Two thoughts keeping floating through my mind as I knit this triangular Modular Shawl: from a small acorn a mighty tree will grow and wasn’t building with Legos fun as a kid. The shawl starts with a single pentagon – the acorn – and grows up to a generous shoulder-covering wrap. And from that single pentagon more pentagons, squares and half squares are added, each built upon the previously worked modular unit – the Legos.
I started this shawl out of curiosity. A third of the way through and I’ve found the actual knitting of the pentagons and squares to be very easy. I did begin the initial pentagon three times before I got it into my head that I was knitting circular garter stitch and needed to alternate knit and purl rounds. I also kept forgetting that the two stitches decreased - decreases are worked on the purl rounds - were slipped knitwise so my working yarn had to travel to the back before I slipped the stitches. You see the modular units are knit from the outside in starting with 105 stitches for the pentagons and 84 stitches for the squares and ending with 5 and 4 stitches respectively. These last stitches I tie off. My mind and hands were trained by the time I finished the first three pentagons for the shawl’s tip.
Once I added my first square I discovered that whether I was knitting a pentagon or a square the double decreases were set up 18 stitches apart. I easily knew where to work each subsequent decrease by just looking at the piece. The decreases formed a highly visible line of stacked knit stitches against a background of ridges.
I’m using a 16˝ circular US 5 (3.75mm) needle to pick up and cast on the beginning number of stitches. The squares are worked from mostly picked up stitches taken from the edges of adjoining units with the balance from cast on stitches; the pentagons are the opposite, more cast on stitches and fewer picked up stitches. I switch to short double point needles when my stitches are too stretched on the circular.
George, my husband, is intrigued with the shawl. Every evening he gets to watch me knit one or two more units. He says he likes the overall look and the colors of pale salmon pink, brown and aqua. I’m using a self-patterning merino wool yarn, Ambiente. The yarn glides smoothly on my needles and never snags. So far no two units look the same.
In finishing the bottom third I realized that I could easily enlarge the shawl from its suggested size, 58˝ wide at the top and 31˝ from top to lower tip. I need only to add left and right hand pentagons and fill the in between with squares. When I do reach the top I will be working half squares so that the shawl will lie nicely on the shoulders. The pattern says I have the choice to finish the top edge with a knitted picot cast off or one row of single crochet. The pentagons at the sides are left as is so they can make a ruffled edge.
Here’s what the completed shawl will look like. I already know it will be even better than its picture.
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