Wrapped in Color, 30 Shawls to Knit
This time of year beckons us to stay indoors and get all warm and snugly. I have lots of handmade afghans around the house that my family use on a daily basis during the cold winter months. Now, thanks to my new book, Wrapped in Color, 30 Shawls to Knit, I can drape myself in a cozy wrap, shawl or cape.
We’re naturally drawn to specific colors and this book is brimming with projects made with a kaleidoscope of vibrant hues. The shawl patterns in this book not only have gorgeous patterns;Â they’re visually artistic and attractive.
They look like works of art because they’re created with high-quality, but they’re also merino, Koigu’s signature yarns. I blush to say that I haven’t heard of this brand, nor was I able to find anywhere I live. But, none the less, the inspiration is there and I was able to create my own version of the Lucky Lady Shawl.
The Lucky Lady shawl is made in two pieces. You first make a garter stitch square and then knit a lacy border around the square. You can use a single hue or contrasting colors.
My mom made this shawl for a family member who adores all shades of pink, but my cat is borrowing it for one moment. Each pattern has a skill level symbol that’s easy to recognize and allows you to discern if you want to tackle the project. One dot for beginner, two for easy, three for intermediate, and four dots for experienced. This particular pattern is deemed for the experienced knitter. The back of the book has all the terms, techniques, glossary, needle size conversion chart, yarn weight chart, and stitch diagrams you’ll need.
Each pattern has written instructions, as well as a graph to follow. I personally prefer to follow graphs, it’s so much faster and easy to grasp. You’ll also get clear, bright and bold images of the garment and the intricate details within its pattern. I like to see the finished project before I decide I want to create the garment.
There are different sizes of yarn used throughout the book, so if you’re looking for a faster project, you’ll want thicker yarn. There’s a little yarn skein symbol with a number in it that will tell you how thick the yarn is, the higher the number, the thicker the yarn. But, that being said, the Lucky Lady shawl requires a size one yarn, but we made it out of a size 3 yarn. You can get away with this substitution when making shawls.
I have to point out that there are some errors in this book, but you can access the corrections on the Soho website. My mom and I enjoyed perusing through the book and creating this gorgeous shawl.
Disclaimer: I received product to facilitate a review. All opinions are my own, yours may differ.