Elly is a narrow, long crescent shaped shawlette that can be worn over the
shoulders as a shawl or around the neck as a scarf. The shawl is begun at the
long, lace edge, and the stockinette stitch center is shaped with short rows.
It is a very versatile shape that can be made on lace yarn over large needles
for an airy, delicate shawl, or at a tighter gauge on DK yarn for a cold
weather scarf. Additionally, there are options to dress it up with beads, and
a “lazy”, quick version with no shaping on WS rows.
Materials: 350 yd. of lace/fingering yarn, 400 yd of sport/dk
yarn or 450 yd of worsted weight yarn.
Needles: lace weight: USA 6-7; Fingering/sport: USA 7-8; DK
USA 8-9; Worsted USA 9-11
Notions: Tapestry needle. Optional: beading hook, 199 seed
beads (92 size 6 for edge, 107 size 8 for body for lace
weight, or 199 size 6 for fingering).
Techniques: basic lace, twisted stitches, short rows, cable
cast on, k2tog (Estonian) cast off
Size (approx.): lace 12x56”, sock 13x58”, sport/DK 15x60”,
worsted 18x70”
Difficulty level: adventurous beginner, intermediate
Abbreviations:
BO: bind off Sm: slip marker
CO: cast on SSK: slip, slip, knit slipped stitches together
CDD (Sl2 k1 psso): central double decrease, Sts: stitch(es)
also known as sl2, k1, psso together
St st: stockinette stitch
K: knit
RS: right side
K2tog: knit 2 stitches together
WS: wrong side
K-tbl: knit through the back loop
W&t: wrap and turn
P: purl
Wyib: with yarn in back
Pm: place marker
Wyif: with yarn in front
p-tbl: purl through the back loop
Notes on Construction
Elly is a crescent shawl, worked from the curved lace edge towards the neck. After the lace edge
is done, the stockinette stitch center is shaped with short rows.
Three options are given here:
• Regular Elly. Worked with texture (twisted ribbing) at both sides of the lace edge, it will
give an almost reversible lace edging
• Lazy Elly: A simpler version, with all-purl WS. The RS will have a broken rib texture, less
defined but still very pretty
• Dressed Up Elly: with lavish beading added on, for a touch of sparkle and luxury.
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I recommend making a swatch. CO 31 st and work one repeat of the lace chart. Adjust your
needle size to get the feel you prefer – open and airy or more tight and textured. Changing the
yarn or the gauge may dramatically alter the results. See “materials” box for recommended
needle sizes.
Stitch and Technique Glossary
Lace Cast On
A very useful cast on when you need a large number of stitches and a sturdy but very stretchy
cast on. It forms a loopy, open edge, which looks a bit sloppy at first but blocks very well.
It is worked essentially as a cable cast on, except the new stitches are drawn through the loop of
the last stitch, rather than between the last two stitches .
http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/2006/03/majoring_in_lace_part_iv.htm
(you will have to scroll a little to see this cast on)
http://www.getknitting.com/hk_0601COknitst.aspx
Twisted Stitch Rib vs. Broken Rib
Twisted Rib: it gives a sharply defined rib
All rows: * k1-tbl, p1-tbl*, repeat *to*
Broken Twisted Rib: A less defined, pebblier texture.
R1 and all RS rows: * k1-tbl, p1-tbl*, repeat *to*
R2 and all even rows: purl all.
And here is how to twist stitches:
http://www.lionbrand.com/faq/93.html?www=1&language=
K2tog cast off (Estonian cast off)
This bind off method is much stretchier than the usual, and it is also very sturdy. There are a few
variations, and all of them will work fine.
http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2008/07/30/a-stretchier-bind-off.aspx
Short Rows
If you are a novice to short rows, see this excellent tutorial here:
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http://www.stitchdiva.com/custom.aspx?id=143
In this shawl, the wrapped stitches will be decreased with the preceding stitch, creating a little
decorative bump. Therefore, there is no need to hide the wrap.
Beading your shawl
If you are making a beaded shawl, make sure to choose beads that fit the size of your yarn. The
size of a seed bead is described by a number; the larger the number, the smaller the bead!
Therefore, 11 size beads are very tiny, while size 6s are larger. In knitting, you will use mostly
size 8 beads for finer yarns, and 6 beads for larger yarn.
In this shawl, the beads are placed in the WS rows, so you only have to worry about your
decreases in the RS rows! There are many other ways to bead your Elly, just take a look at the
gallery of beading choices proposed by other members of the 2011 Lace KALendar Ravelry group
(scroll to the end of the post):
http://neverfrog.blogspot.com/2011/07/clue-11-usa-part-i.html
I prefer to use the beading hook method, described here:
http://fluffyknitterdeb.blogspot.com/2005/08/by-special-request-beading-made-easy.html
But there are other methods:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W8QRTlmXnw
If you are working with lace yarn, I recommend using size 6 seed beads for the lower edge and
size 8 for the body beading. This will give more emphasis to the bottom edge without making
the shawl too heavy. For fingering, I recommend size 6 beads for edge and body. Beads may
make heavier weight shawls too weighty.
Pattern
Cast on
CO 367 sts using any elastic cast on method as previously described. For casting on this many
stitches, the lace cast on method works best.
You may want to set up the lace pattern by placing markers as you cast on. Place the first after
the 3rd stitch and every 24 stitches thereafter, with four stitches left at the end. This will also
facilitate keeping the count straight.
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Lace border
The chart shows WS and RS rows. Knit stitches as shown in chart, without changing meaning for
WS. Work lace chart, repeating the stitches between red lines 15 times.
For Regular Elly and Dressed up Elly, work the corresponding chart. Please note that the charts
show RS and WS. Work stitches “as is”, without changing meaning of the stitches on the WS.
For Lazy Elly, use the Lazy Elly chart. Only the RS is shown. On WS, sl first stitch pwise, purl to
end
If you use stitch markers between the lace repeats, you will have to move the markers to the left
whenever a double decrease is next to the stitch marker, which happens in rows 5, 9, 13, 17 and
21.
Work rows 1-23 once. 247 stitches left
On row 24, p 123 sts removing the markers as you go, Pm, k1, pm, purl the rest of the row
removing the rest of the markers as you go. This will mark the center stitch.
Short Row Center
R1: sl1, k128 st (or, 5 st past the center st). W&t.
R2: Sl the wrapped st, p 11 (again, 5 past the center st), w&t.
R3: k to st before the wrap, ssk this stitch with the wrapped st, k3, w&t.
R4: p to st before the wrap, p2tog this stitch with the wrapped st, p3, w&t.
Repeat R3-4 28 more times until all stitches but one are worked on each side. Purl to end of
row.
58 st decreased, 189 st left.
Cast off using k2tog method.
Finishing
Weave in loose ends. Wet-block the shawl. It is best to pin the tips of the “pyramids” in the lace
border to form points, and the two ends of the straight neck edge, allowing it to curve gently
without pinning. Wear with flair!
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Charts
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