Meet the Flatiron Shawl, the three color asymmetrical beauty designed to fulfill every crocheters desire for a fingering weight shawl. My newest design really is my pride and joy. 4 months in the making, I took my time to make sure the Flatiron Shawl exceeded my crafty expectations. In the end, I’ve produced something that I not only loved making but never want to stop wearing. And the color? I mean, come on!

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I’m often asked what comes first – the design, the name, the pattern, or the yarn? The short answer is all of it. Every design takes shape in a different way. In this case, the Flatiron Shawl started with yarn. My mother is the angel in my life who introduced me to knit and crochet, so she has a standing invitation to all yarn-relating outings I go to. In September 2017, I invited her to Wool Gathering, an annual fiber festival hosted at Young’s Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I’d never been before, and what better way to spend a late summer day than inside a vinyl tent filled with wool (sarcastic, yes, but totally worth it).

There were dozens of vendors selling everything a yarn lover could want, including raw fleece, undyed alpaca, hand dyed yarn, and every tool or supply that possibly exists. We went on the first day and stocked up on everything we touched. We also indulged in some Young’s Dairy cheese curds since we heard you can’t go there without trying them (so good!). Mom was in town for the whole weekend, so we made the 45 minute drive there again the next day, just to look around. Needless to say, I did a little more than look.

My intention day 2 was just to follow mom around and peek at a few of the stalls we’d missed the day before. But then I stumbled upon Shay Day Fiber Arts. There is no shortage of interesting yarns in my collection, but something about the way dyer Shay Hill put together color drew me right in. I quickly picked up three skeins of a Merino/Donegal mix – a colorful series on rainbow tweed that graded deeper in saturation, leaning strongly into orange. The cubby in the picture above contains just a few of the pretty skeins I got at Wool Gathering. You can even seen the three skeins from Shay Day near the top left of the pile.

I’ll be completely honest – I don’t buy yarn with a project in mind. I’m a bit of a collector. So you won’t be surprised to know that these skeins sat in my stash for months while I focused on releasing the Veronica Cardi, Astrid Ruana, and Bubble Wrap Slouch XL patterns. I was pulled in too many directions to focus on a fingering weight project. I was looking something to pass the time shortly before some Thanksgiving travelling and stumbled upon the framework for designing an asymmetrical shawl in knitting. I made a quick swatch, adjusting the pattern as needed for crochet, and was pleasantly surprised with the results. That gave me the jolt of inspiration I needed to make something completely different than anything else I’d designed.

I started the design with the lightest color first and made some good progress before I got sidetracked again. You know the Christmas hustle – it’s a votex that doesn’t spit you out until well after New Year’s. As luck would have it, I was planning a trip to New York in early January and needed a small project to take with me. I put the still-unnamed fingering weight shawl in my carry-on bag and went on the trip of my crafty dreams. I was so inspired by the city and all of the people that I met. Every time I looked at the small sample of the fingering weight shawl I started, it reminded me of the trip. Specifically, it made me think of a fun event in a basement bar when I met finally met some of my crafty idols in person. So the piece finally had a name: The Flatiron Shawl.

Withing just a few weeks, the Flatiron Shawl started to become exactly what I wanted it to be. I’d noticed a trend in “faded” knit accessory and garment designs, manipulating construction to give the illusion of colors melding into one another with clever striping. But that gorgeous trend had not made it’s way to crochet. Why not? If I couldn’t find what I wanted in crochet, I would just have to make my version of it. As a happy accident, I also learned how underutilized fingering weight yarn is in the crochet community. The Flatiron Shawl solves both of those problems.

I love everything about the Flatiron Shawl, namely these pattern features:

• Asymmetrical design constructed from simple increasing and decreasing techniques
• “Faded” color scheme, using a Light, Medium, and Dark shade within the same color family
• Flirty border combines mesh and a picot-like stitch pattern
• Extra large wingspan allows wrap to be worn many different ways
• The perfect pattern for an ambitious beginners that’s tired of making washcloths but doesn’t have the patience for blankets

There’s something very special about releasing a pattern with so many strong memories tied to it. The Flatiron Shawl will always be special to me, and I hope it will be to every maker who finishes their own. If you’re ready to give the Flatiron Shawl a try, click the Buy Now button below or find it here on tlyarncrafts.com.

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