A shawl with lace medallions and wave crests, Bethany is named for the beach in Delaware, where the waves undulate to the shore under the blue sky. The lace medallions remind me of the white life preservers perched on the back of the lifeguards’ chairs, and the wave crests mimic the gentle waves of the water as they meet the shore.

Bethany is a shawl that uses just one skein of lace yarn, with ends long enough to wrap around your neck without a lot of bulk. It falls halfway down your back, and this yarn has enough “fluff” in it to grab at your shirt so it won’t slide off. Knit in linen or cotton, it’s perfect for a summer evening; knit in wool or silk and it’s perfect for fall, winter and spring.

The lace medallion pattern is knitted lace, which means that the pattern is knitted on both the wrong and right sides. The wave crest pattern, however, is knitted only on the right side (the wrong side is just purled). The wave crest pattern is also extremely easy to memorize, because there is only one 11-stitch pattern repeat for the entire lace pattern.

This shawl knits up quickly and easily, and is great if you don’t want to commit to a full-out lace project that takes about 1000 yards of yarn! You can use up that lone skein of lace in your stash and be proud of what you made. It’s a great lace project to give as a gift, too.

Instructions are both written and charted.