Sleeping Princess, a shawl in two parts. A regal princess under an enchanted silken veil.

This design focuses on a contrast in textures, fine silk glinting with beads layered over rich merino, cotton, or what you will. Each can be worn independently or layered together.

In my sample I’ve used soft dreamy fairytale colours, but there is lots of opportunity to get creative and make something more dynamic, for example:

• a dark veil over a light underdress or vice versa
• a variegated over a solid
• similar colours in contrasting textures.

The pattern uses two small, simple, repeatable charts which can be worked in either order, or used alternately.

In this sample -

Veil of enchantment:
23g Solstice yarns Ishtar lace in Saltmarsh, 6.5g beads (5/0 minikin triangles, amber iris)
Needles: 4.5mm for 7 repeats of enchantment lace, and 6 for the single rep of princess lace used as edging.
Measures:38x hold on a minute
Beads: 68

Princess shawl:
44g Wollmeise lace-garn (240m/260y)
Needles: size 4mm needles for body and 5mm for last repeat of princess lace and edging
Measures: 40x150cm (16x58”)
Beads: 26

This princess was knit in under 24 hrs (yay!), and very well suited to distracted, conversational knitting it turns out, as most of it was done during a Christmas party! :) The veil is also quick as it’s worked on large needles, stretches quite a bit, and works well if it’s a little smaller than the under layer.

A quick bead calculation for the veil works as follows, assuming all over lace:
Rep 1: 4
Rep 2: 7 (total=11)
Rep 3: 10 (= 21)
Rep 4: 13 (= 31)
Rep 5: 16 (= 49)
Rep 6: 19 (= 68)
Rep 7: 22 (= 95)
Rep 8: 25 (= 120)

(subtract 1 bead from each row if using Princess lace)

Playing around with yarn combinations for the next series, Fairytales. This idea has been lurking since the start of October, and gradually emerging.

Lots of yarn pics here while I try to decide whether to go with a set of bold, childlike primaries, or a spectrum of dreamy purples.. Unfortunately I have to plan ahead as I have a bead conflict, and only have enough of the iris ambers for one project or the other.

Oh to live near a bead shop. Or perhaps it’s just as well I don’t.