I recently got the chance to test knit for Laura Chau of Cosmicpluto Knits. I’ve been on a real shawl/shawlette kick this summer, completing 6.5 of them since May. So when she called for test knitters for her new bamboo inspired shawl I jumped on the chance, even though she needed it completed within five days. The pattern calls for 450 yards of fingering weight yarn so I rifled through my stash and decided to use Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! in the colorway Blue Lobster. This is a very cushy, soft yarn (80/10/10 merino/cashmere/nylon) and I used a little over 415 yards, even with adding an extra “joint” to the bamboo rib chart.

As written, the pattern measures about 42″x13″. My finished shawl, with the extra bit of edging blocked gently to 46″x16″. Big enough to wrap comfortable around my neck, but not big enough to wear as a traditional, shoulder covering shawl (at least not for me. Someone with more narrow shoulders and a smaller bust would probably be able to though.)

Neither of the two stitch patterns are complicate, per se, but they are a little hard on the hands. There’s a lot of needle acrobatics involved which wore my hands out in the 3.5 days it took me to knit this. The end result is stunning though. The texture makes it dense and squishy, but it still has a great deal of drape and softness to it. And I love how the ribbed edge looks a lot like ruffles. Very sweet. The yarn itself was great to use, and the color is amazing, so deep and vibrant. All in all, I love this shawl! The pattern is available for purchase now.