Cloudy Nora Shawl

This shawl is designed to show off a skein of fancy- pants yarn, by pairing it with a finer yarn, to make a sheer background. It’s a chilled-out pattern that you can memorise and customise, depending on how the mood takes you. The play of texture looks like vapour trails and cumulus on a clear sky. Or possibly like the wrinkles on Nora Batty’s tights. My sample uses one 100g skein of boucle yarn and one 50g skein of kidsilk lace, but it works with other weights and types of yarn. Just make sure one skein is thicker than the other, and that you have at least 200m/220yds of each yarn. **Design Notes** The shawl is knitted top-down, increasing at each edge to create a deep crescent. The finer yarn is knit in stocking stitch, and the thicker yarn is knit in reverse stocking stitch, using German Short Rows to create the ‘clouds’. Special instructions for this are on the back page. Yarn can be carried along the side of the work, or break it between stripes for a neater edge (if you don’t mind weaving a lot of ends in!). **Yarn & Dimensions** Samples were knit in: Mamie and Florrie 100% Merino Boucle (100g/220m) Mamie and Florrie 72% Kid Mohair/28% Silk laceweight (50g/425m) I used all of the thicker yarn, and 27g of mohair. Sample dimensions: Span 198cm/78in and Depth 54cm/21in **Needles and notions** – 4.5mm/US size 7 circular needles with a cable of at least 80cm/32in (or, adjust to desired gauge – for DK and 4ply, I would recommend 5.5mm/US size 9) – 8 to 10 removable stitch markers – A set of electronic scales **Gauge** ...isn’t very important, but the finer yarn should create a sheer, airy fabric. In these sections, my sample’s gauge was: 10x10cm/4x4in = 15sts and 20 rows in stocking stitch. The heavier yarn is knit on the same needles for a denser texture. This pattern has been Tech Edited and Test Knitted