Snickerdoodle Knits' Guiding Principles Collection was released a year ago, for New Years 2020. I designed this collection of four shawl knitting patterns to represent traits and characters that are needed for a "successful" year, or a year where we work toward our goals and experience personal growth.
The four characteristics that I used as the guiding principles were Hope, Endurance, Patience, and Trust. I choose these four, believing that each would help us achieve the goals that we set for the new year if we are faithful in implementing the four traits.
With it being another new year, it only seemed fitting to share this collection, which is very special to me (as I shared in my Instagram post here), again to kick off 2021.
The shawls within the collection are available for purchase on Ravelry, LoveCrafts, and Payhip. You will automatically receive 15% off your patterns when you purchase the full collection on Ravelry or Payhip. (The first three links will direct you to my knitting pattern shop on the respective platform; the last two links will bring you directly to the collection on the respective platform.)
Now, let's get into each shawl, shall we?
Hope Shawl
At the beginning of a new year, sentiments of hope and opportunity are abounding and overwhelming, manifesting emotions of optimism and enthusiasm. In the midst of this excitement, dreams are created, resolutions are declared, and goals are set. As days pass, hope fades and discouragement settles, hindering the prospect of achievement. To obtain our goals, we must daily foster our hope for the future.
The Hope Shawl captures the essence of hope: its lively but calming, uplifting and freeing characteristics. This design is comprised of open, simple textures that are a joy to knit. I used a beautiful and lively mutli-color yarn to emphasize the lightweight, cheerful characteristics of hope.
When you grow weary of long days and short-comings, let the Hope Shawl remind you of what gives you hope and fills you with enthusiasm.
This pattern includes both written and charted instructions in the same PDF, but the instructions are separated so you only have to print what you need. This design was created as a collaboration with Six and Seven Fiber. I used 2 skeins of her Morning Glory colorway on her Barley base.
For color inspiration & suggestions as well as alternative & affordable yarn recommendations, check out “Hope Shawl: Color Inspiration.”
This pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry, LoveCrafts, and Payhip. (These links will take you directly to the pattern!)
Endurance Shawl
Optimism and excitement accompany the freshness of the new year, but these emotions quickly dissipate as the days grow monotonous again. To follow through with our goals for the year, endurance is a necessary characteristic in the simple, ordinary days. Often, the “ordinary days” feel monotonous, boring, and maybe even tiring. Most days aren’t filled with great adventures, new achievements, or exotic experiences, but there is much to be found in these days: small beauties, joy, and laughter. And, each day adds up to fulfill goals and dreams.
The Endurance Shawl represents the monotony of everyday life. Knitting garter is basic – and perhaps boring – but finding the beauty in this pattern is all about the colors that you choose and the simplicity of garter. Remember, every stitch is adding up to create something you’ll love! It's also a great knit for mutli-tasking, whether you're sitting back and visiting with friends, watching your kids play, or traveling as this shawl works up quickly! If you find that you’re getting bored, just change the colors again. This design is extremely customizable in size, color order, and length.
This pattern includes written instructions only, due to the simplicity of the pattern. It was created as a collaboration with Leading Men Fiber Arts. I used one skein each of colors Midnight Rendezvous, Orchard Slope, and Raspberry Parfait on their Dramaturg base.
For color inspiration & suggestions as well as alternative & affordable yarn recommendations, check out “Endurance Shawl: Color Inspiration.”
This pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry, LoveCrafts, and Payhip. (These links will take you directly to the pattern!)
P.S. This is the coziest, squishiest shawl and 100% my most worn shawl!
Patience Shawl
“Patience is a virtue,” we’ve all heard it a million times. If only it were as easy to practice as it is to say! Beginning a new year, we know that many of our goals will take longer to achieve than we’d like to think. Or, we get partway into the year and realize we had unrealistic expectations. But don’t let that stop you! Continue to take each step – with patience – and pay attention to details so a little mistake doesn’t set you farther back.
The Patience Shawl references meticulous parts of life that slow us down when we are racing at full-speed. The lace motifs encourage the knitter to slow down, enjoy the details, and press forward with patience, and the result is a gorgeous triangular lace shawl with six optional tassels.
The pattern includes 2 PDF download files: one with written instructions, and one with charted instructions. This design was created as a collaboration with Tippy Tree Yarns. I used 1.5 skeins of her Branches colorway on the Sparkle Sock base.
For color inspiration & suggestions as well as alternative & affordable yarn recommendations, check out “Patience Shawl: Color Inspiration.”
This pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry, LoveCrafts, and Payhip. (These links will take you directly to the pattern!)
Trust Shawl
When the future is uncertain, how do you react? When everything turns upside down, how do you feel? Many things throughout the coming year can’t be controlled, good or bad. An instinctive reaction is to stress, to worry, to be anxious, to resort to fear and frustration; but these reactions cause harm and damage our well-being.
The Trust Shawl originates from my desire to trust rather than exercise my anxiety – trust that everything will work out, that good can come out of every situation, and that it is ok to relax. This shawl represents the solid, grounded things that we can depend on – the things that carry weight and won’t be easily moved. I used one solid, deep-toned color and repeated familiar, weighty, structured motifs throughout the shawl. There are no surprises, and you can trust what you’re getting into: just some knits and purls (and some increases). It is designed as a ¾ shawl, representative of a big hug that you can trust on for comfort and coziness.
This pattern includes both written instructions and instructions in one PDF file, but the instructions are kept separate so you can easily print only the pages that you need. This design was created as a collaboration with Native Fibers. I used 3 skeins of her Cabernet colorway on her Arctic DK base.
For color inspiration & suggestions as well as alternative & affordable yarn recommendations, check out “Trust Shawl: Color Inspiration.”
This pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry, LoveCrafts, and Payhip. (These links will take you directly to the pattern!)
And that is the Guiding Principles Collection, a collection of four knitting patterns using varying shapes and fabrics to represent four traits that I think are helpful each year: hope for the future, endurance when things are tough or boring, patience when things take a different direction or timeline than expected, and trust that good can come when a situation looks bleak.
Which shawl will you knit first? Which principle do you most resonate with? Do you plan to bring any of these characteristics with you into the new year? Don't forget you will automatically receive 15% off your patterns when you purchase the full collection on Ravelry or Payhip.
If you knit one (or all!) of these shawls, I'd love to see your project! You can tag me on Instagram and link your Ravelry project page to the pattern. Happy Knitting!