Rift

Rift Shawl by Laura Aylor

What Is Being Made

Rift is an asymmetrical, bias-knit shawl designed by Laura Aylor. The finished shawl features a distinctive visual design inspired by natural geology, with undulating thin stripes of contrasting color breaking through solid blocks of garter stitch. The effect resembles veins of colorful quartz flowing through cracks in granite. This downloadable knitting pattern produces a shawl with a wingspan of approximately 73 inches and a depth of 23 inches after blocking.

Knitting Techniques and Construction

Rift is constructed using bias knitting, a technique that creates a diagonal orientation across the fabric. This method produces the asymmetrical shape characteristic of the design. The shawl is built using fundamental knitting increases and decreases that shape the garment while the bias construction naturally creates the angled silhouette. The contrasting color stripes are strategically placed to create visual interest and break up the solid garter stitch sections, mimicking natural striations found in stone.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

The primary stitch used throughout Rift is garter stitch, which creates a textured, reversible fabric with horizontal ridges. This foundational stitch provides the solid blocks of color that form the base of the design. The pattern incorporates several essential knitting techniques to shape and construct the shawl:

• Increasing – Used to expand the shawl as it is knit, creating the wingspan and depth measurements
• Decreasing – Employed to shape the asymmetrical silhouette and control fabric dimensions
• Yarn overs – Incorporated to add decorative elements and additional shaping throughout the pattern

Materials and Yarn Specifications

Rift is designed for fingering-weight yarn, classified as 4-ply weight. The pattern requires approximately 900 yards of yarn total, divided between two colors: 785 yards of the main color (solid) and 115 yards of the contrasting color. The sample shawl was knit in Malabrigo Mechita, a merino superwash single-ply yarn, which provides a soft, washable fiber suitable for shawls.

Needles and Tools

Knitters will need US 4 (3.5mm) needles, or the size required to obtain the specified gauge. Additional supplies include at least one stitch marker for tracking pattern repeats and a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends after completion.

Gauge and Sizing Information

The recommended gauge for Rift is 20 stitches over 4 inches of lightly blocked garter stitch. The pattern notes that gauge is not critical to the success of the project, though it will affect the finished size and total yardage required. The shawl can be resized by switching to Part II instructions after working two rows of the main color following any vein stripe. The portion before this switch uses approximately one-third of the total yardage, allowing knitters to customize the final dimensions based on their available yarn.

Difficulty Level

Rift is rated as an intermediate-level knitting pattern. While it uses fundamental techniques such as garter stitch, increases, decreases, and yarn overs, the combination of these skills and the bias construction method require solid foundational knitting knowledge. This pattern is suitable for knitters who have completed several projects and are comfortable reading pattern instructions and managing shaping techniques.