Final Thoughts:

• Total yarn used - 301g. Heavier than preferred shawl weight.

• This finished object is pretty huge for something between a small and a large (increased on section 1 to 74st, as per many others who have made this). I would not want this piece to be any larger. Note - I’m not tall or broad so YMMV.

• I’m pleased with the end result except for the join of Sections 3, 5 and 6. Colour 6 bumps out a bit and it’s displeasing, esp since I blocked the shawl before knitting the border and the icord finishing to avoid this outcome. To fix: I reblocked the segment by dipping the wonky area into some water and then firmly pulling and pinning the fabric so that it matched the rest of the straight line of the triangle shawl. I think the issue is caused by Section 5. See below for more detail.

• While this design is quite clever (genius, really), the end result is not as thrilling as the process of knitting. Not sure if I’d knit it again - though it is a good stash-buster. I think I prefer the Stay Soft Shawl by V Valimaki. It’s more elegant.

• I bound off with a 2-stitch icord (not 3-stitch). See below for more detail.

Section 1:

• I opted to increase to 74 st, in Section 1, before beginning the decreases, to produce a shawl between the first and second sizes. Small looks too small but large looks massive…

• Used 58g of colour A (held double, aka 29g) and 35g of colour B

Section 2:

• I picked up 144 st.

• Some project pages recommend picking up stitches from the back to the front (aka picking up purlwise) and through only the back loop of the selvedge stitch, on the RS. In this section, I did this and it put the selvedge knitted line or “braid” on the front of the shawl, something that didn’t appeal to me and doesn’t appear to be the way that the front was worked in the designer’s version. In Section 2, I picked up through both legs of the selvedge, knit-wise (aka “normal” pick up) and I much prefer the look. Eventually, it became clear that he pick up / slip instructions in various other project notes refer to Section 3 specifically…

• I completed Section 2 with 181 stitches and 38 garter ridges (split between 2, single-stripe colours). I did German short rows. The first DS was on the 5th-last stitch of the RS row and thereafter, for the most part, I did 4st between each DS. That was till I got close to the end and I realized I’d need to resolve things, at which point I did 2st between each DS. Some people have discussed having challenges with the DS-rate, esp if they have gone off-pattern size-wise in Section 1 (as I have done). I’ve achieved a vertex (which is the main thing, as far as I can tell). So I’m keeping on… Of course, the shape of Section 2 was influenced somewhat given my number of stitches and short row DS-rate but I think it’ll be close enough to the original to work. Having not read further in the pattern, I wonder what implications this will have for future sections and mods I’ll need to make to achieve them.

• As many others have stated, the really problematic part of this pattern is that it doesn’t explain how to pick up the short rows - and it doesn’t even refer to them as short rows. Many project pages link to a video in which the short row resolution row is shown. It’s clear enough when explained but I don’t know why the pattern hasn’t been updated with a link to that video and some actual instruction. The errata on the pattern page isn’t adequate, IMO, and I’d have been so irritated if I’d had to rip back to fix things because they weren’t originally explained in a pattern I’ve paid for.

• Used 16g of colour C and 16g of colour D (held double, aka 8g - this is less than the 11g many others used but the yarn is very slender fingering…)

Section 3:

• Don’t worry about this section being difficult or unpleasant, even if you’ve modified the sizing. Stitch numbers don’t matter. Moreover, in my opinion (and it’s in the minority, it would seem), the instructions are fine, if not terribly explanatory. But with the benefit of so many project pages of info (including many linked to on this page), it’s quite painless to figure out how to pick up stitches so that both front and back are as intended (with a very pleasing braid on the WS). I didn’t have issues getting a good point in this section by only doing 2 m1 pick up stitches in the set up R2. But I did tie the ends from section 1 and 2 into a little bow on the WS, while I worked the beginning of the section, so that the stitches that I picked up and knit into were firm / had integrity. It really is true that the section starts off looking pretty unattractive till you get about 10-15 rows in. You’ll know it’s going correctly if you see the braid stitches on the WS.

• If you modify the sizing, you do the first part of the section (Rows 1-6, repeating rows 5 and 6) till you finish attaching the segment to Section 2. At my size, that was about 37 pick up rows. Then you follow the second set of instructions - not helpfully called “Next Row” section of 2 rows to be repeated until you finish attaching Section 3 to the tip of the vertex in Section 1. That took 72R for me (36 garter ridges). Finally, you complete the rectangle (it’s actually not quite a rectangle) by decreasing on both sides till 5 st remain. Directions explain how to resolve the final 5 st to BO.

• Instead of using the colourway I’d originally intended to use - the WM moss green/grey - I opted for the Regia sock yarn. I felt the WM was too similar to the low contrast combo of section 2 - green and grey stripe. I thought the Regia grey would give better contrast between Sections 2 and 3. In retrospect, I should have just used my Colour D (Alpagas grey alpaca/bamboo blend). The Regia feels nowhere near as luxe/is far too sturdy for its use (also it has nylon) and the colourways (Regia vs Alpaca-Bamboo) are SO similar - grey but not green. Technically, the Regia is a more dove-grey and I may subtly prefer it against Section 1. But I could have been more constructive in my use of yarns for this project. I could have used up one yarn (that’s hard to find a use for) and kept a ball of sock yarn free. Oh well.

