• I considered using this yarn for the following shawls: Until Silence - Sanni Pauliina, Linya - Berangere Cailliau, Hollows - B Mandarines, Orthogonal - Emily Greene. I knitted quite a bit of this shawl at the same time as the Linya but decided that the knitting process of the Linya wasn’t working for me.

• My initial concern with this pattern is that I am not sure I love the fabric it’s creating and, while the pattern is very enjoyable to knit (and the crescent shape is one I wear a lot), the eyelets are large. Note: To ameliorate this, I’ve opted to knit through the back loop of both knit and purl stitches on the row that resolves the eyelets but that is really fussy given that I’m working into multiple yarn double yarn overs.) I also wondered if I am knitting it at too large a gauge but US5 is a needle that I like for shawls in fingering weight, esp garter. Oh, and final issue is that I am not generally a picot edge person. The picot is a large element of this design, though I can easily do a 2st i cord if I opt not to do the picot edge.

• OK, I’ve managed to get into this and it’s rather enjoyable, except for a couple of rows every now and again (the eyelet and eyelet resolution rows are a bit fussy). I’m increasingly enamoured of the fabric - and I know this yarn blooms beautifully.

• Because the short rows leave little holes (and I’m not sure I’m into that), I opted to work the short rows as per the Stephen West “shortcut rows” (his way of resolving garter short rows): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp7gRnnxtiQ&list=PLx9.... Not sure if I completely love this resolution but it was a way that I could get rid of the holes after knitting the short rows (a W&T or double stitch requires action while creating the short row/on the turn). I might have just knitted the row as instructed before working the shortcut method, to see if the holes actually bothered me, but for some reason I just started the shortcut rows it and kept on. I’m not disappointed in my choice but I do wonder what the little holes may have brought to the overall design.

• In Third Short Row Section, I believe that one works R3-R4 18 more times (not 19). At least, that’s what got me to 3st between the final short rows.

• I opted to remove rows 61-64 inclusive (the final repeat in the Second Eyelet Section) because I thought I might need to use my third ball of the Sonder and I felt that 2 balls (200g or 864y) would create a large enough shawl given my size. I prefer really light shawls because I’ve got arthritis in my neck and I wear them through much of the year given that I live where it gets and stays cold for months. As it happens, I probably could have got the extra 4 rows in with the remainder of the second ball. But, having finished this shawl with 118g of the yarn remaining, that’s enough to use as the MC if I opt to make another https://www.ravelry.com/projects/KristinM100/tumble-tee-2.

• I don’t like picot for myself so I opted to do a 2-st icord bind off from the RS row. I worked this after knitting the eyelet resolution row followed by 2 knit rows - just to ensure that the icord would abut a flat surface - didn’t want rolling. I casted on 2 st via backwards loop onto the left needle. Then knitted those 2 CO stitches and then I knitted the next 2 st together through the back loop. Then I returned the 3 stitches on the right needle back to the left needle and repeated this process till all stitches were bound off. I bound off the last 3 st via “regular” method, lifting one stitch over the next.

Final Thoughts:

• This is a clear pattern that yields a really interesting and attractive design.

• It’s a simple project, even for a new knitter. It also works up very quickly. I barely worked on this for more than a month because I was side-tracked by other projects. I’d say it takes ~2 weeks to knit if you’re an organized knitter who is motivated to have it done.

• I opted to do Stephen West “short cut rows” to close the small holes that are created when working short rows in garter stitch (when you just turn and keep working). I feel it does the trick but I might do the short rows, as instructed / with no wrap or double stitch created) if I were to make this again.

• I did work the stitches on the eyelet resolution row through the back loop (both the knits and purls). It def took a while but I prefer the more delicate proportion.

• I thought I used the recommended needle size but it turns out that I used a US5. This yarn is fine fingering so I feel that my choice was a good one to create a fabric with a bit more density. The Sonder 4-ply works up well, using up to a US6, in my experience. But generally my go-to needle size for a fingering-weight shawl is US5.

• Interestingly, this is the weight (177g) of one of my most worn and loved shawls - the Boho Blush by Drea Renee Knits, which I knitted at this time last year. Good to know that light-fingering, crescent shawls work well for me at this weight. This shawl calls for 300g of yarn but I got to the dimensions as instructed with much less yarn than recommended. I do suggest that it be knitted with a yarn that blooms well if you opt for a light-fingering weight.

• The pre-blocked, finished shape is in no way crescent-like which is why blocking it (and all crescent shawls, in my experience) exceedingly firmly with pins and wires is not optional. FWIW, it took me an hour to pin and wire the shawl into the blocking shape. The cast on edge can be blocked to lie flat/straight but it generally won’t stay that way unless you use numerous pins on that edge AND block the cast off edge, pulling it into a convex curve. This is the least pleasant element of crescent shawl knitting. Update: Despite my concerted efforts, I am dismayed to say that there is still a slight convex curve at the cast on tab (where there should be a straight line). I’m wondering, given how many versions I’ve seen that have this issue to some extent or another, if it’s endemic to the construction. Perhaps the short rows influence how the straight edge lies / how they run slightly diagonally from the centre point (as shown in my last photo). The finished object is lovely and that slight deviation is barely noticeable even when pointed out (pun intended), but this isn’t technically a crescent shawl, IMO, just given how the shape blocks out.

Pre-blocked Dimensions:68” long x 20” deep at centre of shawl (pre-blocked shawl is crinkly so this measurement is likely not accurate)

Post-blocked Dimensions: 86” long x 21” deep I could have blocked this less assertively on the horizontal side. Pattern size is 79” x 19.5”