Polar Lights

DESCRIPTION

Aurora borealis, northern lights, polar lights…

Polar Lights is inspired by nature’s phenomenal light show. Criss-crossing lace sections in contrasting colors alternate with soothing garter stitch in the main color, like auroral arcs covering the night sky.

The shawl is knit on the bias, starting from the upper right corner and continuing down towards the bottom left edge. The last two stitches of each row are slipped to create a neat edging. The shawl is finished with a picot bind-off.

This pattern is written with both metric and US terminology. Both written and charted instructions are given for the lace pattern.

Share your project with the hashtags #⁠polarlightsshawl and #⁠talviknits.

FINISHED SIZE

• Wingspan: approx. 195 cm / 6’5”
• Depth: approx. 60 cm / 23½”

MATERIALS

Yarn

Kässäkerho Pom Pom Suoma Single (100% wool, 205 m/50 g), 3 colors

• Main color (MC): 2 skeins in the colorway Muste
• Contrasting color 1 (CC1): 1 skein in the colorway Salvia
• Contrasting color 2 (CC2): 1 skein in the colorway Mustikka

Or fingering-weight yarn, 3 colors

• MC: approx. 410 m / 450 yd
• CC1: approx. 150 m / 165 yd
• CC2: approx. 175 m / 190 yd

Needles

• 3.5 mm / US #4 long (80–100 cm / 32–40”) circular needle (or size needed to obtain gauge)

Notions

• 2 stitch markers
• Darning needle

GAUGE

• 22 sts × 32 rows = 10 cm / 4” in garter stitch, blocked
• 20 sts × 30 rows = 10 cm / 4” in lace pattern, blocked

TECHNIQUES USED

The pattern uses the following techniques: long-tail cast-on, garter stitch, lace, slipped stitches, and picot bind-off. Ability to work lace from a chart is recommended but written instructions are also provided for the lace pattern.