I am thrilled to let you know that my Swirling Strands lace shawl crochet pattern features in Crochet Foundry Magazine February 2025. I have been really excited for the public launch of this issue on 7th February 2025. It includes the full pattern along with customisation tips, yarn reviews and a bonus craft idea, plus a fantastic range of pretty, romantic projects that are perfect for date night and articles on yarn related topics. Congratulations to editor Jessie Rayot for another great issue full of tempting makes! Do take a look and see if your next project might be in there.
Why make the Swirling Strands Lace Shawl Crochet Pattern?
It’s a very lightweight piece, and worked up in a smooth, soft yarn will feel fantastic to wear when you want an extra layer or to look dressed up making it a versatile all-year-round accessory. Consider draping it over your shoulders in a strappy dress as evening falls at a summer garden party or looping it around your neck, over your coat collar, to block out chilly breezes on a frosty winter's morning.
The hairpin crochet technique used for the shawl is easy, great fun and fast growing, plus they have a rhythmic mediative feel and are surprisingly portable for those who love to crochet on the go. The assembly stage is extremely motivating as the simple strips suddenly turn into beautifully textured pieces of cloth when linked together and the finished shawl almost sneaks up on you!
If you're a newcomer to hairpin crochet, this would be a great pattern to choose to learn the technique. Crochet Foundry commissioned a set of videos to accompany the pattern to help anyone trying it for the first time. Also, while I love this technique, if you make a few strips and decide it's not to your taste, just use the strips you've made so far at the centre and work longer sections of the regular crochet ends, so you'll still get a pretty shawl using a technique you enjoy.
It's also very adaptable. You could easily make it shorter/longer or wider/narrower by following the customisation instructions included in the pattern to get it just right for you.
Creating the Swirling Strands Lace Shawl Crochet Pattern
Inspired by openwork lace stitches in historic lace shawls. I aimed to recreate a less labour intensive version of the look using hairpin crochet for a romantic addition to evening wear.
Strips of hairpin crochet are created and joined in a herringbone woven format for the back centre panel and the remaining outer edges are combined in groups of 5 loops using single crochet. The ends of the shawl are worked mostly in chains secured with double crochet to create a scallop shaped pattern tapering to a point and edges are neatened with a lightweight edging stitch. A tassel is added to each point.
I worked on the sample during my children's summer holiday, so we had days out by public transport and lots of times where I was watching them in playgrounds before finally travelling to visit family for a week and it was a perfect travel project; although the finished piece is long, the lightweight yarn meant it was very compact and easy to carry about or work on in the car, bus or train. The easy, repetitive stitch pattern meant I was able to carry on with my crochet whilst catching up with friends and family or watching the children enjoy the sunny weather in the parks and playgrounds we visited.
I was delighted with the yarn too. I had heard many good reports of Miss Babs yarn products before I got to try it myself and they were no exaggeration! It felt wonderful and had a lovely drape and spring balance. It felt surprisingly sturdy too; ideal for hairpin crochet, where you have individual yarn strands in the final result.
I was, as always very appreciative of Technical Editor, Pia Thadani's input for this design. It is always really helpful to have someone else's input on how the instructions are presented for the reader and identifying any errors before it goes to print. Not only was Pia Thadani knowledgeable and great at explaining any improvements, she was also very friendly and didn't make me feel silly for any errors.
Seeing the finished project in the magazine was lovely. The designs in this issue are so pretty and perfect for making as we await the arrival of spring and the styles are a wonderful collection, varied and interesting. I know that I'd be tempted to make the poncho if I didn't have a list as long as my arm of future projects!
Pattern: Swirling Strands Shawl
Published in: Crochet Foundry Magazine February 2025
Yarn: Miss Babs Avon: Coastal Breeze (Babette type)
Do let me know if you make the shawl. I'm always so excited when I see that someone has used one of my patterns! I love to get comments on my blog too, so do let me know your thoughts on the design or ask any questions you have below.
Comments