The shawl is knitted back and forth in rows rather than in the round, giving the knitter full control over the right and wrong sides of the fabric and allowing for precise lace patterning on right-side rows.
• Seamless construction: Despite being worked flat, the shawl is constructed without seaming, meaning the finished object requires no assembly — it comes off the needles ready to block.
• Lace: The defining technique of this pattern, lace knitting involves deliberate yarn-overs paired with decreases to create open, decorative holes arranged in geometric or organic motifs. In the Lattice Sampler Shawl, the lace sections are organized to evoke a lattice or grid-like visual structure.
• Garter stitch: Used as a foundational texture and gauge reference, garter stitch (knitting every row) provides a stable, non-curling fabric that complements the open lace sections and adds rhythmic visual contrast.
• Blocking: Because this is a lace project, blocking is an essential finishing step. Pins are listed among the required materials, and the gauge is specifically noted as measured blocked — 20 stitches by 40 rows to 4 inches in garter stitch after blocking. Blocking opens up the lace motifs and sets the final dimensions of the shawl.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques Used

The pattern employs a well-rounded vocabulary of knitting stitches and maneuvers, including both shaping and decorative elements:

• Knit (K) and Purl (P): The foundational stitches used throughout the fabric.
• Garter Stitch: All knit rows, creating a ridged, reversible texture used in structural sections of the shawl.
• KFB (Knit Front and Back): A simple increase worked by knitting into the front and then the back of a single stitch, adding one stitch. Used for shaping the shawl's silhouette.
• K2tog (Knit Two Together): A right-leaning single decrease, pairing two stitches into one. A standard lace decrease used throughout the lattice motifs.
• SSK (Slip, Slip, Knit): A left-leaning single decrease that mirrors K2tog, created by slipping stitches individually before knitting them together through the back loops. Essential for balanced lace shaping.
• Sl2-K1-P2SSO (Double Decrease): A centered double decrease worked by slipping two stitches knitwise, knitting one, then passing both slipped stitches over. This reduces the stitch count by two and creates a strong vertical center line — a hallmark of many lace and lattice designs.
• Sl (Slip stitch purlwise with yarn in front): Used for edge finishing or decorative detail, creating a neat, chained selvedge