Knit It: Linarii Shawl

With the Bookish Knitter’s Society about to officially start this week, I thought I’d share some more details about Linarii.
First, if you’d like more info on the Bookish Knitter’s Society, check out my previous blog post here.

Linarii is a medium sized shawl. I spent quite a bit of time dreaming her up. There was lots of sketching, swatching and several beginnings. There was a lot of maths, too, as there often is with knitting patterns. There are lots of different ways to knit shawls. I settled on end-to-end construction, beginning at the very tip with just a few stitches.

Once I’d worked all of that out, it was time to start knitting!

I wanted to create a relatively large shawl that could be worn in lots of different ways. Linarii is mainly rectangular in shape, with triangular ends that sweep in opposite directions.

I used two stitch patterns to create this shawl. The eyelets that adorn each tip are random - they never form a pattern. The added bonus of this is that if you make a mistake, you probably won’t notice!
The main part of the shawl features a snowflake-lace motif repeat. It’s not a hard pattern, but it does require some concentration when you’re first working it. Like most knitting, once you’re a few repeats in, you’ll get into the rhythm of the repeat and you’ll find it gets easier.

I chose this stitch not only for it’s look, but because it does engage your mind. When we first learn to knit we experience a great sense of relaxation as we’re completely focused on each stitch. The more you practise, the less you have to think until one day you’re knitting and purling without having to actively think about it.

Whilst I was focused on the pattern repeat of Linarii my mind was engaged and focused, and I found it a wonderful way to really unwind.

The name Linarii is inspired by a beautiful Australian native plant. The Melaleuca Snowflake has gorgeous snowflake-like flowers. I pulled Linarii from the botanical/scientific name for the plant and changed it a little.

If you’d like to knit Linarii you need to come and join the Bookish Knitter’s Society. The pattern is currently exclusive to the Society - there are four different ways to join. Being part of the knit-along is a lot of fun as everyone is knitting the same pattern at once!

(Linarii will be released as a single pattern in November 2022.)

I’m so enjoying all of the posts in our knit along group. Along with sharing the pretty colours everyone is choosing for their shawls, we’ve also been talking about swatching, tips for working the lace repeat and other things. It’s great fun! Everyone is welcome to join the group here.

If you have any questions about Linarii or the Bookish Knitter’s Society, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Until next time, happy knitting!
Sarah

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