Table of contents:
- A bit of history
- Shawl new life
- Designer shawl
- Knit a shawl for everyone
- A little about schemes
- Workflow
- Step one - the base of the shawl
- Stage two - rhombuses
- Stage three - shawl border
2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46
The wardrobe of a modern woman is quite diverse, but often only the use of additional accessories makes her look truly individual. Fashion is characterized not only by new trends, but also by the fact that long-forgotten items of clothing often find new life. One of these accessories is a shawl.
A bit of history
With the current diversity of colors and variety of tastes, choosing the right thing is not difficult. And hardly anyone today thinks about where the shawl came from. Meanwhile, the history of the appearance of the first shawls takes us back to the 15th century. They were made in one of the valleys of ancient Asia using the technique of hand weaving. It is known that several weavers worked on the manufacture of a shawl at once, and it took them up to several months to work. Depending on the complexity of the pattern and on who it was ultimately intended for, the turnaround time could increase up to a year.
It is believed that the shawl appeared in Europe thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte. From his campaigns, he brought samples of various items of clothing as a gift to Josephine. One of these samples was a shawl, the versatility of which was appreciated. True, if in Asia the shawl played the role, rather, of decoration, then the harsher European climate somewhat transformed it. Over time, the shawl has evolved from a mere decoration to a practical item.
Shawl new life
Making warm shawls marked the beginning of their new life. In the cold season, they have become simply irreplaceable. Since European trends had a significant influence on the formation of Russian fashion, shawls have firmly established themselves in our country. And despite the fact that steam engines and looms were introduced into production, things made using manual labor are still considered the most valuable and unique. Today, the range of products is striking in its diversity. These can be dense plain shawls and capes crocheted or knitted, openwork scarves made from various types of yarn, as well as assembled from separately made elements.
Designer shawl
As the popularity of this garment grew, more and more diverse techniques were offered. One of these techniques was proposed by the German designer Erich Engeln. The peculiarity of his decision is that the shawl has not a simple triangular, but a crescent shape. This shape allows the shawl to sit comfortably on the shoulders of its owner and not slip off them whenmovement. And it can also be easily draped around the shoulders, thereby modifying the image. Such shawls are knitted with knitting needles. From Erich Engeln, the idea was borrowed by craftswomen from many countries of the world, and today such designer products are at the peak of popularity. An increasing number of needlewomen are interested in the technique of their manufacture.
An unusual piece of clothing did not immediately, but earned popularity and recognition, and was also named after the author - Engeln's shawl. The scheme and description of the work were kept secret at first. They became widespread much later. And today almost every knitter considers it necessary to try to knit it.
Knit a shawl for everyone
At first glance, it may seem that such a masterpiece is incredibly difficult to complete. However, craftswomen are always ready to help beginners and willingly post Engeln's shawl patterns on specialized forums. Of course, the mere ability to knit is not enough here. You need to be able to understand the schemes, as well as have enough desire and perseverance, because in order to get the desired result, sometimes you have to redo the work more than once. For knitting, three types of basic loops are used, which are easy to master - their designation on the diagrams is always the same. Therefore, having mastered the basics, you can always do more complex work.
A little about schemes
Let's try together to figure out how the Engeln shawl is made. The diagram and description below arestandard for all varieties of this model. Therefore, you just have to decide which shawl you want to get: more openwork or dense. And also decide on the composition of the thread that you will use. If you want to get an airy product, you need the threads to be thin enough, for example, the length of the thread should be about 500 meters in 100 grams. And knitting needles for such threads should be taken with a diameter of 3-3.5 mm.
Erich Engeln's shawl patterns can be found in various knitting magazines and on forums where craftswomen communicate and post photos of their masterpieces. In these photos, we can clearly see that different knitting techniques are used to make the shawl. Therefore, the presence of several schemes is quite understandable.
