DELTA SHAWL by Carol Jackson January Design Contest Bronze Winner Introduction: In this shawl, a simple drop-stitch pattern based on a 1x2 rib creates a "lacy" look without a single yarn-over. Increases occur in the center of each panel, creating a fan (river delta) of ribs. A lace edging echoes the "delta" theme. Materials: 13 balls of elann.com Luna. Needles: 6 mm (US 10) - really! - as long a circular as you can find. 6 mm (US 10) straight or shorter circular for edging 2 Row markers 4 stitch markers color A, 4 stitch markers color B Hints and Notes: The increases occur every fourth row on one side (the "puffy" side) and the drop-stitch patterning every sixth row on the other ("ribby") side. A one-stitch garter selvage is already included in the pattern. Stitch and row markers are a big help! They turn this into a great project for knitting while doing something else. When there are few stitches on the needle (beginning and edging), I found the combination of smooth yarn and oversized needles to be hard to manage on my usual stainless-steel needles. Choosing "slower" needles for the smaller parts is helpful. The loose, drop-stitch pattern is very difficult to unravel neatly. If you tend to tear things out a lot, carry a contrasting yarn across row 1 or 7 every few pattern repeats, to help you find your place. Charts: Click here to download a large, printable PDF version of the: Delta Shawl Charts. Drop Stitch (DS): Insert R needle into FOURTH stitch below the stitch you are about to knit. Drop and unravel the three stitches above, pick up the loops with the R needle. Insert L needle into front of loops and stitch you have picked up, and knit all together. Basic Pattern: (Adapted from "Drop Stitch Pattern" from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker p.135) Row 1, 3 & 5: k1 *p1, k2; repeat * to last two stitches, p1, k1. Row 2 & 4: k1, *k1,p2 ; repeat * to last 2 stitches, k2. Row 6: k1, *Drop Stitch, p2; repeat* to last 2 st: Drop Stitch, k1 Row 7 through 12: repeat 1-6 Make 1 (M): Pick up yarn betw sts with left needle from the front. Knit into the back of that loop. The Beginning: Note: K first and last st of each row, every time. (It’s part of the pattern!). These directions are also presented as Chart 1. Cast on 7, Row 1. Knit 7 Row 2. K1, p1, *m1, p1; rep * to last st, k1 (11 st) Row 3. K2, *p1, k1; rep * to last st, k1 Row 4. K1, p1,*m1, K1, m1, p1 rep * to last st, k1 (19 st) Row 5. K2, *p3, k1; rep * to last st, k1. Row 6. K1, p1, *k3, p1; rep to last st, k1 Row 7. K2, *p3, k1; rep*to last st, k1. Row 8. K1, p1, *k1, m1, p1, m1, k1, p1; rep * to last st, k1. (27 st) Row 9. K1, DS, *p2, k1, p2, DS; rep * to last st, end k1. Marker Row 10: Place markers for increases between each pair of K stitches, alternating marker colors as follows: K1, P1, K1, pmA, *K1, P1, K1*, pmB. Repeat from * to *, alternating markers A & B, end K1, P1, K1. This is also pattern row 1 of Chart 2. The Rest: Proceed to pattern row 2 of chart 2, and repeat the basic pattern from rows 1 – 12 many, many times. Increases occur just outside the markers in rows 3, 7 and 11. Refer to Chart 2 for where and how to integrate the increases. A good time to stop is when you get within 8 stitches of 352 (eleven edging pattern repeats) or 384 (12 edging pattern repeats) st. End with Row 1, then k 2 rows, increasing evenly as needed to an exact multiple of 32. Place markers every 32 st, and at the center. Edging: Based on a multiple of 32 st, about half is worked in long rows, then the scallops are finished individually. First do rows 1-7 of "Roman Stripe Pattern". Then go right into "Delta Edging." Roman Stripe Pattern (from Barbara Walker 2nd Treasury, p.219, with minor adaptations) Row 1. K1, *yo, k1; rep