I’ve really wanted to have a Traditional Danish Tie Shawl since I saw it in Spin-Off back in 2008. It had the swooping wings to tie around me and a long triangle in the back. Sooooo pretty…..
So I knitted one last winter from some worsted alpaca. Not So Good. I ran out of the yarn, and it was too short for my 5’10” broad shouldered, long-waisted body. What I needed was a really big, deep, wide, drapey shawl.. and I didn’t want to take the weeks of knitting with a fingering to sport weight yarn on smallish needles to make one. Rats. So I set the idea aside.
Summer 09 – The dog days of August. We have swum through this summer; unrelenting days of rain and overcast, and when the sun comes out? Oy, the humidity! I do NOT want to knit with a pile of wool on my lap.
But I could crochet. For some reason, I fell back into crochet – I haven’t crocheted a garment in 30+ years, and now I’m thinking about this? Strange. But I could do something simple. Maybe some granny squares to…nah. I like shawls…some granny squares to make a shawl? Nah. Then I remember…
The half granny! Iconic triangular shawl of the late 60’s and into the 70’s; usually multi-colored; made from the finest Sayelle or Wintuk or Orlon. Y’know, for an era that was start of the ecological movement, there sure were a lot of un-natural fibers being used…
I hit the intertube for a refresher on the half granny and found the best one right here:
http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/2008/06/blog-post_13.html
Teresa has easy directions, symbol crochet and a video – Thanks, Teresa! I was back up to speed and ready to roll…
My 70’s shawl will be multi-colored, but not in worsted weight. I decide, after a quick visit to AC Moore, that I’ll use sock yarn and an expanded gauge to crochet this mother. Bow chicka bow-bow, 70’s, here I come!
So I start. And suddenly, I see it. OMG. A Danish Tie Shawl is triangular but with the neck and front edges shaped by extra increases to extend them. This is what makes the shawl wrap around the body. Can I do this with a Half Granny? I rip out the several rows that I’ve done and walk in circles, talking to myself. My husband and the cats are amused, yet slightly alarmed.
Feverishly, I think. (Just a reminder here: I’m very lazy. No math. No crazy changes. Even my fevers tend to be mild.) I’m now calling it the Danish Granny Shawl in my head, or DGS for short, and I am thinking how to make this happen.
Increases on the ends? Mmmmm – no. I cheat. I fudge the gauge and the edges by doing two simple things, and that, dear reader, is what you are going to do as well. Here’s the cheating part. Ya READY?!
First: Work the first 2, possibly 3 rows (but no more than that) of the DGS with a hook that’s 2-3 sizes smaller than the main body hook. I used an H for this (then switched to a K for the body). DON’T be at all squinchy or tight with your first rows — there should be a slight, but visible difference (“snugger”, if you will) to these rows. Then, switch out to the larger K hook for the body.
Second: Turning chains. Remember when you were learning how to crochet and those darn turning chains were too tight and your edges got all bendy and crappy? Do that again. No, seriously. Since you are working clusters of DC for the shawl, the CH3 that you make to turn is considered part of the first DC cluster.
Make that CH3 pretty snug with your K hook (after you work your first 2-3 rows). OK, if you are morally opposed to snug chaining, make it a CH2. Whatevah.
The point is to deliberately curve the edge of the DGS. Your CH3 or CH2 on the edge should be gently pulling the head of your next DC over it. This, over time, curves the edge of the shawl. You do not have to use the smaller hook. Just let GO of the notion of a straight edge and Make It So.
Work in this manner until you are sick of it, or run out of yarn or both. I used 6 skeins of Paton’s Kroy FX sock yarn in Cascade Colors (teal! squee!) (yds/sk =166) and 1 skein of Kroy solid in Gentry Grey for the edging. I wanted a big-ass shawl and I got it; the rest of the world could probably get by with 5 skeins and 1 for contrast and the truly tiny (y’know, you ELFIN girls!) could do with 4 and 1. Buy extra, match your dyelots, and keep your receipts. Here’s the finished product!
Out Flat on the Floor -- The Danish Granny Shawl
lovely colors in that sock yarn....
Oh, and here’s the edging! Sedate and sober, to contain that gypsy soul..
With the solid color and the K hook: Start by working across the neck edge. 3 SC in every CH3/2 space (whatever worked for you); 3 SC in every end DC space.
Keep going and… for the outer edges: SC in every DC, 1 SC in the CH1 space between the DC clusters, and work 3 SC in the CH2 space on the point. When you get back to the neck edge, sl st to join, then change to an “I” hook (yes, change hooks – trust me!)
CH 2 and TURN. You’re going back along the outer edges. With the I hook, work 1 row of HDC in every SC around those outer edges; work 3 HDC in the “corner/point” to make it lay flat; work to neck edge, and then SC across in every SC across neck edge; sl st at end to join.
HDC edging on Danish Granny
Single Crochet Neck Edging
One more thing and then I’ll let you get going: Traditional Danish Tie Shawls have, um, ties — one on each end of the extended fronts. I’ve made that optional by doing the following: Join your yarn back onto the end of one of the front points. Tightly chain 6-8 ch st; sl st back onto point, creating a loop. Repeat for other point. You now have very small loops to put a tie (Tie: With K hook, chain approx 18”, turn and slip st through all ch, fasten off) through. No permanent dangly ties, but you can now tie the ends of the shawl behind you whenever you want to with this modification.
One of the Optional Back Tie Loops
To recap:
My gauge with a K hook: DC clusters are ¾” high, and I had 3 DC clusters and 3 CH-1 spaces in 4 inches.
Start making a Half-Granny square, using sock yarn and a size H hook. This will make the back of the neck start to curve and fit nicely around the back of your neck! Work the first 2-3 rows as usual, then switch to a K hook and work the main part of the shawl until large enough, remembering to either tighten up or shorten your turning chains on the neck edge.
Finish off with a nice border of single and half-double crochet in the same or contrasting color.
This would be a great sock yarn stash buster; or you can go out and mix and match solids, self-patterning or any other mash-up you’d like. The trick is to keep the crochet gauge very loose so that it drapes and flows.
Even with ripping and re-working, this is a fast crochet – less than a week for me and I am slow like the turtle when it comes to crochet. My gift to you. Enjoy!
Nice and Long! Just what I wanted!
Close-Up of Front Overlap
Here it is from the Front....
And of course, the obligatory BT-esque shot...
