Lace Party - June 5-18th - Shetland Shawl Challenge - Part 1

Greetings Lace Party-ers and guests. A note to the newcomers: the Lace Party grew out of a workshop hosted by Dragonflylace (a/k/a DFL). The workshop is still here on KP. Everyone is welcome to join us as often as you like at the Lace Party. We share our daily goings-on and, of course, our knitting projects. We do love to see photos, finished projects or WIP s. If you have a question, just ask; someone is sure to answer. Every two weeks, on a pre-arranged schedule, someone hosts a new Lace Party. Sometimes we work on the same project, but we always share whatever we are working on -- lace or not. We hope you will join us.
Welcome to the first part of a two-part challenge to design a square shawl worked in the manner of a Shetland Shawl. At the end of the second session, after we have worked through the critical decision points related to construction, reviewed optional techniques and some aesthetic considerations and you have prepared some pattern motif swatches, we will put all of that together and design a shawl that looks ' like' a traditional Shetland shawl, but is worked from the center outward. During this first 2-week session of LP we are going to look at a lot of samples of 'the real thing' -- photographs of Shetland shawls that exist in various museums around the world while focusing attention on design considerations.
What do I know and am I an authority? Well the answer to that is: no I'm not an authority, but someone who has spent many years thinking about this topic. I fell in love with the beautiful qualities of Shetland Shawls and decided I needed to be able to 'do it too.' So what I know is what I've deduced, discovered by trial and error, and I'd like to think resulted from a common sense look at things. Now, I'd like to share a method of construction with you and a whole bunch of thoughts that perhaps you will be able to incorporate into your lace knitting adventures.
When I first became addicted to lace knitting in the mid-1980s, there weren't many readily available resources. So with a few reference books and a very few photographs of historic Shetland Shawls, I started wondering why the shawls were made in bits and pieces and then sewn together (of all things - I hate to sew on knitting) and what made the shawls so special anyway. Well, the last question was easy to answer: Shetland Shawls can be exquisite: the finest examples of the combination of wool which is both fine and warm with extremely delicate pattern motifs so complex that sometimes it is overwhelming to study them.
Little by little, I worked my way through question after question until, finally, I was able to create a product that is visually comparable to a Shetland shawl, but constructed in a different fashion. I propose that we use this next couple of weeks, considering similar questions.
As our starting point, why not take a look at some shawls. All the following photos have been downloaded from various sources on the net. If you’d like to look at more, just search for Shetland Shawls and follow the images. One can spend hours looking at all the various wonderful pieces that exist, mostly in museum collections.



Dragonflylace wrote: Good morning DeEtta and all lace lovers...

I was wondering if you all have the large PDF file of the Queen Susan Shawl. This is a project was connected with the Shetland Museum. Although I am sure I would never complete such a large project (72 inches square), it is fun to look at. If you are interested, I could post the PDF file.

DeEtta (aka Belle) wrote: DFL -- As I recall, the Queen Susan Shawl is the product of an effort to write a pattern from an actual traditional shawl. If memory serves me correctly, the shawl is located in the Lerwick Museum (which incidentally has an expansive collection). The shawl is a beautiful piece so a group of dedicated lace knitters decided to produce a pattern that would be an exact reproduction. And they did it. The shawl has lots of motifs and is "knock your socks off" beautiful. I think there is a Ravelery link to the pattern:

Queen Susan Shawl:

DeEtta (aka Belle) wrote: It is a 7MB file so takes a few minutes to download. The file also includes a narrative describing the odyssey of creation. Rather interesting.

britgirl wrote: I just got the books out so I can quickly refer to them. They are Sharon Miller's Heirloom Knitting which I think is a wonderful resource and two but Elizabeth Lovick, viz The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting and Magical Shetland LacevShawls to Knit.... Sue

DeEtta (aka Belle) wrote: Sue - that stole is wonderful and if you can do that (and did); a shawl is easily within your reach. I love that you used the traditional motifs.

