Geometer Shawl Pattern

As the weather warms, dozens of lovely little moths return to settle on my back door each night. Though not as flashy as their butterfly kin I’m always captivated by the subtle, intricate patterns that adorn their delicate wings. From afar they appear gently dappled or almost uniform in color, but a closer look reveals a delicate dance of hue and shade. Geometer Shawl is an ode to these magical creatures, true masters of understated elegance.

The shawl is worked top-down in alternating sections of linen stitch and stranded colorwork, until after the fourth colorwork section. Then the right side of the shawl is worked back and forth until all stitches have been bound off, followed by the left side - this creates the distinct “wings” of the shawl.

The colorwork sections are intentionally very low-contrast, so the pattern sometimes clearly shows itself and other times fades into mottled obscurity. To get a similar result, use 4 contrast colors that form a pleasing color progression and a main color that has relatively low contrast with the 4 contrast colors. I highly recommend using hand dyed yarns with some tonal variations for an organic, natural look. 

Kits are available here, or create your own beautiful combination!