Lieselotte: My grandmother. My daughter, named for my grandmother. When I was pregnant with baby Lilo I was hoping desperately for a girl. One of the things that I wanted to make her, if I had known it was a her, was a swaddling shawl. I'd seen another friend whose mother had knit her baby girl a beautiful little shawl that served as a swaddling blanket. Sturdy enough to be a magic cape, roof of a fort, or give a cuddle on sick days, as she grows into a child, but still pretty enough that when she is old enough it will can provide some comfort and warmth around her shoulders as she goes to school, college, work. I like the idea of a comfort blanket/shawl that can grow with a child into adulthood. But this one, named for my baby girl, is also elegant and functional enough for grown ups to wear too. (And that grandmother Lieselotte that I mentioned will surely be trying to steal mine, as she does with nearly every hand knit that she catches me wearing.) A functional yet pretty shawl for many purposes.
Not only is this a perfect everyday little shawl- it's FREE! It's a perfect beginner shawl and lace project, or a comfort project for the experienced knitter. Lieselotte Shawl is worked from the top down using lifted increases, with a very simple lace worked at the bottom edge. The i-cord bind off gives it a clean finish but can easily be subbed out for another (stretchier) bind off. Shawl includes three sizes, the smallest of which should use only 2 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Loft. With such a simple pattern there are many, many ways to customize it to your choosing.
And, I'm excited to announce my first Knit Along in conjunction with this shawl! The Lieselotte Shawl Knit Along. Start digging through your stash for the perfect yarn. There are two ways to participate in the KAL:
- In the Thread & Ladle Ravelry Group
- On Instagram - use #LSKAL and please do tag me, @threadandladle
However, only finished objects posted to the Ravelry Group will be eligible for PRIZES! (Yet to be unveiled!) So pop on over to Ravelry, grab your free copy of the Lieselotte Shawl Pattern and cast on! Knit Along runs through May 1st, with fun shawl and knitting related posts in the meantime. At the finish line I'll share some images of my favorite FO's and use a random number generator to draw a prize winner (or winners) from the thread of finished object's!
I can't wait to see what yarn you choose! And stay tuned here for other KAL fun!
You can download the pattern for free on Ravelry HERE.
Note: Notice the new layout? I hope you'll like it as much as I do. I'll be working through all my older patterns to update them with my new layout & logo! If you've already purchased a pattern, it will automatically be updated in your Ravelry library.