Zastruga Shawl & Technicolour Dreamsweater
I went along to the St Abbs Wool Festival last Saturday, which takes place twice a year in Eyemouth (just along the coast from St Abbs, where the festival originated). It was lovely to attend an event so different from the previous woolly event I attended: the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. St Abbs was small but beautifully formed, with two large rooms filled with yarn, fleece and things made from sheepy goodness. The sun even shone for the event – a lovely day all round.
Predictably, I bought a handful of gorgeous mini skeins from Sandra of Chandlers, an indie dyer from North Berwick. She had stopped me earlier in the day to comment on my Zastruga shawl (Ravelry link), which I had explained was designed for mini skeins and gradients, and we had a good chat about working together at some point in the future.
Mini Skeins from Sandra of Chandlers
I’ve noticed a lot of mini skeins on my Instagram feed recently and wondered if people buy them with a plan in mind or if, like me, they buy them on a whim because minis are so irresistible?
I decided to have a hunt around on Ravelry and see what shawl patterns I could find that used mini-skeins (disclaimer – I haven’t knitted any of these patterns but if I had time I would!).
MINI SKEIN PATTERN PICKS – ‘DOTS’
Solaris by Melanie Berg (Ravelry link) – “Rainbows break through a cloud-gray background in Solaris, an asymmetrical triangle shawl drizzled with eyelet rows.” Uses 5 Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails (5 x 48m/15g)
Aurorae Shawl by Helen Stewart (Ravelry link)- “This asymmetrical shawl features garter, eyelet and slip stitches: it looks intricate and complicated, but in fact it’s a gentle, easy knit.” Pattern includes two sizes for different sized mini skein sets.
Leftie by Martina Behm (Ravelry link)- “Leftie is an asymmetrical shawlette that was designed to show off your favorite little leftovers.” Each ‘leaf’ in this pattern uses 5-7g of 4py/fingering weight yarn.
MINI SKEIN PATTERN PICKS – ‘STRIPES’
Buccaneer by Justyna Lorkowska (Ravelry link)- “The shawl is all about fun, colors and staying warm this winter. The shawl can be made in two versions.” The two versions are one which uses feather and fan lace, and one with plainer chevrons. Uses either 6 minis of 73m/20g or 9 Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails of 48m/15g.
Lamina Wrap by Ambah O’Brien (Ravelry link)- “Let Lamina Wrap be a strata formation of all your oddment end balls in your stash, revealing the past in the form of projects knit and loved. Also perfect for mini skeins and unicorn tails.” Has 26 lace panels, each using 27.5m of 4ply/fingering weight yarn.
Shockwave by Josh Ryks (Ravelry link) – “Using mini-skeins and a complimentary full skein, Shockwave is a perfect shawl to showcase an amazing mini-skein collection and wear it in style!” This shawl uses 9 mini skeins of 18m in length and is part of a mini skein collections of 5 patterns.
Koi Pond by Casapinka (Ravelry link) – “Garter stitch dances around knot stitches in various combinations, and ends with a simple repeat of lace.” This one uses 6 minis, each 91m in length, so a little bit bigger than the average mini but good for leftover sock yarn.
Mini Skeins from The Wool Kitchen
Let me know if you’ve knitted any other shawls using minis or if you know of any other great mini skein patterns.
You can find out more about my Zastruga shawl pattern here (Ravelry link) and sign up for my mailing list here to find out more about future Maddie Harvey Design patterns.
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