Knitting a Boomerang Shawl – Easy, Colourful and Perfect for Travelling

Dear fellow knitting enthusiast,

Recently, I went to visit one of my sons, who lives near Bonn. While wandering through the city, I came across a Lana Grossa yarn shop – and that was more or less the end of my resistance.

The selection of yarns was impressive, and the colours even more so. I probably would have stayed there much longer if common sense hadn’t quietly started knocking on the door. My son’s patience was also beginning to wear a little thin.

Of course, I couldn’t possibly leave without any yarn. That would have been asking a bit too much.

I think this kind of yarn should really be called “spring yarn”. It sits there on the shelf, looks at you and practically jumps straight into your shopping bag. There’s simply no resisting yarn like that.

In my case, three balls of Lana Grossa Gianna in colour 07 Red/Turquoise/Navy/Cyclamen/Yellow-Green came home with me. I simply couldn’t resist those colours.

This fine cotton yarn is blended with soft merino wool and cashmere and has an eye-catching printed colour effect. Depending on where you are in the ball, the different colours appear in constantly changing combinations.

That is exactly what I like about this yarn. It doesn’t need a complicated stitch pattern – I simply wanted to see how the colours would develop as I knitted.

A Boomerang Shawl for the Train Journey

I had to start knitting on the train ride back to Stuttgart. Fortunately, I had a suitable knitting needle with me. Sometimes you just know in advance that you’re going to need one.

For a rather eventful train journey, though, I didn’t want a complicated pattern that would have me wondering after every bend and every stop where I had actually left off.

So I chose an asymmetrical triangular shawl, commonly known as a boomerang shawl.

The shawl is worked entirely in garter stitch. You only need to pay a little attention to the increases and decreases. After a few rows, you’ll quickly get into the rhythm and can simply knit away.

What Exactly Is a Boomerang Shawl?

A boomerang shawl is not a traditional triangular shawl. The particular arrangement of increases and decreases creates an asymmetrical, slightly curved shape.

This makes the shawl easy to wrap around your neck and wear several times around it.

So the name isn’t entirely random – although, of course, the shawl won’t actually fly back if you let go of it.

You can decide on the size yourself. Simply keep knitting until the shawl has reached the size you want or until you have used up your yarn.

The Yarn I Used

For my boomerang shawl, I used Lana Grossa Gianna, colour 07 Red/Turquoise/Navy/Cyclamen/Yellow-Green.

The yarn consists of:

The yarn label states that approximately 350 g are needed for women’s size 40. This information refers to the garment size given on the label and is not the amount of yarn required for the boomerang shawl.

I used 3.5 mm needles for my shawl. The cable on my circular needle is 80 cm long.

Do I Need a Gauge Swatch?

For this shawl, the gauge is less about achieving a particular finished size. Since you simply keep knitting until the shawl reaches the dimensions you want, you don’t have to match the gauge stated on the yarn label exactly.

A gauge swatch can still be useful if you want to find the needle size that gives you the fabric and drape you prefer.

I chose 3.5 mm needles. This produces a slightly denser fabric than the recommended needle size would. I like the result for this shawl.

Even though I used smaller needles than the manufacturer recommends, the finished shawl has a lovely, fluid drape.

Which Yarns Are Suitable?

You have quite a lot of freedom when choosing your yarn for this pattern. Yarns that already provide plenty of colour variation are particularly well suited:

• gradient yarns

• self-striping yarns

• hand-dyed yarns

• hand-spun yarns

• yarns with short or long colour changes

• two or more different colours

• suitable yarn leftovers

Of course, a simple yarn from your stash works just as well. The boomerang shawl is a good excuse to have a look at what has accumulated there. Sometimes you find more than you expected.

With a colourful yarn, the special shape creates completely different stripes and colour sections. You can only roughly guess how the colours will develop as you knit.

And that is exactly what makes it so much fun. You may find yourself unable to stop because you simply want to see what happens to the colours in the next section of the shawl.

If you work with two different colours, on the other hand, you can deliberately place your colour changes. The asymmetrical shape automatically creates diagonal stripes.

Size and Yarn – Entirely Up to You

My boomerang shawl measures approximately 162 cm in width and about 32 cm in depth.

You can knit the shawl with different yarn weights and in almost any size you like. For a small neck scarf, simply stop knitting sooner; for a larger version, just keep going.

That is another reason why I like the boomerang shawl for travelling. The pattern is easy to remember, the project is convenient to take with you, and you can concentrate on the beautiful colours of the yarn.

