Mexican Gothic Shawl by Christina Hadderingh

Mexican Gothic Shawl

Crochet
November 2021
both are used in this pattern
yarn held together
Lace
+ Fingering
= Fingering (14 wpi) ?
21 stitches and 21 rows = 4 inches
in sc (US terms)
3.5 mm (E)
4.0 mm (G)
2953 - 3281 yards (2700 - 3000 m)
158cm/63.2" x 183cm/73.2" x 95cm/38"
US
Flag of English English Dutch
This pattern is available for €6.00 EUR
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Inspiration
Last Fall I read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I fell in love with the story, the mystery, the eerie feeling you get when reading the book while it never truly becomes scary (I cannot cope with horror at all, if that’s any indication). The cold damp air you can almost feel against your skin and all the pretty descriptions between it all.
I took elements from the book (as with all my patterns from the Read-With-Me Collection) and designed a shawl around the story in seven sections, inspired by floral, mycelial and fungal elements. Because I don’t want to spoil too much, I won’t tell you exactly what the sections are. You just have to read the book and find out for yourself ; ) With all kinds of different techniques and textures, there won’t be a dull moment with this shawl, I will promise you that : )

Yarn
For this shawl you work with two yarns, they are held together throughout the shawl:
Scheepjes Whirlette (60% cotton, 40% acrylic; 455m/100g):
A: 860 Ice x 2 balls (130g/591m)
B: 862 Grapefruit x 1 ball (55g/250m)
C: 858 Banana x 2 balls (144g/655m)
Held together with:
Scheepjes Mohair Rhythm (70% Mohair x 30% Microfiber; 200m/25g):
A: 690 Bop x 3 balls (70g/563m)
B: 673 Foxtrot x 2 balls (27g/216m) 
C: 688 Disco x 3 balls (77g/616m)

Yarn Substitutes
If mohair isn’t your thing, or out of your budget, you can substitute it for using just one yarn instead of two yarns held together. It needs to be a yarn that’s a bit thicker than the Scheepjes Whirlette, so you’ll end up with a shawl of roughly the same size as the sample. Good substitutes could be:

  • Scheepjes Stone Washed regular (cotton/acrylic mix)
  • Scheepjes Bamboo Soft (bamboo/cotton mix)
  • Scheepjes Metropolis (wool/nylon mix)
  • Scheepjes Colour Crafter (anti-pilling acrylic)

About the Pattern

  • A written pattern in English US terms or Dutch
  • Clear tutorial pictures for all the tricky bits
  • Crochet and colorwork charts for most sections (the colored ribbed sections don’t have a chart)
  • Choose between a printer friendly version to save paper or a nicely formatted version
  • Special techniques (explained with text and photos): crochet colorwork and working with two colors without cutting yarn
  • Special stitches (US terms): bpst, fpst, 2dc-cl, dc2tog
  • Because of the special stitches and techniques, this pattern is classified as intermediate. It assumes you know how to make bpst and fpst.

Size
The shawl measures 183cm/73.2” at the longest edge, 158cm/63.2” long at the shorter edge and 95cm/38” wide at the widest point.

The pattern was tested in English. The Dutch version was not tested, so little typos may occur. Please contact me via email if you have found one, or if you need help with the pattern. aspoonfulofyarn@hotmail.com

Errata
3-12-21
The version from 3-12-21 contains the following small correction:
In R30 and R115, the stitch count is altered to state (bp)dc, instead of bpdc.

31-1-2022
The version from 31-1-22 contains the following corrections:
R186, 191, 196, 201, 206 and 211 should read front post instead of back post and vice versa when working the mushroom shape.