Is it possible to knit a shawl “flatter”?

Hi everyone,

I’m a crocheter, but my friend knits and knits and now has a real problem.

98% of the time, she knits socks, and then she uses the huge leftover yarn scraps to knit colorful shawls.
They’re triangular shawls, but they’re very flat. This happens because she knits from right to left (so she increases until she reaches the center, then decreases from the center back out).

But now she’d like to have the stripes (which come from the leftover yarn) go the other way around :-)

So she wants to start the shawl from the center point. And she’s getting desperate...
Apparently, it’s not possible to increase stitches while knitting (in the center and at the edges) in a way that makes the shawl long and flat. It ends up either more semicircular or very triangular/pointed…
I’m used to it being different when crocheting, but I can’t help her with my tips here.

Can any experienced knitter help? ♥

Best regards, Marion

Hi Marion,

I know of the following variation: increase 2 stitches at the beginning and end of the right side row (instead of just one stitch as usual) and increase 1 stitch before and after the center stitch.

This way, the shawl gets longer faster and doesn’t have to be as deep. But I don’t know if your friend will like it. You usually don’t know until you’ve tried it yourself.

Best regards

Michaela

Hi Marion,
I’m not very experienced, but I’m sure others will have a few tips to share.

What do you mean by “flat”? So you want it to be a symmetrical triangle and not too pointy?

If she starts from the center, she needs to knit every other row in reverse. If the shawl gets too pointy, she’s not adding enough stitches per row.

Hi Marion,

In my post above, I meant the shawl variation where it is knitted from top to bottom.

Best regards

Michaela

Take a look here under “knitting a flat triangular shawl.” There are a few patterns there, including a free one. 

@Michaela:
Thank you so much, I’ll pass that along for now :-)
The direction is right, and whether it’s started in the middle from the top or bottom shouldn’t matter with simple stitches ♥

@ruthk:
Yes, that’s actually the very first thing I did :-)
But those are all patterned shawls, which aren’t really an option when using leftover sock yarn...

Maybe a dragon’s tail would be an option. It’s not as “pointy” as a normal shawl.

Thank you so much for all the help 💛
I’d already given my friend what felt like 1,000 suggestions :-)

But she usually knits up leftover sock yarn from left to right into a flat triangle—meaning the stripes are straight and vertical.
Now she wants to do the same thing, but horizontally. That’s why I’m asking if it’s possible to knit a flat shawl like this starting from the center point. The stripes just aren’t supposed to look like a triangle—I hope you understand what I mean :-))

Hi Marion,

in that case, the method I suggested above won’t work. The stripes would run diagonally, forming a triangle, as you put it.