Craft Lovers ♥ Stefania Shawl by Alessandro Estrella

Put your hands up all of you who can´t stop knitting and crocheting shawls! We totally understand… knitting or crocheting a shawl is an ´addictive´ experience. Whether it’s in crochet, in knit, made in one colour, in a combination of various tones or in ´magical´ degrades… the shawl is an ideal accessory for any season of the year. For this reason, we want to enliven your passion for this versatile, fun, elegant, unisex, four seasons item… carefully elaborated by the hands and needles of Alessandro Estrella, the star knitter and crocheter of this month´s Craft Lovers. Get to know the beautiful story of his love for knit and crochet – we´re sure that you´ll be able to identify with it – and enjoy knitting the Stefania Shawl with Katia Tahiti Jeans thanks to the knit pattern that he´s shared with us. Avanti!

“My name is Alessandro, I´m 37 years old and I live and work in Turin (Italy). I discovered crochet in 2011 when, seized by the sudden desire to have a checked blanket for my bed, I didn´t have the courage to ask my mother to make me one. Therefore, I searched for video-tutorials on Youtube, bought yarn, a crochet hook… and taught myself. Since then, my interest in the world of yarns and woollen creations has become my true passion. A little bit later on, I also learnt how to weave scarves with a loom that I´d built myself, but being – in my opinion – a limited technique for making garments, I abandoned it and finally learnt how to knit with knitting needles. In the beginning I used the traditional straight knitting needles, but I soon substituted them for circular knitting needles.

I adore the ease and comfort of using circular needles when using the continental method (with the yarn in the left hand) and because they are so easy to transport, as I always take my knitting projects with me when I travel. Those who know me well know that knitting or crocheting whilst travelling on the train is one of my greatest pleasures. I started to knit small accessories like blankets, scarves and hats… then, thanks to Facebook and all the friends that I´ve met, I was struck by the beauty and versatility of shawls. This led me to develop a growing interest in this type of accessory leading me to the point where I now create my own designs. It has become such a huge passion of mine, and as a result I share it on Facebook through the group “Passione Scialli“.

Stefania Shawl by Alessandro Estrella

Materials: 5 balls of Katia Tahiti Jeans, combed 100% cotton (50 gr, 9 yds.), circular needles 7 mm – USA 10.5 with 100 cm. cable, 4 stitch markers  and tapestry needle.

Stitches

• K: knit
• P: purl
• yo: yarnover
• PM: place marker
• SM: skip marker
• M: marker
• k2tog: knit 2 sts. together
• SSK: skip, skip, knit

Measurements: Approx. 68″ x 32″

Pattern: Cast on 9 sts. and k 4 rows.; restart row counting.

Row 1 (right side): k3, pm, yo, pm, k3, pm, yo, pm, k3;
Row 2 (wrong side): k3, sm, p1, sm, k3, sm, p1, sm, k3;
Row 3: k3, sm, yo, k1, yo, sm, k3, sm, yo, k1, yo, sm, k3;
Row 4 and every ws row: k3, sm, p to next marker, sm, k3, sm, p to next marker, sm, k3;
Row 5: k3, sm, yo, k to next marker, yo, sm, k3, sm, yo, k to next marker, yo, sm, k3;
Row 7: k3, sm, yo, *ssk, yo, repeat from * to 1 st before m, k1, yo, sm, k3, sm, yo, k1, * yo, k2tog, repeat from * to next m, yo, sm, k3;
Row 9: repeat row 5
Rows 11-13: repeat row 7
Row 15: repeat row 5
Rows 17-19-21: repeat row 7
Row 23: repeat row 5
Rows 25-27-29-31: repeat row 7
Row 33: repeat row 5
Rows 35-37-39-41-43: repeat row 7
Row 45: repeat row 5
Rows 47-49-51-53-55-57: repeat row 7
Row 59: repeat row 5
Rows 61-63-65-67-69-71-73: repeat row 7
Row 75: repeat row 5
Rows 77-79-81-83-85-87-89-91: repeat row 7
Row 93: repeat row 5
Rows 95-97-99-101-103: repeat row 7
Rows 105-106-107-108: knit;
Row 109 elastic bind off: *k2tog tbl, skip back the st from right needle to left needle,
repeat from * to last stitch.

If you like you can use the leftover yarn to apply the fringes. Sew the tails, wash and block the shawl.

©Alessandro Estrella. This pattern is for personal use only. The pattern reproduction, disclosure, the use for commercial purpose as well as the sale of garments made from it without the permission of the designer are prohibited. aledejaneiro@tiscali.it