Workflow
At the beginning of the work, all the main rows of the shawl are performed, which are also called the body of the shawl, and then its calling card is performed - the border. And what seems incredibly difficult at first glance is quite doable. Upon careful examination of the scheme of the Engeln shawl, we come to the conclusion that a certain system of adding loops is used to form the body of the shawl. So that the canvas does not look too loose, the increase in loops is made directly at the edge loops and also at the central loop. Conventionally, the body of the shawl is divided into two symmetrical halves, which are knitted in a mirror image.
Step one - the base of the shawl
To start work, 11 loops are cast on the knitting needles, and the first row is knitted with purl loops. Next, you need to conditionally divide the future shawl into two halves. For this, it is proposedhighlight the central loop with a plastic pin, marker or just a colored thread. Keeping in mind the increase in loops, immediately after the edge loop, three should be knitted from one loop at once as follows: front, yarn, front. Knit the next three stitches. Before the central loop and after it, respectively, we make a crochet. Then again three facial ones, and from the penultimate loop, similarly to the beginning of the row, we knit three loops. The edge completes the row. All loops in the purl row are purl knit. In such a simple way, Engeln's shawl is first knitted. The diagram and description should always be at hand, this will greatly simplify the work.
In this way, the shawl is knitted up to 42 rows. Pay close attention to adding loops. They are added 6 in each row - when knitting 42 rows, there should be 137 loops on the knitting needles. Such accuracy is very important when making the Engeln shawl. Schemes, descriptions and comments of specialists allow us to control the correctness of work in this way.
Stage two - rhombuses
The next stage of work - knitting an openwork pattern - requires a little more skill and perseverance from the knitter. As well as more frequent reference to the schema. The requirements for adding loops remain the same. At this stage, the shawl begins knitting diamonds, which will end on the 64th row of work. Here it should be remembered that only one part of the shawl is offered to our attention, and the other is knitted in a mirror image.
Stage three - shawl border
And the last stage of work is knitting the border. It gives the product a finished look and personality, and by right this stage of work is the most difficult. Its peculiarity is that there will no longer be a central loop here, and the addition of loops is carried out in accordance with the pattern of knitting the leaves of the border. In order to avoid mistakes and get a real Engeln shawl, the diagram and description at this stage should always be at hand. After all, any mistake can lead not only to the loss of the overall appearance of the product, but also to disappointment.
As you can see, such openwork shawls are knitted with knitting needles. Engeln, with the diagrams and descriptions of whose work we met above, is often called a magician, and the products themselves - tablecloths and shawls - are compared with frosty patterns on glass. Let every thing you make give you a lot of warmth and pleasure from its use. Good luck in knitting.
Recommended:
Openwork border with knitting needles: patterns and description of the pattern for a triangular shawl
Knitting a border with knitting needles is a rather specific work that is necessary to decorate a wide variety of products: from dresses and skirts to shawls and scarves
Beautiful and original skirts for girls with knitting needles (with descriptions and diagrams). How to knit a skirt for a girl with knitting needles (with a description)
For a craftswoman who knows how to manage yarn, knitting a skirt for a girl with knitting needles (with or without a description) is not a problem. If the model is relatively simple, it can be completed in just a few days
Hat with knitting needles: scheme, description. Knitting hats with knitting needles
If you do not have the patience to knit large and bulky work, then choose a small and simple thing to start. One of the most popular activities for needlewomen is knitting hats with knitting needles. Schemes, description and end result will depend on who the model is created for
Japanese bactus needles. Openwork bactus knitting needles. How to tie a bactus? Knitting needles and our instructions will help you
Every day such an unusual accessory as an openwork bactus becomes more and more popular. A knitted or crocheted knitted product looks not only unusual, but also very beautiful
Knitting a square with knitting needles: options, patterns, patterns and description
Knitting time flies by, especially when the details are small and the company is pleasant. It is all the more surprising to find that in a short time enough modules have accumulated to create the intended product. A blanket of friendship from squares, knitted by the whole family, will not only warm you on cool evenings, but also remind you of a pleasant time spent among people close to your heart