People of Yarn
The St. Peter's Shawl Ministry is changing. If you have a shawl to be blessed or know of someone that needs a shwal, we have a system of bins in the library at the Franklin St. House to facilitate this process. Bonnie Quist and Brigitte Chase now head this ministry. Please call the church office for more information.
Instructions for Knitted or Crocheted Shawls
Tips
Individual choices in yarn, needle/hook size, and how tightly or loosely you stitch will affect the finished size and thickness of the shawl.
Recipients come in all sizes. So, while shawls should be about 24 inches wide, it’s critical that they measure 60 inches in length--before adding edging or fringe. Lay the shawl flat to measure it, or put it on. If it reaches comfortably from wrist to wrist, it’s probably 60 inches.
Incorporate prayers, wishes, and positive thoughts into the shawl as you work.
Attach a new skein of yarn at the end of a row—and remember to weave in the tails.
Lion Brand Homespun yarn makes beautiful, soft shawls, but makes terrible fringe—even if knotted, it will unravel in the wash. Use it for a crocheted edging, or leave the shawl plain. Use worsted-weight acrylic yarn in a complementary color to fringe a Homespun shawl.
To learn what various yarn colors mean, visit www.shawlministry.com.
Yarn/amounts
Purchase a soft, machine washable/dryable yarn in any color but black. For example:
LION Brand Homespun—check dye lots! 3 skeins to knit or crochet.
Bernat Soft Bouclé—no dye lot. I’m finding that with size 13 needles and casting on 51 stitches, a 60”-long shawl in the “k3, p3” pattern takes 2 skeins--JK.
Knitting needles
• Size 11 or 13
Crochet hook
• Size N-13 (9 mm) or P-15 (10 mm)
Simple knitting pattern: (adapted from shawlministry.com)
Loosely cast on 51 stitches if using size 13 needles, or 57 with size 11. (The slipknot counts as the first stitch.) Casting on 51 or 57 stitches lets you start each row with K3.
Row 1: *K3, p3; repeat from * across.
Subsequent rows: Turn; repeat Row 1.
Super simple knitting pattern: Cast on any number of stitches from 51 to 57.
Row 1 and every subsequent row: Knit.
Seed Stitch knitting pattern: Cast on a multiple of 2, then add 1 additional stitch—for ex, 55.
Row 1: P1, *k1, p1; repeat from * across
Subsequent rows: Turn; repeat Row 1.
Simple Crochet Pattern: (from shawlministry.com)
Loosely chain about 43 stitches.
Row 1: Half-double crochet in third chain from hook and in each chain across.
Subsequent rows: Chain 2, turn. Half-double crochet in each half-double crochet across.
For knitted or crocheted shawls:
When shawl measures the desired length, bind off.
What to do next
Bring the shawl to church to be blessed. Then put it (and a personal card/note if you like) in a jumbo zip-top plastic bag—Hefty’s 2.5-gallon bags should be ideal. Put the shawl in the office. We’ll add a Shawl Ministry prayer and an explanation of the colors.