THE LIFE BEHIND IT ALL
THE LIFE BEHIND IT ALL
SNICKERDOODLE KNITS
Creativity, Clarity + Confidence in Knitting
Intertwined Shawl
Cozy, warm and squishy, the Intertwined is the perfect winter shawl for when you need a big hug around your neck. The design features two textures that flow in and out of one another and tells the story of friendship. It's a great pattern for the new brioche knitter.
The techniques includes within this pattern include smocking stitch and brioche, but don't let that scare you! This is a great pattern for the knitter that has been scared to learn brioche. More information on techniques can be found here.
The Intertwined Shawl uses (2) 100-gram skeins of worsted weight yarn in each color. For more information on yarn requirements, click here.
No one bug, plant, animal, or human can live entirely in its own ecosystem without being connected to, surrounded by, influenced by, and helped by other living organisms in that same ecosystem. In nature, we can see how the extinction of a species impacts other species, even if they were seemingly independent of one another.
So it is in our living as humans, and this is why so many things are not just black and white: everything is interconnected. No one event stands entirely on its own. No one human stands entirely on their own.
The theme for this shawl was inspired by the yarn dyer, Rachel of Six and Seven Fiber.
We were in-real-life friends before I’d been introduced to the world of knitting on Instagram, before I knew about hand-dyed yarn, and before I’d ever even thought of knitwear designing as a job. My spouse and I spent two summers in Denver for internships, and during the school year, we lived about two hours away. During that time, Rachel became a really good friend to me and an important part of my life. When I moved over 22 hours across the country, our friendship became a bit more distant, but we continue to stay in touch through our fiber-y businesses.
So, when I was sitting down swatching for this design, I knew I wanted to use two-color brioche, and I really like the smocked texture with it. I was trying to come up with a theme for the shawl that had something to do with friendship, specifically our friendship, and the word “intertwined” came to mind.
Our lives are connected, sometimes only by a few stitches, sometimes knit close together. The brioche in this shawl represents living parallel lives, and yet they are connected. Sometimes it seems we’re on a completely different path compared to someone or something else, but their influence is still there, always in the background. The smocking texture represents keeping in touch with others. For most friendships in life, we aren’t spending 100% of our time with our friends. But we stay connected, and those conversations and experiences tie us together.
You wake up to your alarm beeping for what feels like the millionth time today. "It's too cold to get out of bed!" you mumble to the still, dark room.
It's one of those frigid mornings that is only best for crawling under a cozy blanket, sipping on some coffee, and watching a fire roar in the fireplace. But, instead, you have to go to work.
You're looking for a cozy knit that'll be a hug to encourage you on this already-difficult day, plus an extra layer of squishy warmth. And that's when you spot it out of the corner of your eye: your Intertwined Shawl. Yes, that's it. Just what you need. As you wrap it around your neck, you walk out of the room with a small smile, and a better outlook on the day.
Methodic, rhythmic, easy to read your knitting. You need a project that is enjoyable but relaxing. Something that doesn't require a lot of looking at the pattern to figure out what's going on. But something that will be beautiful when you're finished.
The 2-stitch repeat of brioche and 5-stitch repeat of smocking stitch make the Intertwined Shawl engaging and interesting, but still quite simple, and very easy to read your knitting. These two textures are repeated throughout the entire shawl.
The techniques in the Intertwined Shawl are perfect for the adventurous beginner knitter, with knits, purls, smocking, simple increases, and brioche. Not familiar with brioche? Don't let that scare you! I explain it in my brioche videos so it's clear and easy to follow. (Basically, it's just yarn overs and slipped stitches.) Multiple Intertwined Shawl test knitters were trying brioche for the first time and were pleasantly surprised by how simple it is!
All of my patterns include clear, step-by-step (written and charted) instructions and linked video technique tutorials that walk you through the pattern with confidence and joy. I am also available for pattern support if you have questions.
Size
Width: 58.5 in / 149 cm
Depth: 30.5 in / 77 cm
Yarn
382 yds / 349 m; 174 g Worsted Weight Yarn for CC (Yellow)
463 yds / 423 m; 210 g Worsted Weight Yarn for MC (Orange)
Designed using Six and Seven FiberRocky Mountain Targhee (100% Non-Superwash Targhee; 110 yds / 100 m, 50 g), shown in Pinon (CC) and
Sunshine(MC).
Get color combination & alternate yarn recommendations here.
A note on this yarn: The mill measures the yarn by yardage rather than weight. So, you may receive a weight different than 50 or 100 grams (my skeins were 90 grams), but you will always receive 110 or 220 yards.
A note on the MC yarn quantity: All of my yarn quantities include an extra 10% from what I used to ensure you don’t run out of yarn, so you can likely get away with only two 100-gram skeins. (The test knitters also all used less than 2 skeins.) If you do run out, you can transition from the 2-color brioche to 1-color brioche at the bottom of the shawl early. However, if you’d rather not risk running out of yarn, you may want to purchase an additional skein.
Construction
Worked flat from the top down
Gauge
16 sts, 24 rows = 4” / 10 cm in smocking stitch with larger needle
15 sts, 20 rows = 4” / 10 cm in brioche with smaller needle
Tools
5.5 mm (US size 9) – or size needed to obtain smocking gauge – circular needles, 32” (80 cm) minimum length
5.0 mm (US size 8) – or one size smaller than needed to obtain smocking gauge – circular needles, 32” (80 cm) minimum length
Cable needle or stitch holder
Darning needle
3 Stitch markers