Knit Prayer Shawl (E)

Knitting is one craft I am interested in and where I have the biggest opportunity to improve. There is a difference between knitting and crocheting. Although I am not highly skilled in crocheting, I have a little more confidence in the quality of my basic stitches. Knitting, well, I will benefit from practice.

Practice it is. I'm on a prayer shawl mini-marathon. Crocheted shawls are great for the women at the senior residence, but the men need something more masculine. I decided to try a basic stockinette stitch (video tutorial). Hopefully that stitch and a variegated blue blanket yarn will yield a comfortable shawl for a man.

Materials
 - 1 skein of Barnet Blanket yarn
 - size 15 knitting needles

Directions
Yes, this is another project where I jumped in without a pattern, opting for a simple rectangle. Because I don't have circular needles, I had to cast on only enough stitches for the short side of the shawl.

• Cast on 38 stitches

• ROW 1: Knit in every stitch

• ROW 2: Purl in every stitch

• Repeat ROW 1 on all the odd rows (use the tail as a guide; i.e., tail at the bottom means odd row, or knit)

• Repeat ROW 2 on all the even rows (tail at the top means even row, or purl)

• When the shawl is as long as you want (mine measures 17" wide by 50" long), cast off (video tutorial)

As you knit, especially with bulky yarn and stitches scrunched up on the needle, you will want to gently pull the stitches down from the needle to make sure the rows of stitches are parallel with the needle. This makes it easier to knit or purl the next row and assures the finished product will have straight rows. This "finger blocking," or aligning the stitches, as you go is very helpful.

I liked the straight lines and masculine feel of this shawl, but I forgot one thing (it has been awhile since I knitted with the stocking, or stockinette, stitch. The edges of the work will tend to roll under. 

I decided to do another shawl with the same yarn, since I had one skein left. This time I used Size 19 needles and only cast on 30 stitches. PLUS, I knit the first two stitches and last two stitches of every row. A friend told me about this a trick a couple years ago. It helps to keep the edges of the work from rolling. The remainder of the row is done as the directions indicate above.

The second shawl stitches are more loose and open, making it a lighter weight shawl, which may be good for a senior who is experiencing more pain. The final dimensions of the second shawl were 16" wide and 56" long. 

THIS PRAYER SHAWL IS PART OF THE SANTA FOR SENIORS PROJECT.