Knitting my Own Pattern: Modest Lace Shawl v2.0

The Modest Lace Shawl was one of my earliest published designs, and certainly my first lace design.

It's the project we work in my Lace Knitting classes. As anyone who has taken one of my classes knows, we begin by swatching up a few of the most basic lace stitches, to get comfortable with handling the patterning. And the swatches build in complexity, until we get to this pattern stitch. And then I show how to handle it when you're working increases, too.

The original sample shown in the photo above is not in possession anymore. So I've been reworking it in Manos' Serena, a blend of cotton and baby alpaca. The colourway is a lovely slightly variegated pink that reminds me of strawberry ice cream. It's very nice to work with, and I'm getting a great lacy fabric on 4.5mm needles. I'm still having a few issues with the alpaca, a possible allergic reaction. I have to be careful to wash my hands after I've worked with it, and not touch my face or eyes if I've been handling the yarn. I'm not happy about it, but it's not so bad I've had to put the project down.

As someone else commented recently, it's interesting and instructive to knit your own patterns. It wasn't completely lost to me, as I do often refer to it in my class, but it's different to actually follow the instructions all the way through.

I'm pleased to report that I still like the design very much - a great choice of pattern stitch, if I do say some myself. Once again, thanks go to Ms. Barbara Walker for the original stitch.

It's a fun knit, and a good place to get started with lace. It's worked tip up, so it's easier to track and manage the increases, and the pattern stitch is a nice easy 7-stitch repeat, with nothing too fancy going on.

The design itself needs no updates, but I think the writeup could, at the very least, use a few more commas...

Available at Patternfish and Ravelry