Flying

Flying is a light and airy crescent shawl in brioche lace.

It is worked top down, beginning with a garter tab. Shaping and patterning occur only on light color, light side rows and there are no complicated cast-ons or bind-offs, so it’s quite a relaxing project.

Beads are added in the border to highlight the curved lines of the pattern. However, they are optional!

The pattern is written and charted and has been tech edited and tested.

Knitting brioche lace means that you’re working lace, but in the brioche technique. So, this pattern is suitable for knitters who are familiar with brioche.

If you’re a brioche knitter who's never knitted brioche lace, you’ll still be able to knit this shawl! The pattern includes a 15-page Photo tutorial & Tip sheet PDF which walks you through the lace stitches; it also has instructions for a practice swatch and for beading.

Inspiration for this design comes from my two obsessions: lace and brioche. Lace is an old, familiar love and brioche is a new one. When they combine together as one fabric, there’s a lot of excitement! Nancy Marchant’s wonderful books are very inspiring, too.

Brioche lace has exceeded all my expectations because it has the qualities of both techniques – the graphic, structural quality of brioche lines and the airy elegance of lace meld into a truly unique and beautiful fabric.

The beads in the border were an afterthought. I thought they would enhance the visual impact but I wasn’t sure how they would work in brioche lace. I’m thrilled by the result!

Remember how, as a child on a swing, you swung higher and higher with increasing excitement until at the very top, you felt you might fly out and away into the sky? I felt the same breathless rush while designing and knitting this shawl and that’s why it’s named Flying. I hope you get to feel that excitement too if you knit it!

Skill level: Intermediate. Brioche knitting experience is needed. **Experience in brioche lace is not needed** as lace stitches are explained in the Photo Tutorial.

Yarn: Eden Cottage Yarns Pendle 4-ply; 100% superwash extrafine merino; 436yds/400m/100g; in colors Robin’s egg (LC) and Cedar (DC): one skein each.
Actual yardage used: LC 96g (419yds/384m); DC 97g (423yds/388m).

Needles & notions: 3.5mm (US 4) and 5mm (US 8) circular needles (32” or longer); cable needle (or split-ring marker), locking stitch marker, stitch markers, tapestry needle, 1mm crochet hook or needle and floss for placing beads and 434 6/0 size seed beads (optional).

Gauge: 18 sts/20 rows (40 passes) = 4” in Body pattern with 3.5mm needles after severe blocking.

Finished size: 78” (198 cm) along top edge, 22” (56 cm) height at center, 132” (335 cm) along bottom edge, after blocking

Many thanks to my wonderful testers. Link to test page & project photos

Tester quotes
*• I enjoyed every row of this wonderful project! Brioche is such a great meditation!
• Lace brioche was the first time for me, and lovely pattern!
• About the Photo Tutorial: As a fairly newbie in brioche, it is always helpful to have a visual representation of what my stitches are supposed to look like.
• I did use photo instructions for bead placing as the crochet hook method I usually use somehow did not work this time. Needle and thread were perfect!
• This is my first time using beads. It is going slowly but I’m having fun.*

Acknowledgement:This pattern uses techniques developed by Nancy Marchant.