Now my Mum has received her shawl, I feel I can share these finished photos with you.
The shawl is lovely and long, and as it is stocking stitch, it is quite dense and warm. While I wore it for taking these photos, I overheated.
The warmth of the shawl is a good thing, as my Mum's house can get a bit nippy at times. I think the yarn is shown off really well by the plain and simple style of the shawl. Showing off the yarn to it's best advantage was one of my primary requirements, as it was the yarn that Mum totally fell in love with.
After blocking, the garter stitch edge drapes beautifully. I couldn't have done it better if I'd tried. I'm really pleased with how it hangs.
The binding across the top edge of the shawl was cut on the bias using the technique I learned in quilting class. I did need a refresher so I used the tutorial below.
This was exactly the way I was taught, so this video really helped remind me of what I was supposed to be doing. I actually cut way too much bias binding, but as I used 4" strip,s I may be able to use the fabric for something that requires bias cut fabric, maybe I can use it for straps on a cami or something, as I have a small amount left over from the meterage before I cut it on the bias.
I completely messed up the bias and actually sewed it on to the right side first. This meant I couldn't machine sew the the back of the binding and had to do it by hand. I could have ripped it out, but I figured it would be quicker to handstitch the back and it does look nice done this way.
Sorry that this shot is a bit blurry, but I didn't realise how bad it was until after the shawl had been wrapped up! I'm really pleased with how the satin enhances the knitted fabric, it's such a contrast in texture, but not in colour.
And here it is all folded up and ready to be wrapped. This gift may have taken some time to get right, but I'm really pleased with the finished product, and I think, more importantly, my Mum is too.
Just to remind you, this shawl was knit using my free pattern, More Than A Triangle Shawl that can be downloaded by clicking the link on the right hand side of the blog. I changed the wrong side rows by purling all the knit stitches that were between the two outside markers. After a couple of rows, you don't even need to think about it.
As I have nearly 3 skeins left, I'm thinking of making a spiral type cushion out of it, so I get to keep the yarn in some form as well. The Ten Stitch Twist by Frankie Brown is the most appealing pattern so far. Here is a project that has been shared, so you might be able to look at the page, even without a Ravelry login. If you want to look at a version of the blanket outside the world of Ravelry, I managed to track down someone who has blogged about theirs, Issues With Knitting. Don't you think that would look nice with the left over yarn? I'm sure I'll get round to it at some point.
