Frosty Pines

Frosty Pines, designed by Isabell Kraemer available to buy on Ravelry

Like many of my projects recently Frosty Pine was an impulse knit.

It's a large knitted asymmetrical scarf, super cosy in DK yarn and full of interesting textures. I saw the pattern on Isabell Kraemer's Instagram and loved the combination of lace, stripes and garter stitch.

Knitting it with 3 shades of West Yorkshire Spinners Bluefaced Leicester DK made it even better.

It's a 100% British Wool with a lovely lustre and squish. It's a real treat to work with - woolly and soft. We've used it before to knit our Rocquaine jumper.

It's been a while since I've done a more complex lace pattern so I was relieved to find Isabell's pattern very clearly written with both lace patterns written out and charted.

The both lace patterns are worked over 8 stitches and repeated across the row.

I found the stitches to be quite intuitive so the more I did the quicker I became. But I didn't find myself racing ahead as I enjoyed focussing on the stitches and working with the yarn.

So although I finished the shawl within a month (very quick for me) it was because the project held my attention and was one I looked forward to working on.

The actual lace pattern (pairing holes made from yarn overs with matching decreases) is only worked on the right side. But I still paid attention on the wrong side, which was all purled, to find any missed yarn overs and pop a strand onto the needle.

Trust me, it saves a lot of time catching mistakes on the wrong side rather on the next right side. 

The shawl is pretty big making it great for wearing over your shoulders or wrapping around your neck.

Mine measures 208cm wide and 86cm deep, slightly bigger than the pattern suggests as my gauge was a bit looser. Isabell does offer guidance on checking your gauge as well as changing the size of the shawl which is very helpful as it can be tricky when you are working with lace patterns as you have to match the stitch repeat to the stitches on the needle.

Although it was the combination of lace and garter that first attracted me to Frosty Pines, I think most of all I love the slip stitch squishy ribbed edge along one side which I did not expect. Gorgeous!

I blocked this shawl in my usual way. Wash in Eucalan, squish out excess water, layout and pin with pins to open up the lace holes and straighten the edges then leave to completely dry.

WYS Bluefaced Leicester has a range of shades. I decided on two neutrals with a pop of green. Although, I was very tempted by a pop or turquoise or the less popping umber!

You can see our full collection and our Frosty Pines shawl in the Pittenweem Shop. Come visit and give it a squish.

To recap 

You can buy a copy of the Frosty Pines on Ravelry.

You can buy WYS Bluefaced Leicester DK here. I used 2 balls of Light Brown (002) and 1 hank each of Fellside (1038) and Fossil (1034).

You can of course use another DK yarn. You just need 3 colours, 380m of C1, 212m of C2 and 127m of C3.

You can buy circular needles here. The pattern specifies 5mm and 4.5mm both 100cm long.

Looking for a beginner lace pattern? Try our free Horseshoe Lace Cowl pattern. or read about our Wonderball Wrap.

 ...

If you'd like more info on lace knitting Tin Can Knits have a good tutorial on lace knitting (and some free lace patterns too).

And the Anniken Allis website is also good for lace techniques.

We have a range of lace books too - with photographic tutorials and patterns. You can find them in our Lace Book collection.