The Sox Shawl

I admit that miles of repeats and stockinette bore me. Then my overachiever nature kicks in and I obsessively knit until the project that is boring me is completed. When I started this shawl, I knew I wanted to knit it for any mom whose child is in the ICU at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. (The nurses present shawls where they see a need.) But the mitered squares lost their appeal after just three were completed. So I crocheted for a while. When that wasn't fun anymore, I tried stockinette. And so on. Miraculously, the shawl turned out to be quite nice and has drawn oohs and aahs from non-knitters who have seen me compulsively knitting on it for the past week or so.

So here's my latest pattern:

The Sox Shawl!
A knit and crochet pattern

Note: gauge, stitch count, etc. are highly flexible in this pattern.

Finished Size: 60" wide at widest points; 30" deep from neck to middle point.

6 skeins Bernat Sox, Hot Tamale (40713) (any similar weight sock yarn can be substituted)

Size 8 (5mm) straight needles

F5 (3.75mm) crochet hook

Section 1

Knit 3 mitered squares in stockinette as follows.

Knit and decrease on the right side.

Purl across on the wrong side.

Cast on 70 stitches. Knit 35, place market, knit 35.

WS: Purl across.

RS: Knit to 2 stitches before marker. K2tog. Slip marker. K2tog. Knit across to end of row.

Continue in pattern until 4 stitches remain.

K2tog. K2tog.

Last row, K2tog and fasten off.

Join three mitered squares with single crochet. The center square will become a diamond, with squares to the right and left. The single crochet chain creates a ridge between the squares.

Section 2
Beginning with a slipknot and the WS of the mitered squares and using an F5 crochet hook, work single crochet pattern along bases of three squares. As you get to one of the points created by the mitered squares, work three single crochets in one stitch to enhance the corner. Work back and forth for approximately 5 inches. Fasten off. Note: starting with the WS helps correct the curling nature of the stockinette.

Section 3
With WS facing you and using size 8 needles, pick up stitches along the side section of the shawl, from the edge to the first point. On my shawl, this was 60 stitches. Picking up stitches on the WS creates a nice ridge between the crocheted section and the knitted stockinette section that follows.

In this section, with the RS facing, you will knit straight on the right edge of the shawl and add a stitch on every knit row on the left edge, creating an angle that follows the angle of the point and which will be grafted to the next section later on.

RS: Knit across to last stitch; knit front and back to increase 1.

WS: Purl across.

Continue in pattern for 32 rows. Bind off.

Sections 4 & 5
With WS facing, pick up stitches along base of section 4 (see schematic) – Section 4 section is located directly to the left of Section 3; Section 5 is located directly to the left of Section 4. Sections 4 and 5 are the largest segments of the shawl.

In this section, with the RS facing, you will add a stitch at the beginning and end of every knit row.

RS: Knit front and back to increase 1; knit across to last stitch, knit front and back to increase 1.

WS: Purl across.

Continue in pattern for 32 rows. Bind off.

Repeat for Section 5.

Section 6

With WS facing, pick up stitches along the left side section of the shawl.

In this section, with the RS facing, you will add a stitch on every knit row at the beginning, then knit across to the edge.

RS: Knit front and back in first stitch, knit across.

WS: Purl across.

Continue in pattern for 32 rows. Bind off.

Single crochet to join the edges between Sections 3 & 4, 4&5, and 5&6, creating a raised ridge in each section.

Section 7
With the WS facing and beginning with a slipknot and using an F5 crochet hook, work single crochet pattern along bases of Sections 3-6. As you get to one of the points, work three single crochets in one stitch to enhance the corner. Work back and forth for approximately 1 inch. Fasten off. Note: starting with the WS helps correct the curling nature of the stockinette.

Finishing

Single crochet at least one row around the entire shawl to help any curled edges lie down. I single crocheted two rows all the way around. Fasten off.

SCHEMATIC

Section 1: Blue
Section 2: Yellow
Sections 3-6: Green
Section 7: Purple

The long straight lines indicate the general angles of the shawl. Note that this schematic is NOT an accurate reflection of the shawl's proportions.