No tags yet.
Oh my...has it really been months since I last posted?! I am so so sorry but can guarantee that I have really good reasons. One reason being that I'm growing a tiny human that will join our family this summer :) Another reason...I've been busy writing up a brand new pattern that I'm excited to present to all of you today!! It's crochet. It's stripes. It's speckled yarn. It's happiness and joy and a celebration of color. It's everything rolled together and I hope you love it!
Back in December, I replied to a call on Twitter from Lorna's Laces looking for people to make samples for their booth at the upcoming TNNA show. They sent me amazing yarn in some of their new colorways, and I enjoyed playing with these new little treasures.
Among the yarn they sent me were these two skeins of Solemate in Zoe and Bonanza.
HOLY WOW!!!! Vibrant colors on overload on fingering weight yarn. What an amazing shawl these two could create together!
My next task was to find a shawl to make that worked well with these colorways. Lorna's Laces has amazing variegated yarns that work very well with knit designs since the stitches are tighter together in many patterns. Crochet tends to be more open, though, so the challenge became coming up with a pattern that let these incredible colors take a leading role. I played with various stitches and hook sizes until I found a fabric and design that accomplished just this.
And that is how the Mythical Zebracorn Shawl was born.
The comment I most often hear when people see this design is that it looks like it's knit. But...it's not! This is all 100% crochet. The pattern uses half double crochets that are strategically placed to make raised ridges throughout the body of the shawl.
One of the many things I love about this design is how the variegated Bonanza's color looks like it's spilling onto the speckled Zoe yarn. The two colorways are incredible on their own, but, put together, they compliment each other in a way you don't initially expect.
Now that I had the body construction figured out, it was time to do some edging. The shawl's top down construction gives it a nice, solid edge at the top, so I didn't do any edging there. The edging comes in the last 6 rows of the pattern. My wonderful crochet guild chapter, Crocheters of the Lakes, gave me a little extra inspiration as we were planning a star stitch program for one of our meetings.
Making the star stitch with the variegated Solemate uses the yarn's short color changes to its advantage. Each little pinwheel picks up one color at a time. It also gives additional texture to an already lovely yarn.
My finished shawl blocked out to 37" wide x 32" long. I didn't block it too aggressively. You want to make sure that the construction stays tight, but that the stitches straighten so the ridges are prominent. The triangle shape gives you the flexibility to wear it as a traditional shawl, as a bandanna scarf or wrap. A fun little bonus is wearing it with a bit of the wrong side peaking over, which is as equally brilliant as the right side.
While the Zebracorn is made with fingering weight yarn, the pattern translates well into heavier weights. The body construction is easily adjustable to make it longer or shorter so you have some ways to customize the fit to your preference. I worked up a test of it in Lorna's Laces Sportmate in Glasgow and Hampstead which still needs to be blocked. It's more scarf or shawlette length and is the perfect little something to take down the chill in the air. Here is a little peek of it unblocked.
When choosing colors, make sure to choose a variegated that compliments the speckles in the speckled yarn. It adds to the overall effect of the shawl.
A big huge thank you to Beth Casey, Amanda and everyone at Lorna's Laces for making such inspiring yarns in the most yummy colors! The original Mythical Zebracorn is currently touring with Beth and her crew at shows so if you see them there, stop by and check it out! I'll talk about some of the other amazing colors I got to play with later next month. If you head to their website lornaslaces.net, you'll see other color combos of variegated and speckled yarn that go well together. I have a feeling their colorways Atticus and Scout will be next on my acquisition list :)
Another big, huge, gigantic thank you to my friends Deb and Melanie for their support and checking my logic with the writing of this pattern. I swear...early onset senior moments and pregnancy brain are interesting and you both were so generous and kind with your time and patience with me.
My Mythical Zebracorn crochet shawl pattern is now available for purchase!
The digital pattern download is available through my Ravelry and Etsy shops. Within the download, you'll find a picture tutorials for how to do the placement of the half double crochets as well as how to do the star stitch for the border.
Share your Mythical Zebracorn with me!
I'd love to see your finished Zebracorn! Share it with me on my Facebook page and on Instagram @yarngerie. Give it a little hashtag of #mythicalzebracorn so others can see it, too!