La Baule Shawl

The La Baule Shawl is one of seven patterns in issue five of John Arbon Textiles’ in house magazine, The Annual, published in September 2025. [There are kits available for this pattern.][1] This shawl is inspired by La Baule, a seaside resort on the Atlantic coast in northwest France that owes its fame to its beach, which – stretching for 9km – is one of the longest in Europe. This shawl uses the bright colours and stripe patterns of parasols and beach huts, along with a moss stitch section evoking the texture of sand. It’s also akin to a sail flapping happily in the coastal breeze! This drapey shawl works perfectly in the bright and colourful palette of our Knit by Numbers DK, as well as a more muted palette from our Appledore DK range. The perfect accessory to wrap up in during a cool sunset beach walk. **Yarn** DK MC: 200g CC1: 80g / CC2: 90g / CC3: 80g **Sizes** One Size **Finished Measurements** a - Wingspan: 172cm / 68’’ b - Centre depth: 79cm / 31’’ **Gauge** 20 sts x 38 rows = 10cm / 4” square over striped garter stitch, after blocking. **Needles** 3.5mm (UK 9 / US 4) circular knitting needle, 100cm / 40” long 3.5mm (UK 9 / US 4) circular knitting needle, 80cm / 32” long for provisional cast-on (Triangle C) 3.5mm (US E/4) crochet hook *Always use a needle size that results in the correct gauge after blocking.* **Samples shown in** [Knit by Numbers (DK; 233m per 100g)][2] Sample shown in KBN115 (MC), KBN100 (CC1), KBN13 (CC2), KBN38 (CC3) [Appledore (DK; 250m per 100g)][3] Sample shown in Hoary Morning (MC), Dufflin (CC1), Slack Ma Girdle (CC2), Billy Down Pippin (CC3) **Notes** The shawl is knitted modularly from tip to tip in three sections (see Fig. 1 on p. 101), and includes an i-cord along the outer edges. The stitches at the edges of some rows are worked as an i-cord. Keep your tension loose for these stitches to keep the edge stretchy. If you find the edges are too tight, work the i-cord twice every few rows by replacing the “k3/p3” at the beginning of a row by “k3/p3, slip 3 sts back to left-hand needle, k3/p3”. When working stripes, break each CC after each block of stripes, but carry MC up inside the i-cord edge. Twist the carried yarn with the working yarn at the beg of the row; we found that twisting both before and after the i-cord edge helped to stop it peeping out into the stripes. Slip all stitches purlwise unless indicated otherwise. [1]: https://www.jarbon.com/product/la-baule-shawl-annual-five/ [2]: https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/john-arbon-textiles-knit-by-numbers-dk [3]: https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/john-arbon-textiles-appledore-dk