496 Greenway Shawl - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns 2/10 Merino Tencel

496 Greenway Shawl – Knitting Pattern by Kirsten Hipsky

The 496 Greenway Shawl is a beautifully structured lace shawl designed by Kirsten Hipsky and knitted in Valley Yarns 2/10 Colrain Lace. With finished dimensions of approximately 66 inches wide by 22 inches deep, this is a generously sized wrap that drapes elegantly and works equally well as a statement accessory or a lightweight layer. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and is rated as beginner-friendly, making it an excellent introduction to lace knitting for those who are comfortable with basic knit and purl stitches and ready to explore simple lace techniques.

Design Overview

The Greenway Shawl is described as a modern, clean-edged shawl where sleek, biased mesh panels contrast with rectangular sections of floral lace. The interplay between these two textural elements gives the shawl a graphic, architectural quality that feels contemporary rather than fussy. Garter stitch edges frame the piece throughout, providing a tidy, self-finishing border that lies flat without blocking tricks. Strategically placed corner wedges eliminate the need for increases at the start of the edging section, contributing to the shawl's clean geometric silhouette.

Construction and Techniques

The shawl is worked flat (back and forth in rows) and is seamless — knitted in one piece from a simple cast-on of just 7 stitches. It grows outward through a series of yarn-over increases worked on every right-side row, building width and depth simultaneously. This top-down, symmetrical construction means there is no seaming or finishing beyond weaving in ends and blocking.

• Lace technique: The body of the shawl features repeating lace rows using yarn overs (yo), knit-two-together (k2tog), and slip-slip-knit (ssk) decreases to create an open, biased mesh. These directional decreases — k2tog leaning right and ssk leaning left — are paired with yarn overs to maintain stitch count within each lace section while creating the characteristic diagonal flow of the mesh.
• Central double decrease (CDD): A special stitch used in the pattern — slip 2 stitches as if to knit 2 together, knit 1, then pass the two slipped stitches over — creates a neat, centered decrease that is often used in lace shaping.
• Garter stitch borders: Two knit stitches are maintained at each edge on every row, creating a firm garter selvedge that frames the lace beautifully and prevents curling.
• Stitch markers: The pattern uses two different colors of stitch markers — color A and color B — to track key structural points within the shawl. Markers are placed, slipped, and removed at specific intervals to guide the shaping and lace placement accurately.
• Worked flat and seamless: All rows are worked back and forth on straight or circular needles, with wrong-side rows consisting of a simple knit-2, purl-to-last-2, knit-2 pattern, keeping the lace action on right-side rows only and making the pattern easy to follow.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k) and purl (p) — the foundational stitches forming the garter borders and wrong-side rows
• Yarn over (yo) — creates the open eyelets characteristic of lace and drives the shaping increases
• Knit two together (k2tog) — a right-leaning decrease used in the lace mesh
• Slip-slip-knit (ssk) — a left-leaning decrease that mirrors k2tog in the lace sections
• Central double decrease (CDD) — a symmetrical double decrease used for structural shaping
• Stockinette stitch (St st) — referenced in the gauge measurement
• Garter stitch — used for the selvedge edges and edging rows

Yarn and Materials