Succulent

Succulent Triangular Lace Shawl

What is Being Made

The Succulent is a triangular lace shawl designed by Maria Montzka for Stitched in Sweden. This intermediate-level knitting project creates an elegant, geometric shawl featuring lace patterning throughout. The triangular construction makes it a versatile accessory suitable for layering or draping.

Yarn and Materials

This shawl requires approximately 800 yards (731 meters) of fingering weight yarn. The designer suggests Holst Garn Supersoft or Brooklyn Tweed Loft, with the sample photographed in Holst Garn Supersoft in the Iced colorway. The yarn weight specified is 3-ply to 4-ply, providing the delicate structure necessary for lace work.

Knitting needles required are US 4 (3.5mm) circular needles in 40 inches (100cm) length, which accommodate the expanding triangular shape as the shawl grows from the top down or tip up.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern specifies a gauge of 18 stitches and 32 rows equaling 10 cm (4 inches) in stockinette stitch after strong blocking. While gauge is noted as not critical for this particular shawl design, achieving the recommended gauge will affect both the final finished size and total yarn requirements.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

The Succulent employs several intermediate-level knitting techniques essential to creating its lace structure:

• Lace Stitches: Yarn overs (YO) create the openwork pattern characteristic of lace shawls
• Decreases: The pattern utilizes knit 2 together (k2tog), slip-slip-knit (ssk), purl 2 together (p2tog), and slip-slip-purl (ssp) decreases to shape the shawl and balance yarn overs
• Increases: Make 1 left (m1L), make 1 right (m1R), and make 1 purl (m1P) techniques create additional stitches by lifting strands between stitches and working through the front or back loop as directed
• Fundamental Stitches: Knit (k) and purl (p) stitches form the base structure
• Through the Back Loop: Working stitches through the back loop (tbl) creates twisted stitches for specific shaping and visual effects

The combination of yarn overs and strategic decreases creates the characteristic lace patterning, while the increase techniques allow the triangular shawl to expand evenly from its starting point.

Difficulty Level

Rated as intermediate, this shawl is suitable for knitters with foundational skills who are ready to work with lace patterns and manage multiple stitch techniques simultaneously. The triangular construction and lace elements require attention to stitch counts and pattern repeats.