1279 Wintersweet - Shawl Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Huntington and Huntington Splash

Pattern Summary: Wintersweet Shawl – Knitting Pattern #1279 by Julie Turjoman

What You'll Make

The Wintersweet is a beautifully shaped triangular wrap designed by Julie Turjoman and published by Valley Yarns. This generously sized shawl measures a finished 48 inches by 72 inches, making it a versatile accessory suitable for year-round wear. The design is worked as a single piece in one size, producing a dramatic triangular shape through strategic decreasing along one edge. The finished piece transitions through three visually distinct sections, creating a rich, textured fabric with striking color contrast.

Design Structure and Construction

The Wintersweet shawl is worked flat, back and forth in rows, beginning at the long wide edge and tapering to a narrow end point. This construction method — starting from the longest cast-on edge and decreasing toward a tip — gives the shawl its elegant triangular silhouette. Triangle shaping is achieved by working decreases on both right-side and wrong-side rows, but only along one side edge of the piece, which creates a clean, consistent angle throughout.

The shawl is divided into three main sections, each with its own stitch texture and color emphasis:

• Field Section 1: Worked primarily in Color A (Huntington Splash) using stockinette stitch, this opening section establishes the wide base of the shawl and spans approximately 12 inches of the finished fabric. A garter stitch edging in Color B opens the piece.
• Mosaic Section 2: The mid-section introduces mosaic stitch, a slip-stitch colorwork technique that incorporates both Color A and Color B to create geometric, interlocking color patterns without ever knitting with two strands simultaneously. This section gives the shawl its most visually complex appearance.
• Purl Texture Section: The final narrowing section is worked in Color B (solid Huntington) and features a purl texture pattern, adding tactile surface interest as the shawl comes to its point.

Techniques Used

This pattern makes use of several knitting techniques that give it both visual depth and structural interest:

• Worked flat (back and forth in rows) on circular needles, allowing the large stitch count to rest comfortably on the cable
• Stripes — the pattern alternates between two yarn colors across its sections, creating bold transitions in color and texture
• Mosaic stitch — a slip-stitch colorwork technique where only one color is worked per row, with stitches from the contrasting color slipped to create the illusion of two-color stranded knitting; ideal for knitters who want colorwork without managing multiple live strands
• Textured surface stitches including stockinette and purl texture patterns
• One-sided decreasing on both RS and WS rows using ssk and ssp to shape the triangle
• Long-Tail Cast-On for the initial 432-stitch cast-on edge

Stitches Used

• Stockinette stitch — the smooth, classic knit-on-RS, purl-on-WS fabric used in the main field section
• Garter stitch — used for the opening edging rows
• Mosaic stitch — a 16-row slip-stitch colorwork repeat worked across the mid-section
• Purl texture pattern — a surface stitch pattern used in the final section for added dimension
• ssk (slip, slip, knit) and ssp (slip, slip, purl) — paired decrease stitches used to shape the shawl on RS and WS rows respectively

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for two Valley Yarns bases, both sharing the same 75% Merino Wool / 25% Nylon fiber composition, which gives the finished shawl softness, durability, and a gentle sheen: