Woodland Canopy Shawl

A triangular shawl that begins as a calm garter field at the nape and opens into a woodland edge. Elongated knitted leaves travel down each side of the spine; a crochet bind-off then adds three more leaf shapes—small teardrop birch, oval rose, and three-lobe oak—worked directly from the live stitches. Intermediate knitters who know basic crochet (chain, single, half double, double, and treble) will be at home here.

Skill level: Intermediate

Finished size

Approximately 60 in (152 cm) wingspan × 30 in (76 cm) deep, after blocking.

Yarn

Worsted weight yarn; 800 yd (732 m).

A smooth wool or wool-blend in a solid or tonal color is recommended so both the knitted lace and the crochet leaves read clearly. Four typical 220 yd (201 m) skeins are plenty.

Needles and hook

• US 8 / 5 mm circular needle, 40 in (100 cm) long, or size needed to obtain gauge
• US G-6 / 4 mm crochet hook (for firmer leaves that hold their shape)

Notions

• 2 stitch markers
• Tapestry needle
• Blocking wires and T-pins (wires strongly recommended)

Gauge

16 sts and 32 rows = 4 in (10 cm) in garter stitch, blocked, on US 8 / 5 mm.

Gauge is important for yardage and for the depth at which the leaf band begins. If your swatch is tighter than 16 sts = 4 in, go up a needle size so the shawl drapes.

Abbreviations (US)

Knit

• BO — bind off
• cdd — centered double decrease: slip 2 sts together knitwise, k1, pass the 2 slipped sts over
• CO — cast on
• k — knit
• p — purl
• pm — place marker
• RS — right side
• sm — slip marker
• st(s) — stitch(es)
• WS — wrong side
• yo — yarn over

Crochet (US terms)

• ch — chain
• dc — double crochet
• hdc — half double crochet
• sc — single crochet
• sl st — slip stitch
• tr — treble crochet
• picot-2 — ch 2, sl st in 2nd ch from hook
• picot-3 — ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook

Pattern notes

• The shawl is worked from the center of the neck edge down. Four yarn overs on every RS row shape the triangle: one inside each 3-st garter border and one on each side of the center spine stitch.
• The knitted Leaf Pattern is always worked over a fixed 191 sts on each half. Yarn-over increases are extra; they stack as stockinette “stems” beside the borders and beside the spine.
• Garter borders (3 sts each side) are knit on every row, including during the lace band.
• Do not join a new ball at the center spine; join along a garter border so the join hides in the edge.
• Crochet leaves are worked as side-trips from live knit stitches, consuming those stitches as a decorative bind-off. Keep leaf tension even and slightly firm.
• Read the Stitch guide before you begin the border.

Stitch guide

Leaf Pattern (knit; 10-st repeat + 1)

Worked over 191 sts (that is, k1, [10-st repeat] 19 times → 1 + 190 = 191 ✓).

Leaves point toward the hem.

Row 1 (RS): K1, *yo, k3, cdd, k3, yo, k1; rep from * to end of the 191 sts. (Each repeat uses 10 sts and makes 10 sts ✓)

Row 2 and all WS rows of this pattern: Purl these 191 sts (the 3-st borders remain knit; see shawl instructions).

Row 3: K1, *k1, yo, k2, cdd, k2, yo, k2; rep from * to end of the 191 sts.

Row 5: K1, *k2, yo, k1, cdd, k1, yo, k3; rep from * to end of the 191 sts.

Row 7: K1, *k3, yo, cdd, yo, k4; rep from * to end of the 191 sts.

Row 8: Purl these 191 sts.

Rep Rows 1–8 for pattern.

Crochet leaves

Each leaf is worked in one live knit stitch, then you continue along the edge. After the leaf is closed, that live stitch has been used.

To work a leaf in the next live st: Insert hook into the live st as if to knit, yo, pull through, and ch 1 (this anchors the leaf and consumes the knit st). Then work the foundation chain and the leaf as written. Join the leaf with a sl st into the anchor ch-1. Continue with the next sc of the edging.

Leaf A — Teardrop birch (small) Ch 6 (in addition to the anchor ch-1). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next 2 ch, (2 hdc, picot-2, 2 hdc) in last ch; rotate and work along the opposite side of the foundation chain: dc in next 2 ch, hdc in next ch, sc in last ch. Sl st in anchor ch-1 to close.

Leaf B — Oval rose (medium) Ch 9 (in addition to the anchor ch-1). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, tr in next 2 ch, dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, (sc, picot-3, sc) in last ch; rotate and work along the opposite side: hdc, dc, tr in next 2 ch, dc, hdc, sc. Sl st in anchor ch-1 to close.

Leaf C — Three-lobe oak (large) Ch 8 (in addition to the anchor ch-1). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, (dc, picot-2, dc) in next ch (right lobe), dc in next ch, (hdc, dc, picot-3, dc, hdc) in last ch (tip lobe); rotate and work along the opposite side of the foundation chain: dc in next ch, (dc, picot-2, dc) in next ch (left lobe), dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, sc in last ch. Sl st in anchor ch-1 to close.

Shawl

Garter tab

Using US 8 / 5 mm needle, CO 3 sts.

Knit 6 rows (3 garter ridges).

Turn the work 90°. Pick up and knit 3 sts along the left long edge (1 st in each ridge).

Turn 90° again. Pick up and knit 3 sts along the CO edge.

