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Monday, August 15, 2011

Designing a Faroese Shawl

Good Evening!

The Faroese Shawl is a wonderful garment that will not fall off your shoulders due to shaping in the shoulder area.

These shawls were traditionally started from the bottom worked to the top. Why?
I don't know, but I'd speculate that it's more fun to work from a huge number of stitches to none at all! Another advantage is that a cast-on edge can be much more giving than a cast-off edge.

Traditional shawls did not have fringe. They were working shawls. Who would want fringe dipping into the milk pail? They could be worn loosely around the shoulders, or tied at the waist for warmth while leaving the arms free for work.

So, if they were working shawls, why did they have lace panels?  Once again, I don't know, but I'd guess that not only did the ladies like to add a bit of beauty to their shawls, but the lace kept the knitting interesting.

Today we are adding a worksheet for designing your own shawl. Warning....there is math involved! This is unavoidable due to the shoulder shaping. Tomorrow we shall add the worksheet which allows you to plug in the numbers for your very own shawl.
Thanks, Linda, for modeling the shawl!

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