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Behind the Design: Bonita Beach Raspberry Knit Shawl Pattern by Kristin Omdahl
Oct
Behind the Design: Bonita Beach Raspberry Knit Shawl Pattern by Kristin Omdahl
I designed and knit the Bonita Beach Knit Shawl Pattern from the very first skein of Be So Fine Yarn. I designed it specifically to be finished within one skein of the 650 yards of fingering weight yarn. I had a dream to launch my own yarn company and always support it with free patterns for my customers.
At first, I wasn’t sure how far I could get with 650 yards for a shawl! You don’t know until you try, right? In an effort to make the most of the yardage, I decided to add an element of extreme laciness with drop stitches. I used my favorite drop stitch, which is an elongated, twisted drop stitch that has some really cool benefits: first, it twists on itself so the actual loop has pretty and unique texture; second, it wraps, twists and drops all at once, so you aren’t having to carry the extra wraps across the row and dropping them on the following row. Watch the short technique video below to see what I mean:
Because it was the first shawl I would design for my first yarn, I wanted to pay homage to my roots. The first lace stitch pattern I fell in love with was feather and fan. This shawl incorporates a feather and fan type repeat, with a top down construction, an elongated stitch and ultimately creates an ethereally light and beautiful starburst ripple texture. Each of these elements was planned with purpose to represent highlights of my knitting career. And the finished product makes me very proud and happy. This will always be one of my favorite shawls to wear (Crushed Berries hand dyed color way just happens to be one of my favorite lipstick and nail polish colors as well), and one of my favorite designs I have created.