For me, a knitting project doesn’t really need to do much more than that.

How the Special Shape Is Created

The shape of the boomerang shawl is created by a combination of increases and decreases. You simply repeat the same basic principle throughout the pattern.

Edge stitches

Because the shawl is knitted in garter stitch, a neat knotted edge is created naturally.

Increases

In every odd-numbered row, two stitches are added at the end of the row: one with a yarn over and one using a kfb.

kfb stands for “knit front and back”. To work a kfb, knit the stitch through the front loop, but do not slip it off the left-hand needle yet. Then knit into the same stitch through the back loop.

Only then slip the original stitch off the left-hand needle.

One stitch has now become two.

In every even-numbered row, one additional stitch is made at the beginning of the row by working a yarn over before knitting the first stitch.

Decrease

In every even-numbered row, the last two stitches are knitted together.

Free Knitting Pattern

Cast On

Cast on 4 stitches.

Row 1

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 6 stitches on the needle.

Row 2

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 6 stitches on the needle.

Row 3

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 8 stitches on the needle.

Row 4

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 8 stitches on the needle.

Row 5

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 10 stitches on the needle.

Row 6

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 10 stitches on the needle.

Row 7

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 12 stitches on the needle.

Row 8

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 12 stitches on the needle.

Row 9

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 14 stitches on the needle.

Row 10

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 14 stitches on the needle.

Row 11

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 16 stitches on the needle.

Row 12

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 16 stitches on the needle.

Row 13

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 18 stitches on the needle.

Row 14

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 18 stitches on the needle.

Row 15

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 20 stitches on the needle.

Row 16

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 20 stitches on the needle.

Row 17

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 22 stitches on the needle.

Row 18

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 22 stitches on the needle.

Row 19

Knit to the last stitch, yarn over, then work the last stitch as a kfb.

You now have 24 stitches on the needle.

Row 20

Yarn over, knit to the last 2 stitches, k2tog.

You still have 24 stitches on the needle.

From this point onwards, repeat Rows 19 and 20 until your boomerang shawl has reached the desired size.

Binding Off the Boomerang Shawl

When binding off, make sure that the final edge remains loose and elastic. If the bind-off is too tight, the edge can pull in and the shawl may not lie as nicely once finished.

A little trick can help: use a needle half to one full size larger than the needle you used for the shawl when binding off.

I knitted my boomerang shawl with 3.5 mm needles. For binding off, you could therefore use a 4.0 mm or even 4.5 mm needle.

This gives the stitches a little more room and keeps the bind-off edge nice and flexible.

Once you have bound off, all that remains is to weave in the ends.

Blocking with Steam – Necessary or Not?

I steamed my boomerang shawl. This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but steaming can help relax the stitches and make the shape look more even.

Garter stitch can settle a little after steaming. It also allows you to gently adjust the asymmetrical shape and lay it out in the direction you want.

You don’t necessarily have to place the iron directly on the knitted fabric. One simple option is to use a clean, damp tea towel as a protective layer between the yarn and the iron.

Place the damp tea towel over the boomerang shawl and carefully work with heat and steam. The yarn should not come into direct contact with the hot soleplate of the iron.

You can then gently shape the shawl and leave it to dry completely.

With a yarn containing merino wool and cashmere, it is particularly important to work carefully and avoid excessive heat.

One More Thing Before You Go

For me, the boomerang shawl is exactly the kind of knitting project I like to pick up when I want something uncomplicated.

The shape develops almost by itself, while a colourful yarn still makes every row a little bit exciting.

Perhaps you also have a yarn in your stash that has been waiting for its moment. A boomerang shawl certainly doesn’t need a complicated stitch pattern.

And if you make your shawl with a different yarn, I’d love to see it. You are very welcome to upload your boomerang shawl to the Crazypatterns gallery.

Especially with gradient yarns, the same pattern can turn into a completely different shawl simply because of the yarn you choose.

Copyright and Sharing

This boomerang shawl pattern is protected by copyright owned by Blickfang-Design.

Please understand that the pattern, including parts of it, 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 own personal use and knit your own boomerang shawl from it.

If you like the boomerang shawl and would like to share it with others, you are very welcome to do so. Sharing and recommending this blog article is expressly permitted.

Please simply link to the original blog article so that others can find the free pattern directly there.

Respecting the copyright of my patterns supports my work and makes it possible for me to continue creating and sharing new patterns with you.

Thank you for that, and happy knitting!

Best wishes,

Birte