Cara

Cara Shawl by Emily Greene

Project Overview

Cara is an intermediate-level knitted shawl designed by Emily Greene and originally published in STRIPES by Making Stories. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a generous rectangular wrap measuring 60 cm (23.5 inches) in width and 212 cm (83.5 inches) in length, making it a versatile accessory suitable for layering or draping.

Craft and Techniques

This project is executed entirely in knitting, utilizing circular needles to work the fabric flat. The shawl features lace patterning throughout, which requires intermediate-level knitting skills to execute accurately. Knitters will work from charted lace instructions, necessitating comfort reading knitting charts and managing yarn overs, decreases, and other lace-specific techniques that create the openwork design characteristic of lace shawls.

Stitches and Construction

The pattern employs Chart A lace pattern as the primary stitch structure. The lace construction creates an elegant, delicate fabric with strategic openwork sections. Knitters should be prepared to manage the precision required for lace knitting, as small areas of lace fabric require attention to tension and stitch accuracy to achieve the intended drape and finished appearance after blocking.

Materials and Specifications

• Yarn: Blacker Yarns Samite Silk Blend (40% Shetland, 30% Bluefaced Leicester, 20% Ahimsa silk, 10% Gotland); 460 metres / 503 yards per 100 g. Total yardage required: 1210 metres / 1323 yards. Sample shown in colourway Frozen Bud.
• Needles: 3 mm / US 2.5 circular needle with a cable length of at least 60 cm / 24" (or needle size to obtain gauge)
• Gauge: 21 stitches x 28 rows = 10 x 10 cm / 4 x 4" (knit flat, in Chart A lace pattern, on 3 mm / US 2.5 needle, after blocking)
• Yarn Weight: 3-ply, 4-ply, and lace weights are suitable for this project

Important Knitting Notes

Yarn Management: As the finished sample uses almost the entire final skein, knitters are highly recommended to weigh their yarn before casting on and again while knitting to ensure they do not run out of yarn before completing the project. The pattern includes a notation indicating at which point knitters should weigh their yarn further to monitor yardage consumption throughout construction.

Blocking: The gauge specification is measured after blocking, emphasizing the importance of wet blocking this lace shawl to achieve the intended finished dimensions and to fully open up the lace pattern for optimal drape and appearance.