• In the end I used 57g of the Regia. (Note - I finished the project with 59g of Colour D after doing the border so I could actually have used up all of the grey Alpaca Bamboo. But I would have been playing yarn chicken.)

Section 4:

• Picked up 74 st. Worked GSRs again. My first DS was the 3rd st from the end of the row. I kept 2 st between each DS thereafter. When I closed the DSs at the end, the stitches looked wonky for some reason I don’t understand. I ripped this back and redid it using the WestKnits method for short cut rows (resolution method for which can be found in the video that everyone has posted). That looked better, though not awesome. I hope that when I do the icord, everything will even out. Update - it worked out fine. Not the best part of the shawl but something that only I would notice…

• One other thing, I must have done the GSRs at a rate that was diff from what is recommended in pattern (to be done by WestKnits method) because I ended up using quite a bit more yarn the second time around (which means that the selvedge edge / side must be longer, not that I counted the number of stitches before ripping things back the last time…

• In the end, used 35g of colour D, held double / 17g if fingering held single (which is almost indistinguishable in shade from the Regia yarn used in Section 3.)

Section 5:

• I’ve opted just to use Colour A. Not in the mood for high-contrast stripes and the low-contrast striping of Sections 1 and 2 have made me aware that it’s too much trouble to stripe when there’s basically no visual impact. I also think that the lighter colour is the way to go in this section given how the colours are blocking in the shawl.

• Throughout this project, many project pages suggest that you do a K1 before the KFB for a neater edge but the edging is very tidy and firm on mine (done as per the instructions).

• Total amount of Colour A yarn used: 90g, yarn held double / 45g of fingering held single.

Section 6:

• I started this section with 77 st (78 after R1).

• I’ve decided to use the remainder of Colour C of the Lux for this section, because I like that colour block distribution but I will be playing yarn chicken and may have to come up with some work around at the last minute. I’m doing a size between the small and large and I have 32g of the yarn remaining as of the start of this section.

• Amazingly, I finished this section with 10g of yarn so this section took 22g of fingering-weight yarn for me (doing the “medium” size / 74st version).

Border / iCord / Finishing:

• I blocked the shawl to asymmetric triangular shape (though not to specific measurements) before casting on the border and I highly recommend this, esp if your finished scarf (pre-addition of border and icord) is in any way wonky - which is to say, not quite an asymmetric triangle and more like a rhomboid with too many sides. It’s easier to manage final tension of the icord if you’re working it on a blocked shape. Once blocked, I used the same size needle for iCord as for rest of project (US4).

• Note: I can envision a situation in which a tight icord and a wonky/unblocked 6 sections could lead to an end result that can’t be blocked into the proposed shape at the end, given tension between garter knitted on every bias and on grain and a substantially less stretchy edging.

• Having said this, given that I’d already blocked this, I felt that the border stitch cast on for the section 3 pick up (k2, m1 instruction) was going to yield an icord that would be too loose. I did k3, m1 and I wouldn’t want more stretch. Note that the join of sections 3, 5 and 6 is still disappointingly disjointed - not a singular line from tip to tip - but there’s more than enough stretch at the bind off edge to try to re-block this segment into shape. I think the issue is more about how the yarns came together at this vertex, specifically section 5. Section 5 was a smidge too big for the space it had to utilize. Even blocked, it didn’t shrink into shape. Were I to make this again, next time, I might go down a needle size just for Section 5 OR I would use a more slender yarn.

• I used my cable connectors to make an extra long (65”) circular needle so that I could cast on the hundreds of stitches for the one-row border before binding off in icord. As I did the icord, when the length wasn’t required any longer, I removed sections of unnecessary cable so that I had the optimal amount to work with.

• I estimate that I’ll use 40g of Colour D (20g held double) but time will tell… I have 75g of yarn.

• At end of this section I have 59g of Colour D remaining so it actually took only 16g of yarn to do the border round and the icord bind off.

• I didn’t bother to count the number of border stitches because it was what it was. I estimate it was about 500 and it took me 4 hours to do the border round and the icord bind off.

• I did a 2-stitch icord because, on garter (esp if you work the icord from the RS), it creates a kind of extension of the garter and (with 3 st) the edging looks a bit too thick / 3-D / has too much profile - which, IMO, diminishes the elegance. I’m happy with my choice and it probably saved me 5g of yarn (not that I needed to save).

Color A / 285yds - Alpaca Bamboo (300y held double) slightly pink off-white

Color B / 320yds - WM green-toned white, speckled (440y)

Color C / 165yds - Sonder Lux green (182 yards)

Color D / 230yds - Alpaca bamboo (215y held double) grey

Color E / 310yds - Regia Sock Yarn in Birch Heather. On balance, the Regia is indistinguishable from colour D so I should have just worked with the D to use it up and because it’s got better drape. Note also that my first choice for this colour was WM Hearth (345y) moss grey, but it looked exactly the same green-grey as the combo of the low contrast stripes of Section 2 and I wanted to manage colour placement in the shawl…