Pattern issues: The instructions for the ruffle in the pattern photo do not match the pattern photo. The pattern instructs you to work (k1, p1) ribbing, then do an increase row, then work (k2, p2) ribbing. However, the second part of the ruffle in the photo is not 2x2 rib - it’s (k2, p2, k1, p1).

Also, the pattern says to work the 1x1 rib for 1 inch, and the 2x2 rib for 4 inches - but that doesn’t match the photo either, since the 1x1 rib portion is nearly the same size as the 2x2 rib portion. It looks like approximately 12 rows of 1x1 rib and 16 rows of 2x2 rib. They don’t give a row gauge, but if it’s about 24 rows over 4”, that’s 2” of 1x1 rib and around 2 3/4” of the end rib - maybe 3” with the bindoff.

I think the edging tends to look a little more frilly and ruffly if you follow the instructions, and a little more tailored/pleated if you go by the photos, but it’s very pretty either way.

Tip: Use some kind of marker to indicate which is the RS, so that it’s easier to figure out whether or not you should be doing increases (they’re only done on RS rows). I like to use a locking stitch marker near the right edge, so that when I start the RS rows, it’s right there to remind me to do the increases.

Modifications:

• Used fingering weight yarn. I used one skein for the body, and the second for the edging.

• Instead of doing YO’s at the spine for the increases, I did kf&b (I still kept the YO’s at the edges). If I did it again, I would use kf&b or M1 on the edges also.

• Once I got to the 1x1 rib section, I changed to using M1 instead of YO on the outside edge increases, since I didn’t want the eyelets to continue down into the edging. I used M1 or M1P as needed to keep in the ribbing pattern. I had originally planned to continue the YOs through the ruffle, but when I did a little test section, I didn’t really like how it looked.

• Also starting with the 1x1 rib section, I modified the center increases along the spine. Instead of doing kf&b on each side of the center stitch, I allocated two center stitches - the original center stitch, and the stitch to the left of it when working the RS. Then for the increases, I did a M1 or M1P on each side of the two center stitches. Since I “stole” one stitch from the left half of the shawl for the center stitch, I skipped the first M1 on the right side of the center stitches for the first increase row. The two center stitches were kept in garter stitch. This made the spine in the edging match the spine in the garter stitch section of the shawl.

• Used about 1/4 of the second skein of yarn for the 1x1 rib section. (See below for how I figured that out.) I was traveling and didn’t have a scale, so I eyeballed it by dividing my ball of yarn into two balls, then dividing one ball into two balls again (I didn’t break the yarn - just kept the balls connected). I tied a loop in the yarn to mark the approximate 1/4 mark, so I wouldn’t accidentally go beyond it. I ended up knitting about 14 rows of 1x1 rib.

• Used (k2, p2, k1, p1) as the ribbing for the ruffle, instead of 2x2 rib, in order to match the photo.

• Mirrored the rib pattern for each half of the shawl - k2, p2, k1, p1 on one half, p1, k1, p2, k2 on the other half.

• Stopped doing the increases on the outside edges when I started the (k2, p2, k1, p1) rib because I thought the corners would look better without them. (Still did them down the center spine.)

• Worked the last part of the ruffle for 3”. Still had enough yarn for another row or two, but I didn’t want the ruffle to be any longer.

• Bound off with the Estonian lace bindoff in pattern.

Misc Notes:

The proportion of 1x1 rib to the 2x2 ruffle will make a big difference in the amount of yarn used, since the 2x2 section is worked over twice as many stitches as the 1x1 section. If you follow the pattern instructions and do 1” of 1x1 rib and 4” of 2x2 rib, you will use a lot more yarn than if you do 2” of 1x1 rib and 3” of 2x2 rib, even though you end up with 5” of edging either way.

Since I planned to use a full skein of yarn for the ruffle, this is how I guesstimated that I should use about 1/4 of the yarn for the 1x1 section: The 2x2 rib section takes about twice as much yarn per row as the 1x1 section - so if they were the same length, it would take 1/3 of the yarn for the 1x1 part, and 2/3 for the 2x2 part - but then you need to allow for the bindoff and the increases. Since I also wanted the 1x1 section to be slightly shorter than the 2x2 section, I figured that 1/4 would be a reasonable amount.

My 1x1 ribbing ended up being a little short of my 2” goal (I was on a long car ride with no ruler, so I was guessing!). I did the increase row with the yarn I had allocated for the 1x1 ribbing, but considering the amount of yarn I had left over, I think I could have used the full 1/4 skein of yarn for the 1x1 ribbing, doing the increase out of the 3/4 skein section. The extra 2 rows of 1x1 ribbing would have given me the full 2”, and I would still have had just enough yarn to do 3” of the 2x2 ruffle. I ended up with 13 grams of yarn left over, which would probably have been exactly the amount needed for those 2 extra rows.

I probably wouldn’t like the Ranco yarn for socks, but it worked nicely for the shawl. Despite the nylon content, it’s not superwash and it looks like it will hold a blocking pretty well.

The shawl grew a lot during blocking. Unblocked it was 49” across the top, and 20” down the spine. After blocking, it’s 58” across and 28” down.