Tayna shawl was inspired by the knitted shawl I saw on the lovely Little drops of wonderful podcast (which I’ve just recently started to watch). The shawl was quite simple, with a striped body and a lacy border in contrasting color. It is the pattern by Knitting Expat Designs called Highland peaks shawl, and if you are a knitter, or just curious to see how it looks, you can check it out HERE.

I decided to make the striped body using a moss stitch (linen stitch), because it’s not only easy to make, but also beautiful. I used it before in my Concept shawl. Worked in 2 color stripes, it remands me of granny stripe blankets.

The yarn I used is perfect for this project. It’s beautiful, very, very soft yarn, not at all scratchy, which is important if you’re going to wear it around your neck. It is Silky Lace by Katia, 80% merino extrafine superwash – 20% silk, 50g/260m. I enjoyed working with this gorgeous yarn so much that I’ve already ordered it again for my next project. I ordered it from Yarnstreet.com. They have the best prices, and they usually ship the next day!

When I finished the body of the shawl, I had a hard time deciding which color to use for the border. I ordered 4 different colors (black, burgundy red, mustard and pale pink). It seemed as if every color would be perfect for the border, but in the end I decided on burgundy red, although I think that mustard would be just as good. So, after taking pictures of the finished shawl, I played with colors in Photoshop, and changed the border color to mustard, just to see how it would look. I was very pleased with the result, and now I’m thinking of maybe making yet another shawl, this time with mustard border. But since several new ideas are already simmering in my head, it’s unlikely that this will happen.

I paid much attention to the border. I wanted a beautiful and exquisite lace border, which I managed to achieve after a lot of math and trials and errors.
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I used 3 mm crochet hook for the body, and 2.5 mm hook for the border.

The pattern is very detailed. It contains 118 step-by-step pictures, 4 crochet charts, a stitch guide, a written pattern, information on materials needed, and a stitch count. I would say that it is an ideal project for an intermediate crocheter or an adventurous beginner.

As always I’m eager to see all of your beautiful versions of Tayna shawl! Please tag me and use the hash tag #taynashawl when you post it on your favorite social media platform. I will share the best ones in my Instagram and Facebook stories and on Pinterest.

Tayna shawl pattern is now available for purchase in Dada’s place shop, HERE.

You can also purchase Tayna shawl pattern in my Ravelry shop, HERE, and my Etsy shop, HERE.

This shawl is one of those totally unexpected projects. Like, you work on something completely different, and then an idea in some way related to the thing you’re working on, pops up in your head, and you just have to try it out. You don’t want to let it go. That happened to me with this shawl. I was working on figuring out a border for a blanket, and when I finished it, I saw that if repeated, that border could be used in a simple triangle shawl. Needless to say, I immediately grabbed my crochet hook and some pale greenish yarn from my stash, and started to build this shawl. It went so smoothly that I really enjoyed the whole process.

There are some patterns which are very hard to give birth to, and there are patterns which are so easy and effortless. Kaya shawl is definitely the latter kind of the pattern. Maybe that’s the main reason I decided to name it Kaya shawl, after my paternal grandmother who I loved so much, so effortlessly. I probably spent my happiest childhood days in her house, playing with my sister, and our neighbors. She gave me that incredible feeling of protection and unconditional love, and I’m forever grateful to her for that.

Let’s say a few words about the shawl. I love how simple it is, but interesting at the same time, which is a quality I appreciate very much. It has a beautiful texture created with popcorn stitches and empty spaces. It can be made with any yarn. I used 100% cotton yarn, 170m/50g. The pale blue-green version is made with Maja yarn by Bimtex, and the pink version is made with Cotton 8 by Stoff & stil. I used 3.5 mm crochet hook.
The finished shawl measures approximately 158 cm x 77 cm (62” x30”). I would say it’s an ideal project for an intermediate crocheter or even an ambitious beginner who wants to improve their crochet skills and learn new stitches.

The pattern is written in English using US crochet terms. There are 20 step-by-step pictures, and 2 crochet charts for all of you who prefer charts. I personally love charts. When you take a look at it, you can instantly see what stitches are used, and know everything you’re supposed to do to accomplish the pattern. You have the picture of the whole pattern in front of you. I really like that.

The pattern is now available in Dada’s place shop, here (Payment options: credit cards and PayPal), in my Ravelry shop, and in my Etsy shop. (Payment option: PayPal)

If you make Kaya shawl, please share it on your favorite social media platform, using #kayashawl

I would really like to see what you will do with the pattern!
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