Queen Sofia's shawl

I have designed several shawls this summer, one of which is called Queen Sofia's shawl. The main pattern comes from a shawl given to Queen Sofia of Spain, when she and King Juan Carlos visited Estonia in May 2009. However, this is an old pattern, and you can find shawls with this pattern in Estonian knitting magazines even as far back as the 1970-ties.

I really like this pattern. I particularly like its symmetry and combinations of big and small diamonds, and the knobs which pop up. The pattern is actually more complicated to knit than it look, and it requires a more experienced knitter.

I chose a classic Estonian design for this shawl, with a large center, a small inner frame of gathering stitches and an outer border with a lace pattern. The outer border is somewhat different from the shawl given to Queen Sofia, as I chose a border knitted directly onto the shawl. On the shawl given to Queen Sofia, the border was sewn onto the shawl afterwards. The main reason for choosing this type of border is that I am a bit lacy. Also, I like to be able to control the corners, giving them a perfect angle, which is much easier for this type of border.

I wanted the shawl to fall heavily around my shoulders, so I chose a lamb wool yarn named Lacy Lamb. This is a lovely, elastic and thin yarn, and I only used two skeins for this shawl. I have to admit that the yarn was a bit more elastic than I anticipated. As a result, the shawl became larger than I planned after blocking.

I have chosen to make the pattern for this shawl available free of charge, but it is only in Norwegian. However, if you are able to read Norwegian, you can find a link to the pattern HERE. To access the file, go to "File" and "Download original". (If you do not read Norwegian, you can always try Google translator.) I hope it is possible to follow the instructions. You may copy or distribute this pattern as you like, but I do appreciate it if you mention me when you do.