Machine Knitting Pattern for Estrela Lace Shawl

As I was crocheting the Calla Lily Bouquet, I started day dreaming about the reception for my sister’s wedding.  After the ceremony at the church we planned to go to a Mexican restaurant that the priest (who is Mexican) recommended.  My sister had two requirements; she required great margaritas and a Mariachi band to add to the festive ambiance.

Knowing my sister would have a strapless wedding dress, I wanted to make her something to wear in the restaurant in case it was cold.  I knew it shouldn’t be a heavy winter shawl since we would be in Texas over the summer.  Also, something too heavy of weight wouldn’t pair with the elegance of her dress.  So, I determined lace it would be.

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Since I would only have a few days to make it after the bouquet was complete, I would need to make it on my machine so that it would go faster.

I tried several different yarns.  I even tried the same yarn that the bouquet flowers were made out of, but it was too stiff and didn’t have a nice drape even at a loose tension.  I tried a brushed acrylic yarn, but it was too dark for the off-white dress and had more of a casual feel.  I finally landed on a 2/28 acrylic yarn.  It had a nice soft hand, a slight sheen for sophistication, and a beautiful drape.

I tried several punchcards for lace but none of them looked elegant enough.  I tried Fair Isle with a metallic thread as the second color in order to give it a lace like openness.  However, my Toyota 950 did not like working with the thread and kept dropping stitches.  Also, the back of what it did manage to produce looked messy for a shawl where both sides would be visible.

I started looking at Susan Guagliumi’s Open Spaces book on hand manipulated stitches for inspiration.  On pages 84 and 85 there are examples of where she moved a line of working stitches across the bed to form different effects depending on how many unworked spaces and direction you were going.   I started to play with this concept on my machine.  Varying tension, the number of stitches, and stitch crossovers I finally came to the basis of this pattern.  I liked the openness and how delicate it was.

After a few more trials to get the edging detail refined enough by e-wrapping the sides with another piece of the same yarn, and fine tuning the beginning and end tension, all details were set and finalized.

The entire time while working on the final piece I was nervous that I would make a mistake that would be beyond repair and require me to start over.  Luckily, that did not happen.  With the pattern steps, the needles would tell me what needed to be done next, what had already been done, or if I had missed anything.  As long as I took the time to check, all was good and I never missed anything.

The only thing I had to be careful on was some of the crossover transfers.  Sometimes I would drop the stitch off of the transfer tool.  The dropped stitch would never go past the previous diamond point crossover.  So, it was fairly easy to pick up and latch up to be back where I needed to be.  As annoying as it was, I didn’t have to start over.

I finished the shawl and blocked it out with steam since it was acrylic.  This added to the drape of the shawl, and also really set the stitches in place.  It came out just as beautiful as I had imagined.

My sister had a gorgeous wedding, she and her husband looked extremely happy, and the restaurant with the Mariachi band and margaritas were perfect.  However, it was warm in the restaurant and she didn’t end up needing the shawl.

Oh well.  Maybe one day my husband and I will go somewhere fancy and I can borrow it from her to wear myself.

Get the printable PDF version of the pattern (without ads) HERE

Estrela Lace Shawl

By City Farmhouse Studio

Standard gauge flat bed

Acrylic 2/28 – white

Size E crochet hook

2 single needle transfer tools

Latch tool

Clip (ie. binder clip or clothes pin)

Diamond pattern gauge – 4” x 2”

Finished shawl measurement – 16” x 60”

From cone, unwind yarn and loop around hand.  You will need enough to e-wrap three needles every other row on each side of shawl (approx. 115 ft).  Use a clip to secure the wrapping from around your hand in a way that you can work from both ends of the yarn.

COR T3 unthreaded.

116 needles (58 on each side of bed) pulled to E position (carriage needs to be set for E position to knit off).

Step 1: Create a slip knot around crochet hook.  Crochet around each needle moving from left to right.  Place last loop that remains on hook around needle 58 on the right side of bed to secure it.

Hang cast on comb and weights, ribber cast on comb works best.  Move stitches towards gate pegs in order to knit properly.

Thread carriage and K1 row.

Step 2: Pull needles out to E position, crochet behind previous rows.  Place last loop that remains on hook around needle 58 on the right side of bed to secure it.

Move carriage to right without knitting.

K1 row moving to left.