9 sts (3 live + 3 picked-up side + 3 picked-up CO = 9 ✓).

Setup

Setup Row 1 (RS): K3, yo, k1, yo, pm, k1 (center spine), pm, yo, k1, yo, k3. 13 sts (9 + 4 yos = 13 ✓).

Setup Row 2 (WS): Knit.

Garter body

Increase Row (RS): K3, yo, knit to marker, yo, sm, k1, sm, yo, knit to last 3 sts, yo, k3. (4 sts increased)

WS Row: Knit.

Rep Increase Row and WS Row 94 times. 389 sts (13 + 4 × 94 = 13 + 376 = 389 ✓).

Markers sit on either side of the single center spine stitch. Each half, excluding the 3-st borders and the spine, has 191 sts ((389 − 3 − 3 − 1) / 2 = 382 / 2 = 191 ✓).

The piece should measure about 23½ in (60 cm) from the tab to the center st, slightly stretched, unblocked.

Knitted leaf band

Change to stockinette lace on the interior; keep 3-st garter borders. Continue the four yarn-over increases. The 191-st Leaf Pattern blocks do not grow; new stitches form stockinette stems inside the borders and beside the spine.

How to read the RS rows: K3, yo, knit any stem sts, work the stated Leaf Pattern row over the next 191 sts, knit any stem sts, yo, sm, k1, sm, yo, knit any stem sts, work the same Leaf Pattern row over the next 191 sts, knit any stem sts, yo, k3.

On the first RS row there are 0 stem sts. Each following RS row adds 1 stem st on each side of each Leaf panel.

WS rows of the leaf band: K3, purl to last 3 sts, k3.

Work Leaf Pattern Rows 1–8 twice (16 rows; 8 RS increase rows).

421 sts (389 + 4 × 8 = 389 + 32 = 421 ✓).

Stem check after the 8th RS row: 8 stockinette stem sts sit inside each border and 8 sit on each side of the spine (8 × 4 positions = 32 extra sts ✓).

Stabilizing ridge

Next row (WS): Knit. (Garter ridge; still 421 sts)

Leave stitches on the needle. Do not bind off.

Crochet leaf edging

With RS facing, US G-6 / 4 mm hook, and working yarn (start at the right wing tip, first live st on the needle), work along the live stitches toward the left wing tip, consuming every stitch.

Along the live V (421 sts): Sc in each of first 2 sts (right tip ease), then: *sc in each of next 5 sts, work the next leaf in the following st; rep from * cycling Leaf A, Leaf B, Leaf C.

That unit uses 6 sts. 70 × 6 = 420; 1 st remains (421 − 420 = 1 ✓). Work that last st as sc at the left tip.

You will place 70 leaves: start the cycle with Leaf A at the right side, end with a leaf near the left tip, and ease 1 extra sc so a leaf (not a gap) sits at the center point. If a leaf would land one stitch off a corner, move it by 1 st—never skip more than 1 st of spacing.

Corners of the V: When you reach the center point, work 2 sc in the center spine area if needed so the oak or rose leaf at the point stands away from the fabric.

Neck edge (wingspan): Do not fasten off. Work 3 sc in the left wing-tip corner, then sc evenly along the neck selvedge to the nape—1 sc in each garter ridge (2 knitted rows = 1 ridge). At the garter-tab nape, work (sc, picot-3, sc) in the center. Continue sc evenly along the remaining neck selvedge to the right tip, 3 sc in the right tip corner, sl st in the first sc of the edging.

Fasten off.

Finishing

Weave in ends on the WS, along garter borders where possible. Do not cut the crochet-leaf tails so short that the picots loosen; weave each tail back through the same leaf’s foundation.

Blocking (required)

The lace and the crochet leaves only show their true shape after blocking.

1. Soak the shawl in cool water with a little wool wash for 15–20 minutes.
2. Lift it out; do not wring. Press out water between towels until it is damp, not dripping.
3. Lay it flat on blocking mats as an isosceles triangle, 60 in (152 cm) across the wingspan and 30 in (76 cm) from nape to point.
4. Run blocking wires through the neck-edge sc row and through the sc row at the base of the crochet leaves (not through the leaf tips). Pin the wires to the measurements above.
5. Pin each crochet leaf out individually: stretch birch leaves into a slim teardrop, rose leaves into a smooth oval, and oak leaves so all three lobes are distinct. Pin the knitted-leaf band just enough to open the yarn overs; do not overstretch the cdd columns or the leaves will flatten.
6. Let dry completely before removing pins.

Schematic (blocked)

                    nape (picot)
                 /      |      \
                /       |       \         wingspan 60 in (152 cm)
               /  garter body    \
              /     (stems at     \
             /    spine & edges)   \
            /-----------------------\     knitted leaf band
           /  A  B  C  A  B  C  ...  \    crochet leaves
          /___________________________\   depth 30 in (76 cm)
                    point

Stitch-count path (for your running total)

• Tab: 9 sts
• Setup RS: 13 sts (9 + 4 = 13 ✓)
• Body: 389 sts (13 + 376 = 389 ✓; halves 191 + 191 ✓)
• Leaf band: 421 sts (389 + 32 = 421 ✓)
• Crochet consumes 421 live sts (70 × 6 + 1 = 421 ✓)

Wear with the garter field across the shoulders and the mixed leaves falling along the hem.