Pearls & Stripes

Pearls & Stripes Shawl by Susanne Sommer

What is Being Made

Pearls & Stripes is a large modular shawl designed by Susanne Sommer in collaboration with Kitterly and WalkCollection. This intermediate-level knitting project combines texture and color play throughout multiple construction sections, creating a visually interesting and engaging knit. The shawl features a main triangular section worked in pearl brioche, followed by additional sections in various stitch patterns, and concludes with a distinctive double-layered border and i-cord edge finish.

Construction Technique & Sections

The shawl is constructed using a modular, multi-directional approach that keeps the knitter engaged with changing techniques:

• Main Triangle (Bottom-Up): The foundation of the shawl is knit from the bottom up using two-color pearl brioche, establishing the primary texture and color foundation.
• Upper Sections (Top-Down): After completing the main triangle, stitches are picked up to work the remaining shawl sections from the top down. These sections feature alternating stitch patterns including garter stitch stripes, one-color brioche, and two-color stockinette brioche, preventing monotony throughout the knitting process.
• Double-Layered Border: The border is constructed with two distinct sides—a broken-rib pattern on one side and stockinette stripes on the other, adding architectural interest and texture variation.
• Finishing Edge: The rolling top edge is finished with an i-cord border, providing a polished and defined edge treatment.

Stitches Used

This design showcases multiple knitting stitch techniques that work together to create depth and visual interest:

• Pearl Brioche: Used in both two-color and one-color variations, this textured stitch creates dimensional loops and is featured prominently in the main triangle section.
• Garter Stitch: Incorporated in striped sections within the upper portions of the shawl for contrast and texture.
• Stockinette Brioche: Applied in two-color variations in the upper shawl sections, combining smooth stockinette with brioche's characteristic dimensional quality.
• Broken-Rib Pattern: Used on one side of the double-layered border for vertical texture.
• Stockinette Stripes: Featured on the opposite side of the border, providing smooth contrast.
• I-Cord: Applied as the final edge treatment to create a neat, finished border.

Materials & Yarn Specifications

Pearls & Stripes is designed for 4-ply (fingering weight) yarn, requiring a total of 1239 meters / 1355 yards across 4 skeins of fingering weight yarn (366–400 m per 100 g). The pattern calls for four colors of yarn distributed as follows:

• Color A: 280 m / 306 yds (1 skein)
• Color B: 270 m / 295 yds (1 skein)
• Color C: 360 m / 394 yds (1 skein)
• Color D: 329 m / 360 yds (1 skein)

The shawl is shown knit in Walk Collection Cottage Mohair, a luxurious blend of 80% Merino and 20% Mohair in single-ply construction, yielding 360 m / 394 yds per 100 g. The photographed colorways include Marine (a dark blue for Color A) and Squirrel (a rusty tone for Color B), demonstrating how color selection influences the final aesthetic of this multi-hued design.

Skill Level

Rated as intermediate, this knitting pattern is suitable for knitters with solid foundational skills. The intermediate difficulty reflects the use of advanced stitch techniques including brioche variations, modular construction, and color work, combined with the shawl's substantial yardage and multiple construction phases.