Pattern Release: Reverberations

Early on in my knitting obsession, I tried intarsia. I found it fiddly and perhaps not worth the trouble (though I did do it again on occasion when I couldn't resist an adorable pattern using the technique). It's one of those skills that can be useful to be able to do, but as far as I was concerned, I could happily knit lots of beautiful things without having to use it.

But then, as so often happens, I had a design idea. And to get the look I wanted, it would require intarsia. Still not wanting to deal with the fiddly aspect of the technique -- the need for multiple strands of yarn and the resulting tangles, the inevitable tension issues, the extra ends to weave it -- I resolved to come up with a different method to achieve the same look. The result was what I'm now thinking of as short-row intarsia, and you saw my first use of it in my Frenemy shawl, which debuted in the Knit Picks Radiance accessory collection earlier this year.

Not long after I finished swatching for that submission (yes, I hadn't even knit the shawl yet!), I knew that it was not going to be my only design using this technique, and in fact I very quickly came up with two additional design ideas. The second of this trio of short-row intarsia shawls is making its debut today. This is Reverberations.

This shawl starts like your typical top-down triangle shawl, with a garter tab cast-on and four increases every right-side row. Because of the placement of the increases, however, the shape you get is actually more of a half-circle. Accentuating that is the addition of the intarsia stripes, which are worked in a contrast color in garter stitch for an added textural element. The pattern created by those stripes is like the shape of sound waves or ripples in a pond when you toss in a pebble (or even, if you're being really creative, like the Wi-Fi symbol on a computer). Each stripe that's added is longer, and the combination of the shaping in the shawl and the short rows creates a very pleasing curve. That curve is echoed in the reverse stockinette i-cord edging, which adds weight to the bottom of the shawl to keep the stockinette from curling and makes it super easy to block out the bottom of the shawl. The shaping makes this shawl very comfortable to wear because it sits perfectly on the shoulders.

The yarn I used in the sample is Jill Draper Makes Stuff Mohonk, a wonderfully soft and fuzzy two-ply sportweight made of 100% Cormo lambswool. I picked up these two skeins at Jill's open studio even at Rhinebeck last fall with this design in mind. The beauty of this design is that you can use any yarn you like and make it any size you like; there are instructions in the pattern for how to end the shawl at any time (either when you're almost out of your main color or when you're just ready to be done).

The pattern, which has been tech edited, is now available in my Ravelry shop. With any luck, you can also expect to see the third shawl in the series later this summer!