Dear fellow knitting enthusiast,

I’m very happy to share another free pattern with you in my new blog post. This time, it’s a knitted shawl that is particularly well suited to beginners.

But even if you have been knitting for a while and simply fancy making a beautiful shawl without a complicated pattern, you’ve come to the right place. Because sometimes knitting is allowed to be nothing more than relaxing. After a stressful day, there’s something rather lovely about picking up your needles, continuing with your favourite TV series or listening to a podcast while you knit. And when your best friend comes over for coffee, chatting and a little gossip, knitting becomes twice as enjoyable.

The knitted shawl “Kylie” immediately catches the eye with its unusual asymmetrical shape. It looks a little like a boomerang. That’s where the name comes from.

A “Kylie” is a type of boomerang that was used by Indigenous Australians as a hunting weapon. Unlike the familiar sporting or throwing boomerang, however, a Kylie does not return to the person who throws it.

And my knitted shawl “Kylie” doesn’t make its way back either.

How the Shawl Is Knitted

The “Kylie” shawl is knitted from one side to the other. At one side, you work a double increase, while at the other side you decrease one stitch at the same time.

This gradually changes the shape of the shawl and creates its characteristic asymmetrical form.

That may sound a little more complicated than it actually is. Don’t worry! You don’t need any complicated pattern skills for this.

The “Kylie” is knitted almost entirely in stockinette stitch. You knit all stitches on right-side rows and purl all stitches on wrong-side rows. At the end, you add a few rows of garter stitch.

This makes the shawl a lovely project for beginner knitters and for anyone who would rather relax while knitting than count stitches.

Stockinette Stitch – Lovely, but with a Little Quirk

Stockinette stitch does have one particular characteristic: the edges like to curl.

And they do so rather reliably.

This is not a mistake, and it doesn’t mean that you have done anything wrong. It is simply part of the nature of this stitch pattern.

But why does it happen?

On the right-side rows, you knit all stitches. On the wrong-side rows, you purl all stitches. Knit and purl stitches have different yarn tension, which means they behave slightly differently. As a result, the edges of the knitted fabric begin to curl.

With the “Kylie” shawl, you can actually regard this little quirk as part of the design. The curled edge fits quite nicely with the simple character of the shawl. However, I steamed my shawl after finishing it, so that, as you can see in the pictures, the sides no longer curl.

If you would still like to reduce the curling, there are several ways to do so.

Choose a Different Stitch Pattern

The easiest option, of course, would be not to knit in stockinette stitch in the first place.

Garter stitch, brioche stitch, half brioche, or a combination of knit and purl stitches, such as seed stitch or basketweave, do not curl in the same way.

Add a Border

You can also add a border to your stockinette-stitch shawl. A border worked in garter stitch is a simple way of giving the edges a little more stability.

Another option is an I-cord edge. You can either work this directly from the beginning or add it around your finished shawl afterwards.

Add a Crochet Edging

If you know how to crochet, you can of course give your knitted shawl a crochet edging.

This is not only practical, but can also make a pretty decorative finish. Whether you keep it simple or make it a little more playful is entirely up to you.

A Knitted Lace Edging

Instead of a crochet edging, you can also choose a knitted lace edging as your finishing border.

This gives your shawl a completely different character. Especially with a simple stockinette-stitch shawl, a decorative edging can become a lovely eye-catcher.

Stretching and Blocking

And then there is, of course, the good old method of stretching and blocking.

Blocking can make a noticeable difference, especially with a shawl. The knitted fabric is carefully shaped and stretched. Depending on the fibre content, this can significantly reduce the curling.

It won’t disappear completely on a stockinette-stitch fabric, though. After all, this little quirk is simply part of the nature of the stitch.

Perhaps you have another good tip for dealing with curled edges? Then feel free to leave a comment. You can never have too many knitting tricks up your sleeve!

Yarn Details

• Fibre content: 43% acrylic, 41% polyester, 9% nylon, 7% wool

• Yarn weight: Aran

• Yardage: 310 m per 100 g

• Needle size: 5 mm

• Gauge: 18 stitches × 24 rows = 10 × 10 cm

The Yarn I Used

For my “Kylie” shawl, I used Rico Design Creative Painted Power.

The yarn has a wonderfully soft and fluffy surface, and its rich, deep colours immediately catch the eye.

Thanks to its special structure, the yarn has a beautiful, lively appearance without requiring you to knit a complicated pattern. That works particularly well for the “Kylie”, because here the yarn itself is allowed to provide a little of the eye-catching effect.

For my shawl, I chose a colourful version. The soft, slightly fluffy texture and intense colours look especially beautiful against the simple stockinette-stitch fabric.

The increases and decreases also create an appealing diagonal colour progression, which I particularly like.

Shape and Construction of the Shawl

The “Kylie” is an asymmetrical shawl.

You can wrap it around your neck several times and wear it like a scarf. Thanks to its shape, it sits beautifully around your neck.

Size

The shawl measures 193 cm across. At the deepest point, I measured 37 cm. The length of the long side is 139 cm and the short side is 77 cm.

You can of course make the shawl in any size you like and adapt it to your personal preferences.