By the end of this 2-week session we should have finished our overview of technical considerations and decision points, ending with the "assignment" to locate motifs and swatch them for the second part of the series, beginning July 10th that will as promised to the math. Even if you are away for a portion of that time, we will be here and you can always catch up when you return.

Sue -- Those are all good books. I don't have the Lovick books but have seen them. But Sharon Miller's book is really useful. What I like so much about Sharon's book, is that she has done a wonderful job of explaining so many things but in particular how to modify and work with motifs. There are several other excellent resources including Sarah Don's, "The Art of Shetland Lace", 1980, Gladys Amedro, "Shetland Lace," 1993, Margaret Stove "Creating Original Hand-Knitted Lace,", 1995, Hazel Carter, "Shetland Lace Knitting from Charts," 1987, James Norbury "Traditional Knitting Patterns," 1962, Mary Thomas, "Mary Thomas's Knitting Book", 1938, Dover edition 1972, Mary Thomas, "Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns", 1943, Dover edition 1972. These are just a few. Extensive articles can be found magazines, my favorites being located in "Threads." But if I had to have only 1 reference, it would be Sharon's book, because it is the comprehensive.

The hey-day of Shetland Shawls ran from 1820 through the First World War Interestingly it was economic necessity of the crofters in Shetland that led them to produce the exquisite shawls that come to mind when Shetland Shawls are mentioned. Prior to then, they made shawls of course for their personal use, but these shawls were made of coarser wool, and much simpler patterns. What are called Hap Shawls are roughly the same as what was being made for their own use. But when the bottom fell out of the market for hand-knitted stockings (replaced by machine made), fine lace knitting became a means of earning additional income by the crofting women of Shetland. By the mid-1850s the industry was being supported by Royalty and the competition for the "best" made production of Shetland Shawls provided a reliable source of income.
We mustn’t forget that during the period 1820-1920, women's fashions changed in silhouette. By the mid-1850s, women's clothing had substantial skirts and the use of a shawl as a "wrap” made sense. I’ve seen a couple of photos (which regrettably I can't reproduce here) that were taken in the early 1890s when sleeves had ballooned and skirts where still substantial that show the shawl being worn with 2 adjacent corners draped over the shoulders. Typical Shetland Shawls were 6 feet square at minimum. So worn in such a fashion, one would be displaying the entire face of the shawl. Today, it is hard to wear a large square shawl given our lifestyles which is why triangular shawls are a more popular shape.
During World War I the need for knitted items for the armies diverted much of the attention of the crofters and the market more or less disappeared. After the War, the changes in social habits, and women's fashion once again led away from full-sized Shetland Shawls and the crafting knitters who needed to produce additional income became more involved in the Fair Isle sweater/vest knitting craze which extended until the Second World War.
These days, Shetland shawls are of far more interest to the knitting community than to consumers. Today, we challenge ourselves to match the standard of excellence of our predecessors.
Following are some samples of traditional shawls worn in interesting ways.
TOC: Pg 1: Introduction, Pg 5: Shawls Being Worn


Now having taken a look at a few photos of shawls; let's spend some time talking about materials and getting ready to knit.
First and foremost is the yarn. The crofters had a lot of control over their yarn. Usually, it was from their sheep and was sheered and spun by them also. I can readily imagine that some women preferred to spin rather than knit and vis-a-versa. One can easily imagine an extended family wherein everyone had their job to get the product, a valuable Shetland Shawl, completed and ready for the buyers. Although most of the shawls were made hopefully for sale; some of the ones which are available today in museums and are of the highest quality were made on commission. Generally, the references say, that crofters made and collected their shawls then annually, the shawls were washed and dressed for sale (see photo of shawl on blocking frame).
Today it is challenging to find finely spun wool appropriate for shawl construction. In the last 10 years, with the interest of Shetland shawls and Eastern European shawls rising, yarn has become more available, but usually through specialty yarn providers. For Shetland yarns, Jamieson & Smith is the most well-known provider, but there are certainly other sources and a little bit of time on the net, should help you to discover other sources.
But having recognized that perhaps quality yarn isn't easy to come by, the construction techniques and traditional Shetland motifs have been well documented in outstanding reference materials such as Sharon Miller's " Heirloom Knitting" , Gladys Amedro's " Shetland Lace" , and Sarah Don's " The Art of Shetland Lace."

