Not blogged in over a month! Busy busy busy. Haven't had time to craft but I've been trying to squeeze bits in here and there.
The second piece of clothing I have made, if you can call Slippers clothing, is a shawl. I wanted a thin breezy shawl for spring/summer wear so nothing very warm. After looking at many crochet stitches I decided to give Solomon's knot a go. I'd heard this wasn't an easy stitch to complete but I wanted to give it a try. The good thing about this stitch is that the knot can be as big or as small as you want.
Here is the beginning of the shawl:
At the beginning I found it quite difficult to keep track of where in the pattern I was, especially as this was a new stitch for me. To help with this I tied a piece of contrasting yarn to the point of the shawl (as seen in the picture). This was especially useful if I stopped crocheting and went back to it later on. However as the shawl got bigger I found it easier to pick up from where I left off.
I did start making a diagram as I went along to give me a hand. At first I thought I wouldn't need the diagram, that I could just figure it out as I went along. No no, the diagram was a must, even if it was a scruffy little thing:
Scruffy...but it worked! I have linked a video at the end of the blog which includes the help of a diagram like the one above. (This is not the finished diagram there were more knots in the completed shawl than shown here).
The other issue I had with this stitch was keeping the size of the knots consistant. I didn't want a misshapen shawl just because I'm rubbish at judging yarn length. I pre-empted this issue and measured all my knots against something I had to hand at the time... a pill bottle lid... don't judge me. I was just the size I wanted, 1.5inches / 4cm, so that's what I used.
My finished shawl is only small but big enough for me. Here is the end product:
I followed this Youtube Video to make this shawl, I had to watch it a few times before I got it right. Once you've got the hang of the pattern you can make the shawl as big or as small as you like, with any type of yarn (with a suitable hook size) and with any size knot. Its quite a versatile stitch.
Update
Click Here to see the shawl with a fringe.