Mini and midi shawls are particularly popular at the moment. So you can easily knit a smaller version of the “Kylie”.

Simply continue knitting until your shawl reaches the size you want. And if you would like to use up leftover yarn, just keep knitting until the yarn is gone. That is certainly a sensible solution for those lonely balls of yarn lying around.

Care Instructions

The yarn I used can be machine washed on a wool or gentle cycle.

Please do not tumble dry or iron the shawl.

If you use a different yarn, always follow the care instructions provided by the manufacturer. You can usually find them on the yarn label or on the manufacturer’s website.

Free Knitting Pattern for the “Kylie” Shawl

Now it’s finally time to pick up those needles!

The asymmetrical “Kylie” shawl is knitted back and forth in rows. Turn your work after every row.

On every second row, you decrease one stitch at the beginning of the row. At the end of the row, you work a so-called double increase, which adds two stitches.

The wrong-side rows are worked without any increases or decreases.

To make it easier for you to get the hang of things, I have written out the first few rows in full. After that, you will quickly see the pattern and can continue the repeats on your own.

Knitting Abbreviations

The Double Increase

The double increase works similarly to a kfb (knit front and back).

If you are not familiar with this increase yet, I have already explained it in my blog post for the free “Schwalbe” knitting pattern.

For my “Kylie”, the double increase is always worked on every even-numbered row, into the second-to-last stitch on the left-hand needle.

First, knit into the front of the stitch. Leave the stitch on the left-hand needle.

Then knit through the back loop, creating a twisted stitch. Again, leave the original stitch on the left-hand needle.

Finally, knit once more into the front of the stitch.

You can now slip the original stitch off the left-hand needle.

One stitch has now become three stitches, so you have increased by two stitches.

I particularly like this type of increase. It is less noticeable than, for example, a yarn-over increase, which makes it a lovely match for this simple shawl.

Casting On

Cast on 5 stitches

Row 1

Purl 5 stitches, turn.

= 5 stitches

Row 2

Knit 1, knit 2 together, work the double increase, knit 1, turn.

= 6 stitches

Row 3

Purl 6 stitches, turn.

= 6 stitches

Row 4

Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit 1, work the double increase, knit 1, turn.

= 7 stitches

Row 5

Purl 7 stitches, turn.

= 7 stitches

Row 6

Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit 2, work the double increase, knit 1, turn.

= 8 stitches

Row 7

Purl 8 stitches, turn.

= 8 stitches

Row 8

Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit 3, work the double increase, knit 1, turn.

= 9 stitches

Row 9

Purl 9 stitches, turn.

= 9 stitches

Row 10

Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit 4, work the double increase, knit 1, turn.

= 10 stitches

Row 11

Purl 10 stitches, turn.

= 10 stitches

Row 12

Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit 5, work the double increase, knit 1, turn.

= 11 stitches

Row 13

Purl 11 stitches, turn.

= 11 stitches

Row 14

Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit 6, work the double increase, knit 1, turn.

= 12 stitches

Row 15

Purl 12 stitches, turn.

= 12 stitches

Now Just Keep Knitting

You have now learned the basic principle.

Continue working the increases and decreases until your “Kylie” shawl has reached the desired size.

On every even-numbered row, begin by knitting:

Knit 1, knit 2 together

Then knit the required number of stitches, work the double increase into the second-to-last stitch, and finish with knit 1.

On the odd-numbered rows, simply purl all stitches.

That may sound like a lot of repetition, but that is exactly what makes this shawl so relaxing: once you have got the hang of the principle, you can simply knit along without having to think too much.

And if you eventually have no idea which row you are on: don’t panic. The shawl won’t hold it against you. ?

The Finishing Edge

To finish my “Kylie”, I knitted 6 rows of garter stitch.

This means that you knit all stitches on the wrong-side rows as well, instead of purling them.

After that, you can bind off your shawl as usual.

Finished!

Great! Once your “Kylie” has reached the desired size, all you need to do is weave in the ends.

I then steamed my shawl in the traditional way. Just as my mother taught me.

I placed a damp tea towel over the shawl and carefully steamed it with a hot iron. I repeated this several times until the entire shawl had been steamed.

Since my shawl was too large to fit completely on the ironing board, I had to work on it section by section. The tea towel also had to be dampened several times along the way.

For a simple knitted shawl like the “Kylie”, this method works wonderfully.

And then there’s only one thing left to do: drape it around your shoulders, wrap it around your neck and enjoy.

Copyright and Sharing

I created this pattern for you with lots of joy and love. It is my own design and is protected by the copyright of Blickfang-Design.

Please understand that the pattern – in whole or in part – may not be copied, distributed, published or sold. Commercial use of the pattern is also not permitted.

You are of course welcome to use the pattern for your personal use and knit your own shawl following these instructions.

If you like the “Kylie” and would like to share the pattern with others, I would be especially happy about that!

You are expressly welcome to recommend and share my blog post, and I’m even very happy if you do!

Simply link to my original blog post so that others can find the free pattern there as well.

By respecting these conditions, you support my work and help me continue creating new designs and free patterns for you.

Thank you so much, and happy knitting!

Best wishes,

Birte from Blickfang-Design