Product Description
The Little Match Girl is a story by Hans Christian Andersen from 1845. On a cold New Years Eve a poor girl goes out barefoot in the snow to sell matches. She is freezing, but is afraid to go home because her stepfather will beat her for not selling any matches. To warm up she lit matches and saw beautiful sights in the lights - food, warmth, family and her dead grandmother. They disappeared as soon as the match burned out. She lit all the matches so her grandmother would not disappear, and the grandmother took her hand and they flew off to heaven. In the morning the girl was found dead, having frozen to death with a smile on her face. No one understood the joy she felt before dying.
The border of the shawl shows the matchsticks and angels welcoming her to heaven, and the body has little flames for the lit matches.
FINISHED (BLOCKED) SIZE SMALL: Wingspan: 75 in (191 cm), Height: 16 in (40 cm) LARGE: Wingspan: 84.5 in (215 cm), Height: 17 in (43 cm) The shawl uses 1
The Little Match Girl Knitted Shawl by Anna Dalvi
Design Inspiration and Concept
The Little Match Girl is a knitted shawl inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's classic 1845 tale of the same name. This literary adaptation translates the poignant story into textile form, with deliberate design elements that reference the narrative's key imagery. The shawl's border features matchstick motifs and angels welcoming the protagonist to heaven, while the body incorporates flame-like stitch patterns representing the lit matches that provided the girl with visions of warmth, food, family, and her deceased grandmother during her final moments on a cold New Year's Eve.
What Is Being Made
This is a knitted shawl suitable for wearing as a wrap or decorative accessory. The shawl design combines a structured border with a patterned body, creating visual interest through both motif placement and stitch variation. The finished piece serves as wearable art that tells a story through its construction and symbolic elements.
Knitting Techniques and Stitches
The shawl employs specialized knitting techniques to achieve its narrative design elements. The border construction utilizes stitch patterns that visually represent matchsticks and angelic forms, requiring careful attention to shaping and stitch placement. The body of the shawl incorporates flame-like stitch patterns that create the illusion of flickering matches throughout the fabric. These techniques demonstrate intermediate to advanced knitting skills, with attention to both structural shaping and decorative patterning.
Materials and Yarn Specifications
The pattern calls for luxury yarn materials that provide both softness and drape suitable for a shawl. One skein of Anzula Cloud yarn is required, which is a premium blend containing 80% merino wool, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon. This yarn weight provides 575 yards (526 meters) per 114 grams, offering ample yardage for the complete shawl. The merino and cashmere blend ensures warmth and comfort, while the nylon adds durability and elasticity to the finished fabric.
Tools Required
US 6 (4.0 mm) knitting needles are specified for this project. The pattern also requires large-eye needles, which are essential for weaving in ends and working with the luxury yarn without splitting fibers.
Yarn Color
The shawl is worked in periwinkle, a soft purple-blue tone that complements the ethereal, heavenly theme of the narrative while providing a sophisticated finished appearance.
```Specifications
| Brand: | Independent Designer |
| Designer: | Anna Dalvi |
| Craft: | Knitting |
| Format: | Downloadable PDF |
| Languages: | English |
| Number of Patterns: | 1 |
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