Little Dreams

Little Dreams Knit Shawl by Jennifer Tipton

Project Overview

Little Dreams is an intermediate-level knit shawl designed by Jennifer Tipton. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a crescent-shaped shawl that measures 82 inches long from tip to tip and 22 inches deep at its deepest point from top edge to bottom edge. The design showcases a two-color colorwork approach, allowing the interplay between two distinct yarn colors to become the visual centerpiece of the finished garment.

What Is Being Made

Little Dreams is a crescent shawl, a versatile garment that drapes elegantly around the shoulders. The shawl's generous dimensions make it suitable for layering over various outfits, and its two-color construction adds visual interest and depth. The designer emphasizes that inspiration for the shawl comes directly from the yarns themselves, with the color choices driving the design aesthetic.

Yarn and Materials

This shawl requires 750 to 800 yards of fingering weight yarn in two colors, referred to as C1 and C2 throughout the pattern. The sample photographed in the pattern was created using two skeins of Plush Single from On The Round, specifically in the colorways Narwhal (C1, a blue shade) and Pine Cone (C2, a brown shade).

The designer recommends selecting yarn with solids, semi-solids, speckles, and tonal colorways for optimal results with this pattern. These yarn characteristics allow the two-color construction to display clearly without competing visual elements.

Needles and Tools

• US size 5 circular needle with sufficient cable length to accommodate increasing stitches throughout the project
• The pattern recommends starting with a 22-inch cable and switching to a 40-inch cable approximately halfway through the shawl as stitch counts increase
• Cable needle for cable stitch techniques
• Two stitch markers as minimum, with the option to add additional markers to track lace pattern repeats if desired

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

Little Dreams is classified as an intermediate difficulty pattern, indicating that knitters should have foundational skills before beginning. The shawl incorporates cable stitches, as evidenced by the requirement for a cable needle, which creates textured, twisted columns within the knit fabric. These cables add structural interest and visual complexity to the two-color design.

The pattern also features lace elements, as indicated by the designer's suggestion to place stitch markers to track lace pattern repeats. Lace knitting involves strategic yarn overs and decreases that create openwork sections, adding airiness and elegance to the finished shawl. The combination of cables and lace creates a sophisticated, intricate fabric suitable for a statement accessory.

The two-color construction requires attention to color changes and maintaining consistent tension between the two yarns to ensure the colorwork displays evenly throughout the piece.

Finished Dimensions

The completed Little Dreams shawl measures 82 inches from tip to tip along its longest dimension and 22 inches deep from the top edge to the bottom edge at the deepest point of the crescent. These generous proportions make the shawl a versatile layering piece suitable for various occasions and seasons.