Many references exist today; each one adds a bit to the composite knowledge base.
As a side note: one of the reasons I was fascinated from the early years by Shetland shawls, was the Jamieson name. Since that happens to be my maiden name and not a usual spelling, my attention was immediately caught and held. Of course, this is completely irrelevant, but perhaps somewhere in " my blood" the genes are lurking!!
Well, to get back to our conversation, along with yarn, needles were needed. And herein lies the explanation for the construction of Shetland shawls. Well before, the thought of circular needles was even floating in the air, crofters were knitting their superfine yarn with what we would called needles and they might call wires. Basically, that is exactly what they were using -- steel wire cut to various lengths. These wires were used in conjunction with a knitting belt (a padded leather pouch worn at the waist into which 1 end of a wire was poked). Using a knitting belt frees the hands from balancing and supporting the wire and the garment and gives the hand more freedom to manipulate the yarn.
But think about it: if your challenge was to make a 6 foot square shawl and you had at best a pair of 14-inch wires with which to do it, how would you approach the challenge? And remember, that you may very well be knitting while doing other chores so concentration may be interrupted. My guess, is that you'd break the task into smaller pieces and assemble later. And yes, that is exactly what the generally accepted method of making Shetland Shawls became. Tomorrow we'll talk about what the method(s) came to be.
TOC: Pg 1: Introduction, Pg 5: Shawls Being Worn, Pg 9: Yarn & Needles/Wires, Dressing


DeEtta (aka Belle) wrote: I just found this KP entry and wanted to share since it is right on point with our discussions

Didn't she do a nice job. She calls this shawl a hap shawl which I'm not altogether sure is correct. I thought hap shawls were shawls with a solid garter or stockinette center, worked typically with old Shale border and a very small edging. Hap shawls frequently had borders that were multicolored-- all natural colors from different sheep, e.g., brown, beige, etc. The fact that the center on her shawl is pattern would suggest that it isn't a Hap, but the fact that she used various colors in the border would say that it is. Whatever, it is a wonderful piece.

tamarque wrote:...I have a question: what is special or particular about Shetland Lace yarn? It seems there are different wts as we can get from many companies and wools. Merino is a very soft fiber, but I gather it is different...

DeEtta (aka Belle) wrote: Tanya -- I think there are 2 things that make Shetland wool special. And I should qualify what I'm about to say, because my comments are limited to non-commercially produced yarns. Unst which is one of the more Northern Shetland Islands was reputed to produce a sheep that had exceptionally light, strong yarn. This is the yarn that could be spun to the size of sewing thread and then plied to make the yarn that was used for the Wedding Ring shawls. The yarn had incredible tensile strength and warm. All Shetland sheep's wool has the same characteristic related to warmth. Unst sits at 60-degrees North Latitude (the Arctic circle is at 66-degrees) so it isn't surprising that the sheep have great thermal quality. But to get back to your question, it is the combination of thermal quality and ability to spin ultra-fine that allowed the crofters to produce the yarn for the extraordinary shawls. Today, with all yarn production being via commercial companies, most of the Shetland wools are spun into thicker yarns. There are gossamer, cobweb and 2-ply lace weights. I've not handled a shawl from hand-spun, but I would imagine that it is much softer than today’s yarn offerings.

