The finished Faerly shawl!

Way back in March I posted about this beautiful Sweet Georgia Tough Love sock yarn by Purlescence that I picked up at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival.

A week later I cast on the Faerly shawl by Tall Yarns, and I was amazed at the speed that it knitted up. Then again, I guess knitting 4ply on 6mm needles will do that to a project!

In its freshly cast on state…

Well I finished it in just three days, but true to form, it languished in my room, waiting to be blocked. It doesn’t help that it’s got to be over a metre wide, and I don’t have anywhere to leave my blocking mats overnight!

I finally got the opportunity to block it on Saturday, so I dutifully dampened the shawl, pinned it out to the given measurements, and left it to dry.

All pinned out!

It only actually took about six hours to do so, but I left it overnight to be on the safe side.

And here it is, in all its glory!

Before I blocked it, it was obviously smaller, with a tighter stitch, but it had a springy quality that I didn’t really like. After being blocked, the stitch is looser, but it has a better drape. Being wider, it’s also easier to arrange around the neck, though I can actually wear it draped across my shoulders as a shawl.

It’s a brilliant pattern – really easy to make, and it uses slightly less than a skein of 4ply sock yarn so it doesn’t cost a fortune to knit. It also knits up really quickly so if you need to make a gift at the last minute, this would be perfect!

Also, in case anyone was wondering, I know it matches my eye shadow. I was actually thinking of that particular palette by Illamasqua when I was deciding which skein to buy. It possibly takes accessorising a little too far!

Have you knit a shawl before, and would you try one?