Dolly’s Top-Down Tri Shawl begins with just 11 stitches at the center back neckline. Here are some things to keep in mind to get you off to a good start and to further explain the what and why of the setup row.
Tip: Use a minimalist cast on for these 11 stitches. This will minimize bulk when these stitches are seamed/woven together later on. I like to use the Simple Cast On we’ve used on some of our previous projects.
Yes, the cast on count of 11 stitches is correct. (not the 14 stitches which you might come up with if you are reading the instructions too quickly and gloss over the importance of the k1-yo-k1 double increases in the setup row)
Be sure that you pay attention to the Abbreviations section where k1-yo-k1 is explained. This stitch increase sequence produces 3 stitches out of one stitch.
The 3 sets of k1-yo-k1 double increases in the setup row allow the fabric to curve near the center of the row. Thus when the cast on row is folded back on itself later for seaming, it will not pucker at the base.
Your in-progress Dolly’s Top-Down Tri Shawl will look similar to this
After the setup row, continue knitting the shawl as instructed in the pattern. You can just leave that little gap at the center back neckline for now and seam it after all the knitting is finished. (if you are curious how this is done, you can look ahead at the details for this in the Finishing section)
How is your shawl coming along?
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I am not knitting the little shawl since I have something to get done before the end of the year because I have to send it to someone because it will be used at our National convention of the American Hemerocallis Society in the summer of 2014. The items I am working on are going to be used in an auction to provide a scramble to win these items.