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Shaping Shawls

Book: Shaping Shawls

Author: Anna Dalvi

List Price
Hardcopy:$26.95
Electronic File:$16.95

Shaping Shawls provides the logistics of shawl shaping without being overwhelming. Anna Dalvi explains how to analyze lace patterns and shape 10 styles of shawl: 2 styles of rectangular shawls, 2 styles of square shawls, and 6 types of triangular shawl. Each construction style has a written description of it’s shaping method, a diagram showing the placement of increases or decreases, and a charted pattern for a shawl using that shaping. Dalvi discusses how the shawl shaping affects the lace patterning when worn as well as her preferred methods for casting on and binding off when working shawls. I do wish that the book had included a section on circular or half-circle shawl shaping, but even without it I think this book is a great resource.

The book starts with the simpler constructions and then proceeds to show how to add to and manipulate the canvas space, or space of the shawl available for lace patterning. I think that “canvas space” is a very appropriate term, as Dalvi has taken the art of knit shawl shaping and made it accessible to those wanting to take the plunge into creating their own shawl designs.

Besides being an informative resource, Shaping Shawls is a lovely book. The pictures are stunning, and I wish some of them were available as poster size prints. Shaping shawls is available as a traditional book as well as in pdf and e-book formats. If you purchase it from the Cooperative Press website, you can get the digital pdf and print copies together for the price of just the print copy.

*There is errata available for the Magic Lanterns pattern here. One error for one column in one pattern. Most magazines aren’t that good.

GIVEAWAY: The folks at Cooperative Press have provided me with a print copy for a giveaway. To enter, leave a comment here with why you love knitting shawls before Midnight EST on Sunday, September 4th. I’ll randomly choose a winner. Good luck!

~Update Mon., Sept. 5th~ Since I didn’t specify, I did leave the contest open internationally. The random number generator chose Amy as the winner! Congrats, Amy!