from * to last st, end k1 Row 2. K1, purl to last st, k1. Row 3. K1, *K2tog; rep from * to last st, end k1. Row 4. K1, *yo, k2tog; rep till you reach the center marker. Then ssk, yo till the last st, end k1. Row 5. k1, *ssk, yo to center marker, sl1-k2tog-psso, *yo,k2tog to last st, k1. Row 6. k Row 7. k Delta Edging (From Barbara Walker 2nd Treasury, p.294 "Peri’s Parasol", with massive adaptations) I find this pattern much easier to follow when charted (see chart 3), but I’ve written it out for those who prefer. Cluster 6 (or 4): P 5 (3), sl 1 wyif, move yarn to back and slip the 6 (4) stitches back to L needle, move yarn to front, slip 6 (4) stitches back to R needle, move yarn to back and slip 6 (4) stitches to L needle, then again bring yarn to front, slip 5 (3) stitches to R needle, then lift the tether by inserting the R needle from front to back under both strands, P into next st, then replace the tether by passing it over the P st. First, set-up row, should be "puffy" side. Row 1. k1, p12, *cluster 6, p11, cluster 4, p 11; rep from * to last 19 st; cluster 6, p 12, k1. Row 2. *ssk, k2, (yo,ssk) 4 times, k1, yo, (k1,M1)5 times, k1, yo, k1, (k2tog,yo) 4 times, k2, k2tog. Repeat entire sequence to end of row. Row 3. k1, p 13, *(k1,p1) 5 times, p27; rep from * to end. On last repeat replace p27 with p12, k1. Row 4. First individual row: ssk, k2, (yo,ssk) 3 times, k2tog, k1, yo, (k1p1) 5 times, k1, yo, k1, ssk, (k2tog, yo) 3times, k2, k2tog. Stop, turn! Row 5. k1, p12, (k1, p1) 5 times, p 11, k1. Row 6. ssk, k2, (yo, ssk) 2 times, ssk, k2tog, yo, (k1, p2 in next st.) 5 times, k1, yo, ssk, k2tog, (k2tog, yo) 2 times, k2, k2tog. Row 7. k1, p 10, (k2, p1) 5 times, p9, k1. Row 8. Ssk, k2, yo, (ssk) 2 times, k2tog, yo, (k1,p2) 5 times, k1, yo, ssk, (k2 tog) 2 times, yo, k2, k2tog. Row 9. k1,p 8, (k2, p1) 5 times, p 7, k1. Row 10. (ssk) 3 times, k2tog, yo, (k1,p2-in-next-st, p1) 5 times, k1, yo, ssk, (k2tog) 2 times, yo, k2, k2tog. Row 11. k1, p5, (k3, p1) 5 times, p 4, k1. Row 12. Ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, (k1,p3) 5 times, k1, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog. Row 13. k1,p4, (k3, p1) 5 times, p 3, k1. Row 14. ssk, k2tog, yo, (k1p3) 5 times, k1, yo, ssk, k2tog. Row 15. Bind off loosely in knit. Attach yarn at first st rem on needle and repeat rows 4-15, repeating pattern till all sts have been bound off. Blocking Do NOT wet-block the body of this shawl! You’ll lose the texture of the puffy side. Instead, mist with a spray bottle over the ribby side only, and stretch gently to shape. For the edging, wet blocking works beautifully, but use a towel over the body if necessary to keep from soaking it. I also wet-blocked the front edges in order to draw out the loops made by the first column of drop-stitches, but again, cover the body with a towel to protect it from too broad a spray. ABBREVIATIONS: beg - beginning, cm - centimeters, cont – continue, dec - decrease/s/ing, DS - drop stitch, foll(s) - follow(s)(ing), g - grams, inc - increase/s/ing, K – knit, m - meters, mm - millimeters, P – purl, pat – pattern, pm - place or slip markers, psso - pass slipped st over, p2sso - pass 2 slipped sts over, rem - remain/der/ing, rep - repeat, RS - right side, sep – separately, sl - slip, ssk - slip 2 sts knitwise one at a time; insert point of left needle into front of slipped stitches & knit tog through back of loops, st(s) - stitch(es), tbl - through back of loop(s), tog – together, WS - wrong side, yo - yarn-over. Please note this pattern is copyrighted material and the entire contents of this pattern are copyrighted as a collective work under the copyright laws of Canada and the United States. 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