Glacial Shawl

Glacial Shawl by Carolyn Stanton

Project Overview

The Glacial Shawl is an intermediate-level knitting pattern designed by Carolyn Stanton, featuring a sophisticated triangular shawl construction. This downloadable PDF pattern showcases elegant lace work combined with decorative edging techniques, making it an ideal project for knitters looking to expand their lace and shaping skills.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a large triangular shawl measuring 103cm (41 inches) wide across the top cast-off edge and 123cm (48½ inches) long down the right side. The finished shawl is designed as a versatile wrap suitable for various occasions, combining warmth with refined aesthetic appeal through its lace patterning and decorative edges.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Laddery lace patterning – A signature technique featured throughout the design that creates delicate, ladder-like openwork
• Picot cast-on – A decorative edge technique applied at the beginning of the project
• Picot edges – Charming scalloped or bumped edging created during the knitting process
• Picot cast-off – A finished edge technique mirroring the decorative cast-on
• Garter stitch – Used as the gauge measurement basis and likely incorporated into the overall construction

Stitches and Abbreviations

The pattern employs fundamental knitting stitches and techniques including:

• K – Knit stitch
• P – Purl stitch
• S – Slip stitch
• YO – Yarn over (creates the openwork characteristic of lace)
• SSK – Slip, slip, knit (a left-leaning decrease)

Materials Required

Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Sock Yarn in 4-ply (fingering weight), totaling 2 skeins. The pattern features two colors: 'Method' for Color 1 and 'Shiver' for Color 2, allowing for creative color blocking or gradient effects within the shawl design.

Needles: 3.75mm (US 5) knitting needles. The pattern recommends beginning with 3.75mm straight needles and transitioning to a 3.75mm circular needle with an 80cm cable length as the stitch count increases and becomes unwieldy on straight needles.

Notions: Three small closed-ring stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and shaping increases throughout the project.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies gauge measurements in garter stitch (unblocked) as 22 stitches and 42 rows per 10cm. Achieving accurate gauge is essential for obtaining the intended finished dimensions and ensuring the lace patterns display correctly.

Difficulty Level

Classified as an intermediate project, the Glacial Shawl suits knitters with foundational skills who are comfortable working with lace techniques, yarn overs, decreases, and managing increasing stitch counts. The combination of laddery lace, picot edging techniques, and shawl construction provides an engaging challenge without requiring advanced expertise.