WEBS DIR06 Lace Shawl by Doris Chan - Crochet Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns 2/10 Merino Tencel

WEBS DIR06 Lace Shawl by Doris Chan – Crochet Pattern Summary

About This Pattern

The WEBS Designer in Residence Series #6 Lace Shawl is an original crochet design by Doris Chan, released as part of the prestigious Designer in Residence Series from WEBS – America's Yarn Store. This pattern produces a stunning, whisper-light rectangular lace stole measuring a generous 19 inches wide by 68 inches long after blocking, making it a true statement accessory for women. It is available as a downloadable PDF, allowing crafters to begin immediately after purchase.

What You Will Make

The finished object is a long, elegant rectangular lace stole — a versatile accessory that functions beautifully as a formal shawl draped over the shoulders, a travel wrap, or even a softly twisted scarf around the head and neck. Doris Chan describes it as crush proof, packable, and born for travel, making it as practical as it is dramatic. The piece is designed to be a genuine showstopper: lightweight enough to tuck into a bag, yet visually impressive enough to transform any outfit from casual to dressed-up in moments.

Techniques Used

• Lace crochet: The heart of this pattern is a regularly repeating lace stitch pattern worked throughout the body of the stole. Lace crochet creates an open, airy fabric full of decorative holes and negative space, giving the finished piece its delicate, ethereal quality.
• Bottom-up construction: The stole is worked from the foundation edge upward in a straightforward linear direction, making it easy to follow the stitch repeat once established.
• Worked flat: The entire piece is crocheted flat in rows, as opposed to in the round, which is the natural approach for a rectangular shawl or stole shape.
• Seamless construction: There are no seams to sew, keeping the finishing process minimal and the fabric clean and uninterrupted.
• Chain-space crochet: One of Doris Chan's signature tricks applied here is working stitches into chain spaces rather than into the top loops of individual stitches. This approach is especially forgiving with lace weight yarn, eliminating the need to precisely target tiny stitch tops and making the process far more enjoyable and accessible.
• Blocking: Wet or spray blocking is an essential finishing step for this pattern. The lace rows relax and open up significantly with blocking and hanging, and the finished length will be several inches longer than the as-crocheted measurement. Blocking is what truly reveals the beauty of a lace fabric.

Stitches Used

• Repeating lace stitch pattern: The body of the stole is built on a consistently repeating lace motif. Each repeat measures 2¾ inches wide, and 8 rows of the pattern measure 4 inches in height before blocking.
• Foundation row: The two short edges — the foundation and the finishing row — are worked differently from the body, involving stitches made directly into stitch tops rather than chain spaces.
• Chain spaces: Chains and chain spaces form the structural backbone of the lace pattern, creating the open mesh characteristic of fine lace crochet.

Materials Required

This pattern is specifically designed for Valley Yarns Colrain Lace, a luxurious lace weight yarn with a beautifully balanced fiber composition of 50% merino wool and 50% Tencel. The merino provides softness and a gentle warmth, while the Tencel (a fiber derived from wood pulp) adds a distinctive silky sheen, fluid drape, and that coveted silky-smooth hand feel. The yarn comes in a large cone format at 8.8 oz / 1,540 yards, and the pattern uses approximately 850 yards — just over half a cone — in the colorway Natural.

• Yarn: 1 cone Valley Yarns Colrain Lace (50% merino wool / 50% Tencel), approximately 850 yards used
• Hook: US Size G/6 (4.00mm) crochet hook, or size needed to obtain gauge