As you’ve been looking at the lovely photos of the shawls, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the sameness of the structure. There is a square center panel typically worked in one direction. Around the center panel is a border of varying widths and with varying complexity of motifs. And finally, around the entire shawl there is an edging worked apparently continuously.
We can talk about each of these three construction zones as discrete components of the whole and while their composition creates the final impact, each one stands analysis individually.
The CENTER panel is always square. In the most basic of shawls the center is a plain garter stitch square – you would find this in a Hap Shawl. Shetland Shawls usually have a center panel which may display one or more classic Shetland pattern motifs. The more complex shawls may have several motifs. When more than one motif is employed, the combination usually creates a linear striped effect. All centers are worked in one direction, but may be either worked in a garter or stockinette manner. Traditionally, Shetland motifs are worked using a garter base and have patterning on each row. That means that one is always knitting with only an occasional purl now and then, but that each time the work is turned a new pattern row is begun. Incidentally, working patterns on each row is generally called lace knitting and can be recognized by looking at the work and seeing untwisted yarn running between stitches. Whereas, if you were working on a stockinette base meaning purl on the back side, those same yarns would be twisted together with another yarn.
The BORDER is made of 4 trapezoid shapes. The sides of each trapezoid run at a 45-degree angle and when knitted in a classic Shetland shawl would have been created by decreasing from the outer edge while working toward the center at the rate of 1 stitch each side of the border every other row. This is a formula which all of us have followed when making shawls that work from the center outward only instead of decreasing we used increases. This rate of increase/decrease is a fundamental shaping rule universal to all knitting and would be well to commit to memory.
The border is comprised of one or more motifs typically, not repetitive of the motifs used in the center panel. Motifs can be used in an all-over pattern or arranged in rows which would create a stripped effect. Generally, the shawl would have the same garter/stockinette basis worked in both the border and the center panel. Mixing these can lead to one component being denser than the other and therefore create an imbalance in the overall composition.
The last component is the EDGING. The edging is a continuous length of knitted lace which varies in width from a few stitches (as few as 6) to as wide as the designer wishes. Sometimes a designer will compound edgings with insertions to make a more complex composite edging. It is common to see a variation of faggoting be included in an Edging where the edging will join with the border.
There seem to be several methods of putting all the above components together in a single shawl, but the most commonly seen (at least in my investigations) is represented by the charts shown below. Following the chart below, the knitter would have knitted an edging long enough to equal one side of the square shawl – so if the shawl was to be 6 ft, then the knitter would have worked 72 inches of edging. Then knitter would have turned the work and picked up stitches along the edge of the strip, probably at a rate of 1 stitch picked up for every two rows of lace edge – at each end of the pickup process, a slower rate of pickup would be used to help “ease” the edging around the corner when the shawl is finally assembled. Now the stitches on the needle/wire would be worked in the border pattern – working toward the center and remembering to decrease every other row at each end of the row to create the trapezoid shape. When the border was as deep as the designer wanted, then the stitches remaining on the needle/wire would be used for the center panel and it would be worked in full. Ending with a piece of knitting which has an edge, a border and the center panel. The process would then be repeated 3 times more except, the edge and border only would be worked. Following that the 4 pieces would be sewn together to create the full shawl. The skill in sewing must have been challenging because if you get a chance to handle a shawl constructed in this manner, it is hard to pick out the sewn yarns from the knitted ones. A very high level of expertise was required.
And there you have it – how to construct a basic Shetland Shawl, but….. Of course, there are a myriad of variations. And given my personal disinclination to sew anything, I quickly decided that while I love the overall composition of Shetland Shawls, this manner of construction is not for me. Rather, I put my energy into creating a method of accomplishing something similar and a method I would be prepared to use. That method is what we will be exploring in our sessions.
But first we need to look at some more examples and talk about what the implications are – so more later.
TOC: Pg 1: Introduction, Pg 5: Shawls Being Worn, Pg 9: Yarn, Needles/Wires, & Dressing, Pg. 13: Structure