Step Function shawl
Ever heard of illusion knitting? It's a technique where you use knits and purls on a background of two colour garter stripes to make a pattern appear when you view the knitting from an angle. This triangular, two-colour brioche shawl is a translation of the concept of illusion knitting from garter stitch into brioche. At first glance it looks like fairly ordinary brioche rib, but catch it from the right angle and you can see the pattern that is hiding in plain sight.
Step Function uses two colours of fingering weight yarn, one skein of each colour. It is worked from the bottom up, starting with a few cast on stitches and then growing as you increase along each edge. This construction means the shawl is very versatile in terms of sizing, and even yarn weight. You just cast on and then keep knitting until the shawl is the size you want.
As for the name, a step function is a mathematical function that has a graph which looks like a set of steps. This shawl, with its zigzags, reminded me exactly of those graphs.
Materials:
• Fingering weight yarn in two colours, approximately 365 (400yds) of each.
• 3.5mm/US 4 circular needle with an 80cm/32” or longer cable.
• Two stitch markers.
• Tapestry needle to weave in ends.
Size of finished shawl:
Wingspan 190cm/76", depth 56cm/22.5”, relaxed after blocking. Since the shawl is worked from the bottom up, you can customise the size by working more or fewer repeats.
Gauge:
Obtaining gauge is not essential, as long as you are happy with the fabric you are getting. Different gauge will affect the size of the finished object and the amount of yarn used.
Gauge is 14 stitches and 25 rows in pattern in a 10cm x 10cm/ 4” x 4” square, relaxed after blocking.
The pattern has both written instructions and charts.
For pattern support, please email me at leelamary.knits@gmail.com. You may also find me on Instagram as @leelamary or on BlueSky as @leelamary.bsky.social. If you would like to hear about future pattern releases, please join my mailing list.
