All Hallows Eve

All Hallows Eve is worked from the top down, starting at the center with a few stitches and growing outward on both diagonal edges. A marker sits in the center stitch and moves up with every row, and that one small habit keeps the whole shawl on track. The opening section is easy double crochet, so you settle in quickly and let the shawl build under your hands before it asks anything harder.

From there it shifts gently into a simple lace. The plain field opens into an engaging pattern that never turns fussy, and the change comes gradually enough that you grow into it rather than hit a wall. A shell edging finishes the whole thing off along the bottom, a soft scalloped border that gives the shawl a proper ending.

It grows fast for its size, and it grows large. Blocked, it runs 72 inches wide and 34 inches deep at the longest point, generous enough to wrap and wear like a proper shawl and then some. This is a shawl for the fun side of the season, ready to wear before you know it, made to enjoy rather than to fret over.

Yarn: 

1534 yards / 1403m of fingering weight yarn.

The sample uses Forbidden Fiber Co. Fortitude Halloween minis (100% superwash merino, 1.06 oz / 30g = 118 yards / 107.9m each) in the colors (A) Harlow House, (B) Bangarh Fort, (C) Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, (D) Hull House, (E) Winchester House, (F) Monte Cristo Homestead, (G) Chateau de Brissac, (H) Lizzie Borden House, (I) Myrtles Plantation, (J) Hoia Baciu Forest, (K) Gonjiam Haunted Asylum, (L) Tower of London, and (M) Sallie House.

Hook: 

Size 3.00 mm, or the size needed for gauge. Make sure you take the time to check it before you start.

Notions: 

One locking stitch marker and a tapestry needle.

Gauge: 

19 dc and 11 dc rows = 4 inches / 10 cm. Check your gauge before you begin. On a shawl this size, a small difference in gauge changes both the finished span and how much of your yardage you use.

Finished Size: 

Blocked, the shawl is 72 inches / 183 cm wide and 34 inches / 86 cm deep at the longest point. Blocking opens the lace and the shell edging and sets the shape, so plan for it.