Three years ago today, David (my other half - fiance now but I still call him OH) published his Quadratic shawl pattern to Ravelry. He had originally submitted it to Knitty and to be honest I was absolutely convinced it'd get in - I mean, what’s not to love? It's cosy squishy garter stitch with pops of colour, and it’s both super-easy and fun.
Anyway, after months of waiting we finally heard - it got rejected. We were disappointed, obviously, but I said let’s release it on Ravelry anyway… we’re glad we did as it went straight into the hot right now where it stayed for longer than we could have anticipated. It got a lot of love across social media, and has continued to do so in the intervening years.
We’ve seen some really interesting versions of it made by knitters, and you can have a browse of those HERE if you want some inspiration.
In a total twist of coincidence I had been looking at the knitwear shelves on Friday and thinking that Quadratic never got proper modelled photos and maybe it might be nice to get some, so we had actually been planning to photograph it today anyway. Then this morning Facebook brought up the ‘on this day’ thing and it had Quadratic from three years ago! So clearly it was meant to be. ;)
Let me tell you a bit more about the actual shawl: it’s knitted from the long edge to the point, so unlike most shawls it gets smaller as you work through it, not bigger. It’s a super-easy pattern; it’s beauty is in its simplicity, so it’s ideal for beginner knitters as well as for more experienced knitters who need something soothing and easy to work on. It’s great to wear - pulled snug it makes a cosy and warm piece of knitwear, and worn more loosely it’s just a lovely accessory.
Yarn requirements - you’ll need approx 150g/600m of 4ply; ideally something smooshy like Hayton 4ply (which is what this sample uses) for the main colour. The stripes are tiny so you only need about 5g/20m for each one. This is the original reason we created our cute little Yarning packs. If you don’t have any suitable scraps or just want the excuse to buy something cute, you can find Yarnings HERE. The colours for the original one were inspired by the colours in a rug that I have; it’s a proper 60s-70s wool rug and I still use it albeit in a place where it won’t get heavy foot traffic. If you go to the pattern page HERE you'll see a photo of that run with the yarn on it. :)
I have a few more Quadratic shawls as well as the original one. There are a couple that are done using Milburn 4ply as the main colour - if you want to do that don’t forget you’ll need six 50g balls for it - and a couple of stripe colour palettes. Then there’s my pink one - this one is made using Askham 4ply as the main colour, but then I use a monochrome set of Yarnlings, which I think looks really cool. The Milburn and Askham 4ply versions are both more drapey and loose-looking (gauge) than the original one because those yarns are finer and more silky compared to the bounce and smoosh of Hayton 4ply. If you want something similarly smooshy, Pendle 4ply which is pure superwash merino would be a good bet. We are however having a Hayton 4ply update on Wednesday (today is Monday so only two days away) night at 6pm UK time. That all segues very nicely, doesn’t it?!
Here's the first Milburn one (with the blue palette) (that was me a few years ago - the pics above this are me today):
The second Milburn one in a different stripe palette:
And here's my pink one:
I should really get some better pics of those ones too, shouldn't I?!
I actually made a DK version too, which I may as well show you - we did add in instructions for a DK version to the pattern so you can make a giant knitted hug too if you so fancy. I used Whitfell DK in Charcoal for the main colour with Dogwood for the lovely popping stripes. Charcoal is now out of stock and we're not getting any more, BUT we will be getting the new Milburn DK (yes! Milburn DK!) in Charcoal to make up for it, later this year. Yey!
Anyway, here's the shawl and before I finish with that I'll just add that I hope this post has inspired you!
