SHINING BIRD'S EYES SHAWL by Shui Kuen Kozinski All seeing and bright From the heights of clouds - Shining bird's eyes Bird's Eye Lace is also known as Spider lace [1]. This lace pattern was first published as a Round Shetland Veil, in 1867 [2] [3]. Sharon Miller rated the original lace pattern and her Birds Eye Shawl, which was knitted from bottom up, tricky and difficult, and for experienced knitters only. I used an old lace motif for my Shining Bird's Eyes Shawl, and in contrast to Sharon Miller's design, it is knit from the top down. Due to the nature of top down construction, the pattern was simplified into a 6 stitch and 4 row repeat. It is my hope that this variation, which eliminates the pattern's trickiness, and clears its mystery, will allow many more knitters to enjoy this elegant pattern. The shawl's edge is finished with Crown picot cast off [4] to echo the Bird's Eye motif. Experience: Intermediate Knitting Notes: 1) Where yo's are followed with a purl, you should wrap the yarn around the needle. 2) All odd numbered rows are read from right to left and all even numbered rows are read from left to right. 3) In Row 4 and Row 8 (the wrong side) there is a yo after the initial edging sts, before and after center st, and before the final edging sts. Size: 72 inches wide at widest point by 36 inches long at longest point after blocking. Materials: - One 1/2 pound cone of elann.com Soie Bambou - 5 mm (US 8) 24 inch circular needle for the shawl and 4 mm (US 6) straight needles for Crown picot bind off. - Ring markers or slip markers. - 5 mm (H-5) crochet hook for provisional cast on. - Contrast color scrap yarn. Gauge: 14 sts per 4 inches after blocking. Charts: click here to download a printable PDF version of the charts for this pattern. Chart Notes: The pattern sts of the right section and the left section are identical. Rows 1-4 are the top of the shawl, Rows 5-8 are the body of the shawl. INSTRUCTIONS: Cast on: This shawl begins at the center back using a provisional cast on as follows: with contrast color scrap yarn and crochet hook, chain 8. With shawl yarn, pick up and knit 3 sts in the bumps on the back side of the center 3 chains - 3 sts. Knit 22 rows. Next row, K3, pick up and knit 1 st in each of the 11 garter ridges along selvedge edge of piece, undo scrap yarn chain to expose 3 sts at base of the piece, place these 3 sts onto left needle, K3. (17 sts total) Top of the shawl: (see chart rows 1-4): Center stitch K1 or p1, and both sides of edging K3 are in capital letters and bold print. R 1: K3, yo, k5, yo, K1, yo, k5, yo, K3 (21 sts) Now, you have 3 garter edge sts on both sides, 1 center stitch, and 7 sts between edging sts and center sts. Use slip marker to mark the center stitch, and different color marker to identify the front of the shawl (odd row). R 2: K3, k1, yo, k2tog, k1, ssk, yo, k1, P1, k1, yo, k2tog, k1, ssk, yo, k1, K3 (21 sts) R 3: K3, yo, k1, yo, ssk, yo, sk2p, yo, k1, yo, K1, yo, k1, yo, ssk, yo, sk2p, yo, k1, yo, K3 (25sts) R 4: K3, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, k1, ssk, yo, k2, yo, P1, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, k1, ssk, yo, k2, yo, K3 (29sts) Body of the shawl: (see chart row 5-8): For the first R5-8 sequence, repeat *( )* 1 time. Stitch counts are for successive repeats of R5–8. R5: K3, yo, k3, *(k1, yo, sk2p, yo, k2)*, k2, yo, K1 , yo, k3, *(k1, yo, sk2p, yo, k2)*, k2, yo, K3 (total sts 33, 45, 57, 69, 81, 93, 105……) R6: K3, k1, yo, k2tog, *(k1, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog)*, k1, ssk, yo, k1, P1, k1, yo, k2tog, *(k1, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog)*, k1, ssk, yo, k1, K3 (total sts 33, 45, 57, 69, 81, 93, 105 …) R7: K3, yo, k1, yo, ssk, yo, *(sk2p, yo, k1, yo, ssk, yo,)*, sk2p, yo, k1, yo, K1 yo, k1, yo, ssk, yo, *(sk2p, yo, k1, yo, ssk, yo,)*, sk2p, yo, k1, yo, K3 (total sts 37, 49, 61, 73, 85, 97, 109………) R8: K3, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, *(k1, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog)*, k1, ssk, yo, k2, yo, P1, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, *(k1, ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog)*, k1, ssk, yo, k2, yo, K3 (total sts 41, 53, 65, 77, 89, 101, 113………) Repeat R5– 8, 27 more times, working additional sts into pattern repeats as established. Foundation for the edging of the shawl: R1: K3, yo, k3, *(k1, yo, sk2p, yo, k2)*, k2, yo, K1 , yo, k3, *(k1, yo, sk2p, yo, k2)*, k2, yo, K3 R2: knit Change to size 4 mm needles for Crown picot cast off: On the first stitch *Cast on 2, cast off 2, this forms a picot point. Transfer this one stitch back to left needle*. Repeat * to * 2 more times. This will form 3 picots. Now knit and cast off 3 stitches in the ordinary way. This completes one Crown Picot. On the next stitch make another Crown of 3 picots, as before, and then cast off 3 more stitches. Continue in this way until all the stitches are finished, and only 1 stitch remains on the needle, draw yarn through and finish. Finishing: Weave in loose ends. Soak shawl in warm water for 20 minutes, wrap in towel to remove excess water. Lay flat on a big towel and pull all the Crown picots out, and pin to measurement. Let dry thoroughly, and trim yarn ends flush. References: [1] Heirloom Knitting by Sharon Miller, Page 132. [2] The Abergeldie Winter Book by Mlle. Branchardiere [3] Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby, page 65, 70. [4] Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting patterns, page 258. Abbreviations: yo – yarn over, k – knit, k2tog - knit 2 sts together, p – purl, R - round or row, Sk2p – sl1, k2tog, pass sl stitch over the k2tog stitch, SSK - a left-slanting single decrease, 1. Slip 2 stitches separately to right needle as if to knit, 2. Insert tip of left needle into fronts of these stitches, from left to right. Knit them together. One stitch has been decreased, sl - slip, st(s) - stitch(es). 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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