A top-down, triangular shawl with eyelets and a simple lace border. This was designed when I was housebound with a deep tissue infection in my leg that would have made any Fourteenth Century peasant proud, hence the somewhat macabre name. It’s a soothing and addictive knit for anyone in need of a little yarn therapy, and once finished will provide cosy protection against any chill.

Instructions are given for two sizes, the small size, shown in black, is the original Malabrigo Worsted version and makes a scarf that can be looped around the neck without falling off. The larger size, shown in red, is in Malabrigo Rios, and can be worn as either a shawl or a scarf.

Finished measurements:
Small shawl - approx 57 inches wide, 15 inches deep
Large shawl - approx 80 inches wide, 24 inches deep

Gauge is not that important though if in doubt, or if you are a tight knitter, go up a needle size as this will make blocking easier.

You will need two skeins of either of these yarns for both sizes. Exact yardage will vary according to your gauge and yarn choice.

This is my first pattern and has been test-knitted, but please let me know if you find any errors and I will correct them.

Errata:
7th May 2013
I’ve corrected the row numbering to avoid confusion (54 had snuck into the odd numbered rows). The instructions themselves remain the same.
23rd May 2013
Row 51 - After (k4, yo, k2tog) it should read x 10
Row 90 - Added to make it clear that you need to finish with a wrong-side row (without yo) before starting the lace border.
10th July 2013
Row 75 - the stitch count should be 223, not 225. The instructions themselves are correct, so you should be able to keep going until you hit the right number for the start of the lace section.

The current version of the pattern is v3.

For those of you knitting this as a charity project, knitalong, or who just aren’t keen on having the word death in the pattern, I’ve uploaded a second PDF simply as ‘Eyelet Shawl’, with references to plague and pestilence removed! Just click the download button above, and select the file you prefer.