Brawley

Brawley Shawl by Taiga Hilliard Designs

What is Being Made

Brawley is a timeless curved triangle shawl designed as a versatile accessory suitable for both men and women. This top-down knit shawl features an elegant curved silhouette and is worked entirely in garter stitch, making it a classic, understated design that works well across different styles and occasions.

Design and Construction

The shawl is constructed using a top-down design, beginning from a small cast-on and expanding outward to create the triangular shape. The curved triangle construction allows for a flattering drape when worn, and the top-down method gives knitters control over the final size by allowing them to bind off whenever the desired dimensions are reached.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Garter Stitch – The entire shawl is worked in garter stitch, created by knitting every row on both right-side and wrong-side rows. This produces a textured, reversible fabric with horizontal ridges.
• Yarn Over (YO) – Used for lace shaping and increases throughout the pattern
• Knit Front and Back (KFB) – An increase technique that creates 2 stitches from 1 stitch
• Make One Left (M1L) – A left-leaning increase made by picking up the horizontal strand between needles from front to back and knitting through the back loop
• Make One Right (M1R) – A right-leaning increase made by picking up the horizontal strand between needles from back to front and knitting through the front loop
• Central Double Decrease (CDD) – A centered decrease technique performed by slipping 2 stitches as if to knit together, knitting 1 stitch, then passing the slipped stitches over the knit stitch

Color Work

Brawley features a 3-color design using a main color and two contrast colors:

• Main Color (MC) – Dark Purple (800 yards)
• Contrast Color 1 (CC1) – Medium Purple (700 yards)
• Contrast Color 2 (CC2) – Light Purple (400 yards)

The color progression creates visual interest and depth within the garter stitch fabric, allowing the shades to blend harmoniously across the curved triangle.

Yarn and Gauge

This project is worked with 4-ply fingering weight yarn, a lightweight yarn that creates delicate, refined fabric. The specified gauge is 24 stitches over 4 inches, which is typical for fingering weight knitting and produces a fabric with good drape suitable for shawl wear.

Yardage Requirements

The total yardage for Brawley is 1900 yards, distributed across the three colors as follows: 800 yards of the main dark purple, 700 yards of medium purple contrast, and 400 yards of light purple contrast. This yardage total makes the shawl a substantial project while remaining manageable for most knitters.

Difficulty Level

Brawley is rated as an intermediate knitting project. While garter stitch is beginner-friendly, the combination of multiple increase and decrease techniques, color changes, and the sustained focus required for a large shawl project place this design at an intermediate skill level. Knitters should be comfortable with basic shaping techniques and reading pattern instructions before beginning.

Needles and Materials

The pattern requires knitting needles appropriate for 4-ply fingering weight yarn. Knitters will need to work with three colors of yarn, making bobbins or color management techniques helpful for managing the color changes throughout the project. The curved triangle construction means needles should accommodate the growing stitch count as the shawl expands from the top-down cast-on.