A New Class! Welcome to the Romance of the Faroese Shawl!

Saturday, September 25, 2010   12PM to 2PM

Taught by Barb Wingert

Cost?   $20 course fee to instructor, $6 pattern cost

Skill Level?  Must know basic knitting, knit, purl and increasing

The Faroese Shawl is one of the architectural wonders of the knitting world. Imagine, a shawl that stays put on your shoulders all by itself! This is accomplished by a clever combination of shaping the ends to make the unique butterfly shape and raised bumps that give the shawl shoulders. The flat shawl has become 3D! This traditional shawl was not designed for the opera but was a working woman’s shawl that could be wrapped around the body and tied in back.

The only drawback with this traditional shawl was the traditional way of beginning by casting on several hundred stitches at the bottom—not for me! Thankfully, modern designers have given us a modern, top down method of construction. This 2 hour class will show you the garter tab method of starting a Faroese shawl. We will be making a small, teddy bear sized shawl that will teach you all the techniques you will need to graduate to a full sized shawl. You will also notice the garter tab method in many modern, non traditional designs so if you love shawls and wraps, you will enjoy this technique.

You will need the following materials:

1.      The Heart Strings pattern Dolly Faroese Shawl available from Yarns Unlimited for $6.00. This is in addition to the $20.00 course fee that will be paid to the instructor.

2.      150 to 200 yards of sport weight to light worsted yarn that will work with size 8 knitting needles. Note: these are guidelines only, only your bear will know your gauge!

3.      Size 8 knitting needles, circular or straight are fine.

4.      4 removable stitch markers, one of a different color.

5.      A pen and a way to keep track of rows.

Sound interesting? Then please come join us and learn this ingenious way of making a shawl. The Faroe Islands are calling you!