I knitted this shawl to keep me toasty warm after a recent stay in Northumbria.

It starts with hundreds of stitches and uses German short rows to decrease the length of every row - I find that this feels less daunting than starting small and ending up huge. It also has a picot bind-off which keeps the final moments interesting!

I’ve supported the pattern by making a YouTube Tutorial - the link to this is on my blog www.slippingstitches.wordpress.com and it covers all the techniques used in the pattern.

The shawl is one size and should work for you whether you’re small and skinny - like some of my friends, or round - like me.

Gauge is not important and I ask you to be a rule-breaker by using needles larger than suggested on the yarn-band - this will give you a nice drapey fabric.

I used just one 200g Aran-weight yarn cake and 6.5mm needles but if you would prefer a lighter shawl just use DK weight yarn, 5.5mm needles and cast on 300 sts instead of 270 - I haven’t worked out how much yarn you’d need for a DK version but I might just have a go and keep you posted…