This is part 6 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter, Series 3 Edition.
It’s Day 6 of the 12 Days of Winter Kit Collection. Today we’re sharing a show-stopping shawl that’s incredibly quick to knit, largely thanks to beautiful drop stitches. Say hello to the Icicles shawl, designed by Adrienne Larsen.
Knit up using Rozetti Yarns Cotton Gold and Alaska, held together as one strand, this project glistens and glows. Cotton Gold, with its luminous sequins, is one of our favorite carry-along yarns and adds magic to any project. Alaska is a super soft and featherweight yarn with a gorgeous halo. Together, these yarns are a match made in heaven.
Aside from the glorious yarn combination, the stripes of undulating dropped stitches make this pattern shine (literally!). We love how quickly drop stitches make any project knit up, and they’re easy to work. The Icicles shawl, thanks to the stitch pattern, would be a great last-minute gift for someone truly special. If you’re feeling intimidated by dropped stitches, fear not – these are the good kind of dropped stitches. Today, we have a tutorial on how to work each of the dropped stitches featured in the pattern.
Kw2 – Knit and wrap yarn around the needle two times.
To work a kw2 on a right side row, knit the next stitch, but wrap your working yarn around the needle two times. Pull through. On the wrong side of your work, a kw2 will look like two stitches on your needle, but you’re only going to work into one. The stitch you knit should be the first stitch on your needle, with the extra wrap behind it. Knit the stitch, and drop the wrap. Kw3 – Knit and wrap yarn around the needle three times. To work a kw3 on a right side, knit the next stitch, but wrap your working yarn around the needle three times. Pull through. On the wrong side of your work, a kw3 will look like three stitches on your needle, but you’re only going to work into one. The stitch you knit should be the first stitch on your needle, with the two extra wraps behind it. Knit the stitch, and drop the two extra wraps. Kw4 – Knit and wrap yarn around the needle four times. To work a kw4 on the right side, knit the next stitch, but wrap your working yarn around the needle four times. Pull through. On the wrong side of your work, a kw4 will look like four stitches on your needle, but you’re only going to work into one. The stitch you knit should be the first stitch on your needle, with the three extra wraps behind it. Knit the stitch, and drop the three extra wraps.
And that’s how you work each of the drop stitches – easy peasy. Depending on how these stitches are ordered in a stitch, you can get a variety of interesting shapes. Working sequentially from a kw2, kw3, and kw4, you create an upward slope in your knitting and working back drown from a kw4, kw3, and kw2 will give you a downward slope. This is how the wavy motif in the Icicles shawl is created. Fun, right?
We hope you’ve found this tutorial to be helpful – and that you’ll have a great time with this technique. Remember, you can find the Icicles shawl kit and the rest of the 12 Days of Winter Kits at your local yarn shop.
