Palace Gates

From London’s Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Versailles, from Esterházy Palace in Hungary to Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg, the main gates that provide the first line of security to so many castles are stunning lace motifs wrought of iron, and gilded with gold, instead of knit with two sticks and some string. At least, that’s what a kind knitter thought of when she suggested Palace Gates might be the perfect name for my latest design.

Knit in one piece from a four-stitch cast on, this shawl will grow and grow, until you reach the size you want, run short of yarn, or just get bored. So long as you work an odd number of main repeats, you can stop anywhere, work the border rows, then bind off. I’ve already done the math for you for four sizes. Tips are included for making the border bigger, if you want to use up the last bits of your yarn.

• Yarn: lace weight; 500 [700, 900, 1150] yards.
• Model: Malabrigo Yarn Lace in Burgundy in smallest size; 100% Merino wool; 470 yards in 50 grams.
• Gauge: 23 sts and 19 rows to 4 inches in stitch pattern, blocked.
• Needles: US 6 (4 mm).
• Finished size: (width at base x height): 35.25 x 34 [42 x 39.25, 49 x 44.25, 56 x 49.25] inches.
• Stitch instructions: Charted and written.