Step 3: Pull needles out to E position, crochet behind previous rows again.  Place last loop that remains on hook around needle 58 on the right side of bed to secure it.

Move carriage to right without knitting.

K1 row.  This creates the beginning edge of shawl.

Change carriage to T4.

Step 4: Move needle 4, 10, 18, 24, 32, 38, 46, and 52 to the needle number below it.  Move empty needles to non working position.

Move needle 5, 11, 19, 25, 33, 39, 47, and 53 to the needle number above it.  Move empty needles to non working position.

K1 row.

Step 5: Move needle 3, 9, 17, 23, 31, 37, 45, and 51 to the needle number below it.  Move empty needles to non working position.

Move needle 6, 12, 20, 26, 34, 40, 48, and 54 to the needle number above it.  Move empty needles to non working position.

Using the extra length of yarn saved from earlier, take one end and e wrap around the outermost three needles on the left side, starting from needle 58 and moving in.  Take the other end of the yarn and e wrap the outermost three needles on the right side starting with needle 58 and moving in.  The right side will take some practice as it is moving in the reverse direction as a typical e wrap.

K2 rows.

Step 6: E wrap outside needles and K2 rows.

Step 7: E wrap outside needles and K2 rows again.

Star pattern:  Looking at the bed you will notice there are groups of 4 needles in working position, and there are groups of 2 needles in working position.  To create the pattern you will be moving each outside needle of the 4 needle groupings towards a 2 needle grouping, 1 space every two rows.  Refer to the chart or follow below:

Step 8: Move needle 2, 16, 30, and 44 to the empty needle that is a number higher to it in non working position.  Move the original needle to non working position.

Move needle 13, 27, 41, and 55 to the empty needle that is a number below it in non working position.  Move the original needle to non working position.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 9: Move needle 3, 17, 31, and 45 to the empty needle that is a number higher to it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

Move needle 12, 26, 40, and 54 to the empty needle that is a number below it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 10: Move needle 4, 18, 32, and 46 to the empty needle that is a number higher to it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

Move needle 11, 25, 39, and 53 to the empty needle that is a number below it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

E wrap the three needles on each outside end.  K2 rows.

Step 11: Move needle 5, 19, 33, and 47 to the empty needle that is a number higher to it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

Move needle 10,24, 38, and 52 to the empty needle that is a number below it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 12: E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 13: With two single needle transfer tools, pick up and cross needles 6 with 9, 20 with 23, 34 with 37, 48 with 51 while keeping the center two needles of the grouping in the same location.  Cross each group by placing the right most needle first followed by the left.  Pull all four needles of each four needle grouping to E position to help them knit off easier.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 14: E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 15: Move needles 6, 20, 34, and 48 to the empty needle that is a number below it.  Move the original needle to non working position

Move needles 9, 23, 37, and 51 to the empty needle that is a number higher to it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 16: Move needle 5, 19, 33, and 47 to the empty needle that is a number below it.  Move the original needle to non working position

Move needle 10, 24, 38, and 52 to the empty needle that is a number higher to it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 17: Move needle 4, 18, 32, and 46 to the empty needle that is a number below it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

Move needle 11, 25, 39, and 53 to the empty needle that is a number higher to it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 18: Move needle 3, 17, 31, and 45 to the empty needle that is a number below it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

Move needle 12, 26, 40, and 54 to the empty needle that is a number higher to it.  Move the original needle to non working position.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 19: E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 20: With two single needle transfer tools, pick up and cross each 2 needle with each other, 13 with 16, 27 with 30, 41 with 44.  Pull all four needles of each four needle grouping to E position to help them knit off easier.

Cross 55 with 56.  This will keep the lines pulled in to make the points.

E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 21: E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Repeat the Step 8 to Step 21 of the star pattern section 13 more times to.

Repeat the starting from Step 8 one more time, but stop after completing Step 19.

Step 22:  E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.  K2 rows.

Step 23: E wrap the three needles on each outside edge.   K1 row ending with carriage on left.

Step 24: Crochet behind the fabric.  Place last loop that remains on hook around needle 58 on the right side of bed to secure it.

Transfer carriage to right without knitting.  K1 row.

Step 25: Crochet behind the fabric.  Place last loop that remains on hook around needle 58 on the right side of bed to secure it.

Transfer carriage to right without knitting.

Change to T8.  K1 row.

Step 26: Latch tool cast off in front of posts.

Steam block and weave in ends.