Mermaid Shawl KAL #5: Finish plus Gypsy Variation

Well, it’s done! As you can see in the pictures here (click on them to enlarge), my second Mermaid Shawl is finished. After I completed the last of the “Tails”, I simply used a crochet hoof in a size that fit my yarn and crocheted in single stitch all along the edge of the tails. This gave it a nice, clean finish and allowed me to work in all the trailing ends. The only thing I did was add a little single crochet “picot” at the point of each tail. I did this by chaining three stitches at the point of each tail and then making a single chain back into the point of the tail. This added a cute little point. I hope you can see it in the closeup.

I like this shawl though I have to admit I am not as crazy about it as I was about my first one. The stitch detail is beautiful and it looks really good but the yarn didn’t give it the same “give” that the Suri Dream did. It is somewhat smaller though I haven’t blocked it yet. However, I think it is very beautiful and it will soon be going to live with my friend Rebecca, who looked fabulous in it when she modeled it for my knitting group.

Because I love the way this shawl begins I decided to try a second variation on it which I call my Gypsy Shawl. You can see it in the photos here. This shawl is made entirely of Himalayan Recycled Silk. It is luscious. It has fabulous drape and “sweep” and I am just in love with it. I worked it on 10.5 needles and used 900 yards of the silk.

I found working with the recycled silk interesting because the texture and colors vary greatly from skein to skein. Occasionally, I found a skein created by an over-ambitious spinner who spun the fiber much too tight. I solved this by winding the skein onto large knitting bobbins (the kind used for multi-color work) and let go of the bobbin every couple yards to let it “unspin”. I would let it twirl until it slowed way down but not stop. I didn’t want it to totally unspin.

I worked the shawl exactly the same as the Mermaid Shawl for the first 22" — until the first lace pattern would begin. At that point I worked two rows, RS and WS, in K1P1. Then I began the ever-popular Old Shale pattern worked over 17 stitches — (K2tog) 3X, (YO,K1) 5x, YO, (K2tog) 3X. I chose this stitch because it is bold enough to stand up to a heavy yarn like the recycled silk. When the shawl was as wide as I wanted it (44" down the back), I finished it off with an I-cord edging. I love the way the edge looks! I used a 4 stitch I-cord and picked up one stitch with each round. It is beautiful.

So that’s it from me. I hope you had fun. Please send photos when you have them. I’m dying to see what everyone did!!!

Thanks for participating.