Top-down Faroese Shawl: Starting at Neck Band

The little top-down Dolly Shawl we are knitting this month starts off with just 3 stitches! This is the beginning of a narrow rectangular strip of garter stitch that will become the center back neck band of the shawl.

Tab-start neck band for top-down Faroese shawl

Tip 1:  For an adult-size shawl, you probably would want a slightly wider strip of garter stitch. In my full-size Faroese shawl designs, I usually start with just 4 stitches.

Tip 2: The type of cast on you use for this narrow tab-start neck band is not terribly critical because there are so few stitches and it hardly will be noticeable no matter what your choice is anyway. That is why I didn’t bother you with specifying a particular cast on.

But if you’d like to know my preference … I think the Simple Cast On like we used in the Quick Lace-edged Baby Socks at the beginning of this year is the least obvious after stitches are picked up for the shawl body later on.

Working the next row after a Simple Cast On can be a struggle if there are lots of stitches.   But with only 3 (or 4 stitches) to deal with, I think it’s worth it because the minimalist half-hitch of this cast on will blend in with the rest of the fabric in an almost un-obvious, reversible way after stitches are picked up for the shawl body.

Tip 3: When working garter stitch, number of rows can easily be counted by looking at how many ridges you have worked. Did you notice how the reference to garter stitch in the Abbreviations and Special Techniques section of the pattern said: ” … each set of two rows forms a ridge”?

Tip 4: CYA for whatever side you are counting ridges from, or whatever cast on you have used, the pattern instructions have you covered. [superemotions file=”icon_wink.gif” title=”Wink”]

So now you have counted that you’ve worked 9 ridges. And the pattern says “If your cast on tail is at the same side of the knitted strip as your working end, knit one more row”. You are probably wondering why that is in the pattern instructions? That little subtlety  will leave your cast on yarn tail interior to the shawl band for easy, invisible weaving in later (rather than at the edge) no matter what cast on you have used.

If you have completed the number of ridges you want and the cast on tail and working yarn are at the same side as in the above picture, just knit one more row so that the cast on tail can later be invisibly woven into the interior of the shawl rather than at edge.

Tip 5: For an adult-size shawl, the strip for the tab-start neck band would be knit longer to span the back width of the neck. I usually use 23 ridges.

OK, so I agree that what we have so far doesn’t look like much of a shawl, lol. But hang in there — As some of you who have been following me for quite a while might remember I have been known to say “Finishing starts at the beginning”. I’ll be back soon with more about the little tips and techniques in this month’s project.

p.s. In case you are wondering, the yarn in the above picture is Lorna’s Lace Shepherd Sport in color Childs Play. Just wait until you see the next post where I have pictures of the start of the shawl body. It looks like a rainbow!