Patronus Shawl Pattern Release

I think this is probably the pattern release I am most excited about (bar perhaps the first time I was published in a magazine....)! This design was so very fun to come up with and it is the fruit of a collaboration with Norah George Yarns which has been an utter delight.

The result is a stunning accessory, which is easy to knit and makes fantastic use of two lovely skeins of fingering weight yarn. The Patronus Shawl is a very engaging knit, the different sections, with different colours, and absence of very long rows makes this an enjoyable knit, without being complex...it never gets boring!

From the very outset of the designing process I knew the shape I wanted the shawl to be - I love the look of the garter stitch with the decrease line in the middle - and for me, knitting tip to tip has huge bonuses. You start by casting on just a few stitches and end by binding off only a few stitches, AND there are no very long rows in the whole process. The yarn was my next inspiration. I have long been in love with Norah George yarn and the colours in the Expecto Patronum kit are me to a T! Striping these colours together and setting it off with some simple lace makes them really shine! And the Harry Potter theme is the wonderful icing on the cake!

Click on the photos below to open a gallery to see them full size! Click here for the pattern on Ravelry!

As if the lovely kit colourways that I used were not enough, Norah George Yarns has come up with five, yes FIVE, further different kits for this design. There really is something for everyone!

The kits are all exclusive to this design. They consist of two full skeins of fingering weight yarn on my favourite 80/20 merino/nylon high twist base - it is super soft but also has great stitch definition and I absolutely loved knitting with it for my shawl. The kits also include a download code for the pattern from Ravelry. There will be a pre-order update at 8 pm BST (british summer time) on Thursday 13th March for the kits so be sure to head over to her shop to snag one!

Check them all out below! (If you click on the gallery you can also see the name of each kits)

I was super privileged to have the very talented Tracy (of Norah George), the sweetness personified Dani (of the Little Bobbin podcast) and the utterly fabulous Katie (of the Inside No. 23 podcast) as test knitters. Do check out their Instagram feeds (by clicking on their names above) to see their finished shawls. Dani chose "Lily & Snape's Doe", Katie "Harry and James' Stag" and Tracy "Hermione's Otter"!

You can of course use any similar yarns for this shawl. Most fingering weight yarns with similar put ups will work well. I used one full skein (100 g / 400 m / 435 yards) of fingering weight yarn Colour A (speckled colourway) and 80 g (320 m / 350 yards) of Colour B (tonal colourway). This pattern is a fantastic stash buster and I am really looking forward to seeing what combinations people come up with! To that note, I am co-hosting a KAL for this shawl with Tracy of Norah George Yarns. The chatter thread is already open on my Ravlery Group so head over there and join in. The KAL will run from May 1st to June 15th, and I will set up the FO thread once the KAL actually starts, but you can cast on as soon as you want! There will be at least one giveaway at the end, and you get two entries in my KAL if you use Norah George Yarns (even if you don't snag one of the kits)! Aaaand given that this is a thoroughly Harry Potter themed pattern, you can also enter it into Katie's year-long Harry Potter KAL !!! I am sure there are many other KALs with which you can double, triple, quadruple dip-away .... it is encouraged!

So, now it is time to pick your colours, sit down, cast on, and get ready to wrap yourself up in your Patronus!