Towards the end of last year, whilst things were pretty hectic, I rather hurriedly released my Badbury Shawl pattern on Ravelry, but never got round to writing a blog post. I’ve been wearing my prototype constantly since I knitted it last Easter so I thought it was high time I rectified matters and told you a little bit about it, and offered a belated launch discount to celebrate the leap year.
Badbury is a crescent shaped shawl knitted from the top down. The asymmetrical colour blocks are worked using short rows which are resolved as you work the contrasting lace sections. Don’t worry, there’s no wrap and turns in the short rows you simply change direction with a yarn over. The thing I really like about it though is that the colour changes are so smooth you don’t get any tell tale part colour stitches so the shawl is completely reversible – the lace looks great on both sides.
Using 2 skeins the shawls knits up to a good size, perfect for wrapping yourself in during these chillier months.
As you may have noticed I knitted up 2 samples, partly because my prototype gobbled up the main sport weight yarn I used and left me with too little to comfortably release the pattern as written. Whilst I may play yarn chicken with myself I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else. So I used the greater yardage of a 4 ply for the sample. However, despite this being a fabulous merino nylon cashmere blend, I was knitting the sample whilst wearing my original sport weight corriedale version and the more I wore it the more I loved it. So I revised the pattern slightly to still be able to offer a sport weight version so you too could enjoy this wonderful yarn and not have to worry about the yardage. Therefore, when you buy the pattern you can choose which version you’d like to knit, the sport or 4 ply version.
Pattern details:
4 ply version
Old Maiden Aunt MCN 4 ply in Aniseed and Ghillie Dhu
3.75mm (US5) needles
2 skeins of 4 ply yarn of 400yds per skein
gauge – 18sts x 48 rows = 10 x 10cm in garter stitch.
measurements – inner edge 72in / 183cm , outer edge 112.5in / 286cm, drop 15.5in / 39cm
Sportweight version
Shown in Old Maiden Aunt Corriedale sport in Famous Blue Raincoat and Real Nice Party
4mm (US6) needles
2 skeins of sport weight yarn of 380 yds per skein
gauge – 16 sts x 36 rows = 10 x 10cm in garter stitch.
measurements – inner edge 79 in/201cm , outer edge 130in/330cm, drop 17in/43cm
All the purchase information is available on the shawl page of my store which includes purchase options
You will received the pattern for both the 4 ply version and the sport weight version
As for the name, this shawl is named after Badbury Rings, an iron age hill fort in Dorset close to Shapwick where my mum grew up and my grandmother lived when I was a child. The irregular lace sections mimic the ramparts and ditches that make up the fort. As kids we used to walk and play there. It was still rather overgrown then so perfect material for the imagination. Whilst dating back to the iron age, there was also Roman settlement in the area and Saxon activity and Edward the Elder brought an army to Badbury, soon after his succession to the throne in AD 899, to face down a challenge to his claim for the crown by his cousin Æthelwold. The site is now owned by the National Trust and has been cleared out and made more accessible with a car park and marked trails so you too can enjoy the walk and the views. Depending on the time of year you may even get shrouded in mist and a little spooked as it really is strangely atmospheric, maybe it’s the weight of history?
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