shawl retrospective
Many knitters we know (ourselves included) will tell you that there can never be such a thing as too many shawls.
We love them for their simplicity of shape, their free, floaty gracefulness, their versatility in providing warmth when needed, and their adaptability to be useful and beautiful and many different weights and gauges. On top of all that, they're just so enjoyable to knit.
There's a freedom to sit back as a knitter and take simple delight in watching, stitch by stitch, the emerging motifs that form the focus of the many different shapes and forms of a shawl, given their simplified construction—most often, shawls are a single piece, shaped and brought into being with any number of inventive combinations of increases and decreases. And not having to worry (as much) about exact fit, and exact gauge, means less pressure on the knitter to knit to absolute technical perfection. Sometimes, you just want to enjoy the knit.
Below, a selection of some of our favorites from Quince releases past, recent and further back, that continue to make us smile. Click on any of the images below for full details about each shawl.
There's more on the way, too—stay tuned for our newest collection (!) coming next week.
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Isabell Kraemer's Laika shawl, knitted in Owl, color Taiga. One of our favorite types of shawls is a simple body of garter stitch, balanced with a border of understated stitch patterns like this trellis stitch over stockinette. In a medium weight alpaca/wool yarn like Owl, this is a shawl meant for substantial warmth. |
Abree by Hanna Maciejewska, from Scarves, etc 6 has a pretty floral motif framed by twisted stitches against reverse stockinette fabric, punctuated by a pretty picot edge. This crescent-shaped shawl is worked in Chickadee, color Sedum. |
Tributary, Leah B. Thibault's shawl from the Piper 2017 collection, is a classic triangle worked from the center neck out in laceweight wool/mohair Piper, with lacy openwork that flows from one motif into the next. |
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Brioche stitch shines in Bristol Ivy's Lisse shawl, with the subtle variegations of Phoebe's Mercury giving the etched quality of the ribbing and botanical motifs additional dimensional interest. |
We dove into our 2013 archives for Fulmar, Veera Välimäki's gorgeous two-color piece in Finch, colors Iceland and Egret. We love the unique shape and clever use of short rows to create a shawl with clean lines and a modern touch. |
Palmetto, designed by Paulina Popiolek and part of last year's Summer Ebbs collection, shows off the delicate nature of Piper. This semi-crescent shawl is all about that stunning lace border. |
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Paulina Popiolek's Serena, so soft in Piper Pampa, mixes lace and textural stitches to form a sweet, delicate asymmetrical shawl. From our Shawls 2016 collection. |
The elegant and aptly named Butterfly, also from Summer Ebbs, is a great example of spare details clearly defined with excellent stitch definition in Finch, color Fox. |
From Scarves, etc 6: Gorgeous Naamah by Paula Pereira is another example of fantastic stitch definition, with its twisted stitch ribbing and that gorgeous, wave-like border motif. In Chickadee, color Belize. |
Do you have a favorite Quince shawl not featured here? Let us know in the comments.
