Current projects: Sophie Scarf and Nordic Shawl

I know it has been very quiet here in recent weeks. I have been busy revising some older posts. In addition, I have reworked and redesigned pages from my „Good to know” section:

Tunisian Crochet – The Basics

Basic Tunisian Crochet Stitches

Filet Crochet – The Basics

That took quite a lot of time, so there was little time left for crochet or knitting. At the moment, I only have two small projects on my needles and hooks.

A Sophie Scarf inspired knitting project

My knitting project is sort of a Sophie Scarf. It is nearly finished and only needs washing and blocking.

I say “sort of” because I’m not entirely sure whether my version actually follows the Sophie Scarf instructions.

Last year, I bought the pattern for the Sophie Shawl and some beautiful wool to go with it.

The Sophie Shawl and the smaller version, the Sophie Scarf, seem to be everywhere at the moment. I like the simplicity of the design! But I am afraid it is not as easy to knit as it looks. At least I quickly realised that I probably needed a bit more practice.

I had never knitted an I-cord edge before. Once you get the technique, it is surprisingly easy. My edge itself turned out very well. Only the stitches directly after the edge looked a bit slouchy. Getting the tension right still seems to be one of my biggest problems in knitting! Besides, the increases and decreases that are needed to shape the shawl were very clearly visible. I didn’t like it at all.

So I decided to try making a small scarf first. I followed the instructions for the larger shawl. I only re-arranged the spacing for the increases and decreases at the sides as I thought best. So I am not sure whether it is exactly what is instructed for the Sophie scarf.

After several attempts, I am now reasonably satisfied with the result.

Sophie Shawl and Sophie Scarf are both designed by PetiteKnit and available on Ravelry.

Besides knitting I have also a crochet project on the go.

The Nordic Shawl – A crochet pattern

The Nordic Shawl by Lucia Luciano is my current crochet project. I spotted it on Ravelry shortly after the pattern was released last year.

The Nordic Shawl is also a rather minimalist design and has an elongated, flat triangular shape. The pattern looks different on the front and back and is very attractive on both sides.

Here too, it took me several attempts. This time, however, it was the yarn that caused me to start over three times. I initially wanted to use yarn from my stash, but in the end I ordered the original yarn used in the pattern. And I’m happy with it! It is Cotton Merino from Katia Concept. My colour is 132 – Whitish green. The yarn is so soft and fluffy. It is a pleasure to work with. I am using a 6 mm hook.

For the first few rows, Lucia’s video was very helpful and the Brioche stitch became clear to me.

But I have to admit, when working the first rows, I tended to skip a stitch at the beginning or end of a row. I had to count carefully. The different stitch counts in the front and back rows made it difficult for me. But I got the hang of it! Now it works without any problems. I only mark the first stitch of a row. That makes counting easier for me.

My progress on the shawl is rather slow, though. But winter is over here anyway. So there’s no rush. I’m simply enjoying the process.